We believe that gender equality is important in achieving a thriving democracy.
EMPOWER’s two primary thrusts are:
1. Women’s Political Participation
EMPOWER believes that women’s political participation (WPP) is a prerequisite for the full realisation of women’s rights in both the public and private spheres. In a functioning democracy, WPP allows for women’s direct engagement in public decision-making and is a means of ensuring better accountability to women by the State and Non-State actors.
As the 2011 UN General Assembly resolution on women’s political participation notes, “Women in every part of the world continue to be largely marginalized from the political sphere, often as a result of discriminatory laws, practices, attitudes and gender stereotypes, low levels of education, lack of access to health care and the disproportionate effect of poverty on women.”
2023 Women’s Political Participation Workshops
In 2023, Empower is working towards increasing women’s political participation especially for women from marginalised communities through a series of workshops that aims to encourage participants to engage in conversations, debates and exercises in order to expose them to the key themes, processes and understanding of women’s rights and how they can be more politically empowered. Do check out our full writeup on our 2023 WPP workshops here.
Our work in this area includes undertaking activities and projects such as
actively encouraging the participation of young women from diverse backgrounds and identities to be engaged in the promotion of WPP
development of campaign/education materials on WPP
active engagement with key stakeholders on this issue such as parliamentarians, media etc in the electoral reform processes
increasing the number of women in decision making positions i.e the 30% critical mass quota
other related issues
2. Women’s Participation in Development
Work undertaken in this area is focused on the promotion of development programmes and agendas that fully realises women’s rights while advancing a just and gender-equitable model of development. All development programmes and agendas undertaken by any State must be centred on human rights standards and norms including the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda
A feminist approach is used to understand and analyse development programmes/agendas. Work undertaken in this area include
Understanding the implication of technological advancements, especially of the internet and related technologies on women’s rights (digital rights)
Using a feminist perspective in Business and Human Rights and other finance related themes
Supporting the participation and voices of communities that are often ignored – the urban poor, the indigenous communities, peoples with disabilities, etc
Other issues/themes related to economic, social and cultural rights
Our Work
Stirring Stories is a blog that hosts interesting and thought-provoking work ranging from anecdotes to critical opinion pieces written by EMPOWER staff and members on the issues of women human rights in Malaysia.
feminis.my is a bilingual portal where we provide a safe space for everyone to discuss all matters related to feminism in Southeast Asia. We believe that every individual has the right to have access to the same opportunities and the freedom to have their voice heard regardless of sex or gender. It is a collective effort between EMPOWER and the United Nations Trust Fund.
The Coalition of Malaysian NGOs in the UPR Process (COMANGO) was formed by civil society organisations in 2008 to engage in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the United Nations. It is the biggest civil society coalition of its kind in the UPR process, comprising of over 50 organisations.
