It’s 2025, but for some people, it might as well be 1825.
In what they claim is the most advanced country in the world, the United States of America, women are facing various challenges just because they are women. In June 2022, their right to determine what to do with their own bodies was taken away from them. If that was not bad enough, in 2025, women are penalised for doing what some deem a man’s job. For example, most recently, the US Secretary of Defence, a former TV host, fired the four-star Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman Chief of Naval Operations and the first to become a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest level of military command.
The reason for this is that Admiral Franchetti was a ‘DEI (Diversity, Equality and Inclusion) hire’, given the job not because of her stellar qualifications (she has commanded whole fleets) but because she has the wrong hormones. The Secretary had set his sights on her early. In his 2024 book, he wrote, “If naval operations suffer, at least we can hold our heads high. Because at least we have another first! The first female member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — hooray.” Really unbecoming language for a future Cabinet member.
It is astounding that such blatant levels of misogyny can exist so publicly. Women, according to this thinking, should not have such high levels of authority simply because they are women. Instead, they should be at home cooking, cleaning and having babies. There are even men who say that women should vote according to their husbands’ wishes and not make their own choices. There’s nothing worse, according to them than women who can think for themselves.
While we may gape open-mouthed at these pronouncements, let us not forget that none of these are unfamiliar to us either. In our so-called ‘less-developed country’, we too often hear the same sentiments. We have male self-styled influencers who post videos on TikTok proclaiming that women are basically lesser humans. Women who do achieve high positions are treated as aberrations and are mercilessly attacked for their looks, their clothes, everything they say, and even the autobiographical books they write. Unless, of course, they parrot men such as the former Women’s Minister who said wives should speak like Doraemon to please their men.
It seems that such attitudes are globally prevalent these days, usually spiking when conservative governments come into power. Unfortunately, we are seeing more and more of these being voted in everywhere, not so much because they are misogynistic but because of other issues such as migration. While people are focused on one issue, they often do not realise that they are voting for people with a much wider agenda, much of which will affect women.
Worse still when these governments and other actors use religion as a cover for discrimination. During the recent US elections, a fundamentalist Christian preacher said that “in a Christian marriage, wives should vote according to their husbands’ direction.” In Bangladesh recently, a girls’ football tournament had to be cancelled because there were conservative groups that deemed the game ‘unIslamic’. In the US, there seemed to be no irony in advocating for the life of foetuses, even those that might not be viable or the result of rape, while still executing prisoners for their crimes.
The theme for International Women’s Day this year is Accelerate Action, and it could not be more appropriate. With the uptick of discrimination against women everywhere, it is not the time for despair. Rather, it is time to renew our advocacy for the many issues still pending that affect women.
Among these issues here in Malaysia:
- We need to reform the Muslim Family Laws so that judgments are fairer to women, divorce proceedings are shortened, and husbands’ obligations to pay maintenance are strictly enforced.
- We need to recognise that women in polygamous marriages face significant emotional and financial difficulties.
- We need to be very serious about banning female genital mutilation (FGM), especially when 93% of young girls are still subjected to this.
- We need to raise the age of marriage for men and women to 18 and end child marriage once and for all.
- We need to extend Malaysian women’s right to pass their citizenship to their foreign-born children who already exist, not just those who are yet to be born.
- We need to seriously deal with gender-based violence. There have been too many cases of wives, partners and mothers being killed by the men in their lives.
None of these will be solved if we not only don’t act but also don’t accelerate the actions we do take. All these problems are systemic issues and cannot be solved by one-off measures. Undoubtedly, change takes time and a lot of effort, but the benefits can be plentiful. Just see what the enactment of our Domestic Violence Act has done for so many women who face abuse. They no longer must accept that being beaten by their partners is only a family matter.
Even the process of advocating and working towards these changes can be beneficial. Women who have done this work find solace and encouragement in the solidarity and company of other women because of their common goals. They know they’re not alone in this fight.
This IWD, take stock of what you see around you. Even if life seems all good, understand that there are other women who may not be so lucky. They may not have the capacity to fight for themselves. You can fight for them by educating yourself about the issues, talking about them everywhere you can, and joining other women who are interested in doing the same. That’s how we accelerate actions.
Happy International Women’s Day!
