NO matter how great a leader in public life, the woman must not forget that she is daughter, wife, and mother at home, said the prime minister’s wife, Rosmah Mansor.

“The woman in the house is a pillar of support to the husband and children, offering help, advice, comfort and loving care,” she said in her address at the opening of the Rania World Muslim Award 2017 in Kuala Lumpur.

“She builds emotional ties that are too strong to break. 

“She is the confidante and tower of strength when they need her to stand by them and give refuge, solace, and consolation. She inspires and gives them the courage to pursue their dreams.”

Rosmah said exemplary leadership at home was also virtues for leadership in public life.

“Female leadership is not charity, but a necessity to steer Muslim societies through the current situations of high uncertainty and wrenching change. 

“As the saying ascribed to a Ghanaian scholar goes, ’When you educate a woman, you educate the whole nation.’

She said Malaysia’s progressive environment had allowed women,  regardless of race or religion, to become empowered and excel at what they do.

“In Malaysia, the government is very sensitive to the voice and rights of women,” she said, adding that government policies had seen to the improvement of the rights and legal standing of women in Malaysia . – September 20, 2017.