Women in Malaysia

47% of Malaysian women are in the workforce.

Women's rights

Malaysia ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in August 1995 with reservations. Certain reservations were removed in 2010 but some were maintained, namely Articles 9(2), 16(1)(a), 16(1)(c), 16(1)(f) and 16(1)(g) as these Articles were said to be in conflict with the Malaysian Federal Constitution and Islamic Law (Shari'a). The status of women in the country is complex, and partly dependent on their religion and on where they reside in the states and federal territories of Malaysia, factors which affect certain legal issues. The issue of women's rights in the country is subject to ideological disagreements between conservative and liberal interpretations of Islam, and between more secular forces. A recent Ph.D. doctoral dissertation from the University of Liverpool by Dr. Saleena B. Saleem studied this issue for Muslim women in Malaysia, mapped the ideological doctrines of these women groups, identified areas of polarization, and discovered a discovered how these groups have found ways to build trust and build a cohesive civil society by women and for women.

Sharia courts

Sharia allows men to have multiple wives, as he would be solely responsible to meet the needs of the women married and in inheritance cases, the male would inherit more as he would need to spend this favourably on his wives and children, providing for them at his utmost. Non-Muslim women, and Muslim women in four states, enjoy equal parental rights. There may be employment discrimination against women, but not due to any Islamic ruling. In the state of Kedah, women performers can only perform in front of female audiences.

Sexual harassment

In Malaysia, sexual harassment, as defined by the Employment Act 1955 Archived 11 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine, is "any unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, whether verbal, non-verbal, visual, gestural or physical, directed at a person which is offensive, humiliating or a threat to their well-being". The Act does not distinguish between male and female or employer and employee. As such, sexual harassment can be committed by a female against a male, or an employee against an employer.

The earliest recorded cases of sexual harassment at the workplace or misconduct of an employer towards an employee were seen as far back as 1939, at the time when Malaysia was still Malaya under the British colonial rule. The Klang Indian Association organised a strike action condemning the molestation of female workers by Europeans and 'Black Europeans'. In 1950, 106 women and men rubber tappers from Panavan Karupiah Estate in Perak went on strike against sexual molestation.

Sexual harassment is common, and since 2010 trains on the Malaysian Railway have included pink-coloured women-only cars as a means of cutting down on it. There are also women-only buses in Kuala Lumpur since 2010. In 2011, the government launched a women-only taxi service in the greater Kuala Lumpur area. The taxis have women drivers, and operate on an on-call basis.

Female genital mutilation

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is practised in Malaysia, with an estimated of more than 90% of women from Muslim families having undergone the practice. Reasons cited for the performance of FGM include religious obligation, hygiene, cultural practices, and the belief that it prevents pre-marital sex. However, the form of FGM practised in the country is not as severe as in other parts of the world, such as Northeast Africa, and is reported to only consist of a minor cut. Yet, the extent of the practice is not fully known and is mainly based on anecdotal reports and anthropological studies, as neither reports by national groups nor documented evidence have been found. FGM is widely viewed as a religious obligation; in 2009, the Fatwa Committee of Malaysia's National Council of Islamic Religious Affairs ruled that FGM was obligatory for Muslims, but that harmful forms of it must be avoided.

Domestic violence

Women in Malaysia have certain protections from domestic violence (DV), including the Domestic Violence Act 1994. Under the Penal Code, women may charge their husbands for acts of abuse such as physical violence or threats—the only criminal offence with a marital exemption is Rape (Art 375). Marital rape (non-consensual sexual intercourse in marriage) is not, in and of itself, illegal, but a man who "causes hurt or fear of death or hurt to his wife or any other person in order to have sexual intercourse with his wife" commits a crime under Art 375A of the Penal Code. According to one study, in Malaysia, 39% of women above 15 years of age have been physically abused by their partners. Domestic violence is increasingly seen as a public issue: Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) has introduced a SMS helpline for victims of DV.

There is controversy as to what acts constitute DV, either under the Domestic Violence Act 1994 or under the Penal Code. This rests on the interpretation of legal terms, on how DV relates to marriage laws which require the wife to obey her husband's lawful demands (see below), and on how the Domestic Violence Act 1994 relates to the Penal Code and to Syariah Courts. The debate is on what type of coercion may a husband use to compel his wife to perform her duties. Controversially, the Section 2—Interpretation, subsection (c), of the Domestic Violence Act 1994 makes reference to "compelling the victim by force or threat to engage in any conduct or act, sexual or otherwise, from which the victim has right to abstain". This suggests that if the act was one to which the wife is legally obligated to submit, this specific section cannot apply—meaning that in this circumstance, the "force" or "threat" do not fall under the definition of DV under this act. However, this rests on the definition of "force" or "threat", as some acts are clearly prohibited under the previous subsections (a) and (b) of the same act—"willfully or knowingly placing, or attempting to place, the victim in fear of physical injury" and "causing physical injury to the victim by such act which is known or, ought to have been known would result in physical injury" are indeed prohibited. The approach to DV in Malaysia has been criticised as weak, and potentially creating problematic legal loopholes.

Sex trafficking

Some women and girls have been victims of sex trafficking in Malaysia. They have been forced into prostitution and marriages in Asia and other continents and are physically and psychologically abused.