BUDGET 2022, which will be unveiled tomorrow must be more inclusive and considerate of underprivileged women and women at risk, such as single mothers and domestic violence survivors, women’s welfare organisations (NGOs) said.

They proposed “positive discrimination” policies and other sustainable measures for disadvantaged women beyond financial aid, such as childcare support, targeted grants, improved domestic violence shelters, upskilling programmes, and empowering women community leaders.

Women of Will (WOW) chief operating officer Lakshwin Muruga said B40 women entrepreneurs, for example, need access computers, tablets, printers as well as good data coverage to do business.

“Most of our women entrepreneurs live in PPR communities which have poor coverage and low internet speeds,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Setting up shared community resources such as business centres and wellness centres would allow these women to market their products, access communication devices and collaborate on larger projects.

He said B40 women entrepreneurs also require support in upskilling to create business models and products that are more competitive.

“They are now competing in a more competitive market as skilled individuals who have lost their jobs during Covid have also started home-based businesses and are in competition with B40 women entrepreneurs who are more often less skilled.”

He said the government could also offer these women a support system such as local safe spaces where they can meet to discuss the challenges they face and to support one another.

WOW works with disadvantaged women in Malaysia and their communities through micro-credit financing combined with an Entrepreneurial Development Programme.

“It is essential for women entrepreneurs to have a support system as they grow their business and recover from Covid,” Lakshwin said.

B40 women, especially single mothers, also need childcare support so that they have the time needed to upskill themselves and focus on income-generating activities while ensuring their children grow up in a safe environment, he said.

Last year, The Malaysian Insight reported that single mothers were emotionally and financially burdened by the series of movement control orders. 

Meanwhile, Lakshwin said a WOW survey of B40 women have shown a need for mental wellbeing support for them.

“It is essential that these women receive support in processing what they have gone through and in developing skills that allow them to be more resilient in facing future challenges,” he said.

H said the government could help develop female community leaders as local mobilisers to support the implementation of government services and projects such as Skuad Waja, and fund the community projects organised by the women’s bureaus in PPR residents’ associations.

“Local women community leaders and committee members were a key resource in reaching out to community members during Covid-19. They have accurate information on the current needs of the community and are effective at communicating with community members,” he said.

The pandemic and consequent lockdowns have contributed to a rise in global domestic violence, with women and children being the main victims, surveys have shown.

In September, the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry revealed in the Dewan Rakyat that 9,015 cases of domestic violence were reported since the movement control order (MCO) was first enforced in March 2020.

Sisters In Islam told The Malaysian Insight that a national budget must be allocated to protect domestic violence survivors to improve the operations of its One Stop Crisis Centres (OSCCs), which are centres located within most major government hospitals and often the first place survivors go for assistance.

“OSCCs are critical for facilitating access to tailored healthcare services, providing protection, support and justice services,” its spokesman said.

“The pandemic has seen a rise of domestic violence cases. According to a survey done via the SIS hotline Telenisa, domestic violence is the most stated reason for divorce at 23% in 2020,” SIS said.

Moreover, SIS said the government must allocate a budget for psychiatric and mental health services by prioritising the setting up of community mental health clinics within the mental health budget.

Last year, a Unicef report entitled ‘Families On The Edge’ by Unicef also revealed that the employment rate among female-headed households living in government housing (PPR) rose to 32% due to the pandemic.

The survey also showed that a large share of women-headed households lacked social protection, such as Employees Provident Fund and Social Security Organisation contributions, and sufficient savings.

The Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) in its Budget 2022: A Resilient National Recovery for Women recommendation said child care remains one of the biggest barriers to employment for women, compounded by the burden of indirect care work, such as cooking and cleaning, of which women do more than double of men.

“The extant gender gaps in employment require more investment to properly address the lack of gender-sensitive hiring incentives implemented and decreased childcare support last year,” it said, adding that women only represented 38.% of the formal workforce.

WAO said Budget 2022 must consider the informal workforce and the ways in which the government can better support these employees, nearly half of which are vulnerable women.

It recommended several initiatives, such as raising awareness of the burden of unpaid care work that disproportionately affects women, and more funding allocations to upskill and educate women with workforce skills, and to build and run community childcare centres.

It also suggested incentive-based hiring programmes to promote the hiring of women, targeting especially vulnerable groups such as single mothers, with a budget allocation of RM776 million.

Budget 2022 will be tabled by finance minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz in the Dewan Rakyat tomorrow.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has promised a “high-impact” budget with aid for the B40 and M40 groups, and support for businesses to ensure that the micro, small and medium enterprises have access to funding. – October 28, 2021.