KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 — Women should have freedom of choice, respect and dignity equal to men, said advocates at the International Women’s Day Forum 2024.

With the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day "Invest in women: Accelerate progress”, Sisters in Islam executive director Rozana Isa said challenging traditional gender roles required the active participation of both men and women.

"We need to embrace the idea of gender equality, which means that men and women are equal.

"When we talk about equality, on the other hand, you’re also talking about ending discrimination. Essentially, you know, equality is a much more proactive way to talk about bringing equality to women. It’s not just about women, it’s also about addressing everyone in the society.

"There are challenges because of differences of opinions, but I think it is inevitable that we have to realise when we talk about discrimination, we have to include everyone in it, regardless of gender, you know. So, I think this is still a battle we are fighting,” she said during a panel discussion at Asia School Business, Kuala Lumpur here, today.

Among others, Rozana said issues such as child marriage and delinquency in alimony and child support payments continue to be issues that add to the discrimination against women.

She stressed the importance of upholding the rule of law and holding accountable those who disregard court rulings, noting the disproportionate burden placed on women when men evade responsibilities.

"Men are not punished for their bad behaviour. They are allowed to get away with being irresponsible. We’re not shaming them. If anything, you know we’re putting more pressure on the mothers to stand up for themselves,” she said.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said collective effort was needed for gender equity and economic empowerment in Malaysia.

"While we have made numerous vital legislative advancements over the years with outstanding laws on protection, discrimination and safety of our women and girls, all that was just the beginning.

"We now have the basic legislative foundations we need to start bridging gaps and addressing social and economic barriers,” she said.

At the same forum, Development of Human Resources for Rural Areas (DHRRA) social protection director Maalini Ramalo also drew attention to the continued inequality between men and women in the law, with Malaysian mothers with foreign spouses still denied automatic citizenship for their children that was available to the offspring of Malaysian men.

"This is why citizenship law is a very important discussion to have today because as you can see, it frames perfectly all of the issues that we’re dealing with here.

"This is a case of one step forward, five steps back, and why this championing of gender parity for women results in the loss of rights for other marginalised groups,” she pointed out.

She outlined three main amendments to citizenship law that were crucial, such as amendments addressing the protection of abandoned children, the citizenship status of foreign spouses married to Malaysian men and changes to the age requirements for certain citizenship applications.