Sajakkini

Somewhere in my subconscious I know I have always been an anarchist. And now I know that I am an Islamic anarchist and that I am not alone. I cannot begin to tell you how much of a relief that is.

Maybe it is the way the course had been set for the river of my life. Perhaps as a result of not having strong father-figure types to latch on to during my formative years (the core of character, it seems, is forged by the age of seven), I’ve always had respect yet disdain for authority.

Contradictory? I don’t think so. On one level I recognise that some form of authority is necessary for human society to function, yet it is always healthy to be wary of anyone in a position of authority.

How can you not be? I have met honest leaders in my short life, but the number of dishonest ones far, far outnumber these. And in the midst of a society caught in the throes of blind materialism? The verdict becomes a foregone conclusion: vampirism rules. (more…)

Salbiah Ahmad

In 1991, Beatrice Fernandez was dismissed from her job as an air stewardess because she was pregnant. She inter alia claimed a pregnancy-based discrimination and filed a case in the High Court, citing Article 8 (equality before the law and equal protection of the law) of the Federal Constitution.

Last year the Court of Appeal did not find the dismissal wrong. On March 11, three days after International Women’s Day, Beatrice was refused leave to appeal to the Federal Court.

This case is the indelible smear to Malaysia’s proclaimed achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG), more specifically MDG 3: the promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women. The Malaysian Millennium Development Goals Report was launched by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Jan 28 this year.

According to this report, which was in part developed by the Economic Planning Unit and the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, “Achieving gender equality and empowering women are necessary to achieve social, economic and political development.”
(more…)