by Syerleena Abdul Rashid, Bukit Bendera Wanita DAP political education director and Bukit Bendera DAP Socialist Youth secretary

Let’s be clear about one thing in Malaysia – a growing number of women are now more determined than ever to kick patriarchy out of our society and refuse to be apologetic about it. Feminism is not about hating men, though there are more than a few men within our society who can be extremely generous in using derogatory names to refer to those who advocate for such rights. Feminism is about creating equal rights between all genders – men, women and those whose sexual orientation have yet to be officially recognized in this country. It is also about creating equal opportunities and striking out male chauvinism every single chance we get.

So it didn’t come as a surprise when several politicians (both men and women) were reported to have made several insidious remarks that rose more than just a few eyebrows. Accepting change is just simply too hard for them to fathom.

The UMNO General Assembly (PAU2014) was filled with the same old tired idioms and the usual passé battle cries. Another year, another assembly and another slew of clichéd party slogans that merely paint the true nature of what the ruling party has morphed into. An organization filled with spiteful rhetoric and outdated strategies, so vile in nature, it leaves a majority of us reeling in both disbelief and bewilderment – at the same time confusing most of us at no end.

So in some ways, it wasn’t entirely shocking when a certain politician compared young aspiring female politicians to instant noodles. We can only assume that such a comment attempted to achieve a certain level of wit usually reserved for sharp minded intellectuals, but alas, the reference epically failed to deliver just that. Although, likening women to “instant noodles” leaves a bad taste, making such a reference isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The beauty of instant cuisine is that such provisions are almost always free of any nonsense that could waste time and energy; a simple what you see is what you get and the level of experience has nothing to do with anything. It just means that women are quick, efficient and straight forward. You get the picture.

Patriarchy has long been identified as one of the major barriers to women’s development and empowerment. In general, the Asian culture is one that presupposes “natural” male superiority over women – authority within the family and society are usually given to men. Resulting to women who feel inferior due to having certain legal rights removed, mobility and freedom restricted.

Malaysian women are growing bolder, though – we dare question the choices and the decisions made, only because most of us are fed up with how some misinformed men in our society have taken it upon themselves to dictate our lives, our bodies and our minds.

Some of the men in governing positions often ridicule the female biological form and use this as an excuse to prevent women from taking on leading positions in the government. Some even go as far as blaming us for instigating rape, domestic violence and other forms of sexual harassment. They always want to know how were dressed, how short our skirts were, what we said and what shade of red lipstick colored our lips during the time of the assault.

But what worsens the effects of patriarchy, is when the women in our society seem to be dangerously comfortable with it. These women passively permit male-induced values to dominate their lives and refuse to empower others within their communities. They meekly comply with the standards and warn other women to not be too liberal in their thinking and by no means, question male authority. Most of the time, the women they appoint lack the awareness and understanding needed to carry the feminist torch.

Let’s take for instance, how a certain scandal tainted female politician erroneously equated the women’s rights movement to mere ‘bra-burning’ antics – void of any reflective principles. Though, the phrase “bra burning feminist” does exist, no feminists were guilty of burning such undergarments. It is merely a myth coined up and played out male-dominated media.

Carol Hanisch, one of the organizers who staged the famous 1968 Miss America pageant protest clarified in numerous interviews that, although, the protesters had intended to burn brassieres – the police who stood nearby prevented them from carrying out such an act of defiance. So the pseudo-intellectuals aren’t entirely at fault for assuming such things but when someone in a government position fails to do their homework (i.e. to confirm the legitimacy of such an incident), the public can be less forgiving.

So if anything Malaysians learnt from PAU2014 – from a woman’s perspective, is that it showed us an organization that still anxiously cradles on outdated ideas and the notion that men are superior than women (besides the obvious race based politics); we know that upholding gender equality, yet alone feminism, hasn’t always been their cup of tea; the abysmal number of women ministers in the present cabinet is all the evidence you need.

Malaysian women want reform and desire to see certain standings revolutionize. We have awakened and we will no longer be subdued into passively accepting a system that is tainted with misogyny, bigotry and male supremacy.

*This article represent the views of the author and not necessarily that of The Rocket