KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 — Women’s March Malaysia held a picnic protest yesterday in conjunction with International Women’s Day to demand for equal rights.
With the theme “Rise: Resist”, the event at Tasik Taman Jaya in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, brought close to 200 members of the public, including artists and activists, to stand together in solidarity for a Malaysia that is fair, just and inclusive of everyone.
In a media release, Women’s March Malaysia said the picnic protest is a reclamation of space and an acknowledgment that rest is a form of resistance.
The women’s groups acknowledged the right of oppressed genders and sexual identities to rest despite constantly having to fight for equality and freedom of expression.
Participants were guided through a placard-making session followed by a live performance and speeches on each one of the nine demands.
Women’s March Malaysia lists nine clear demands to achieve equal rights as follows and urged the government to commit to them:
- Ensure the right to our bodily autonomy and freedom of choice
- Ensure equal pay for work of equal value
- To ban child marriage
- Declare climate crisis and formulate national plan to mitigate it
- Equal political participation of oppressed genders and sexual identities at all levels
- To establish and ensure accessible and safer spaces for oppressed gender and sexual identities offline and online
- To enact legislative reform to realise gender equality
- To prioritise gender mainstreaming in health care
- To end all forms of violence based on gender and sexual identities
“Until and unless these nine demands are achieved, the government will remain at odds with its international obligations and in its commitment as a member to the United Nations Human Rights Council,” said Women’s March Malaysia.
“And, until and unless these demands are met, we will continue to rise and resist!”