THE issue of representation for women in leadership or in C-suites has blown up again. I am mad and I don’t think my anger will subside anytime soon, if ever. I think you should be angrier, too.

It has been 27 years since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. If it were a human being, it would have been able to get driver’s licence, graduate college, start working, vote twice, pay taxes, get married, have children of its own and may even sign a loan agreement to tie it to 30 years of capitalism bondage. Yet, 27 years has meant little for women.

We are still fighting the bitter struggle of yelling at the top of our lungs to be given the same opportunities, the same wages, and the same credit and respect our male counterparts get as a matter of birthright. At this rate, I am convinced that there is no such thing as merit when it comes to women. Which is why, year after year when we list the top 10 richest Malaysians, there will be no women on that list.

As in the Olympics, if a woman is ever to be perceived as successful or rich or capable, a specific female-only list must be created just so women can compete. Otherwise, swimming in the sea of testosterone, women simply cannot stay afloat.

I am all for patriarchal sacrifices and I have nothing against male dominance by those who have devoted their lives to advance in their own classes. After all, handbags, high heels and tampons were created by men. And, true enough, men also have many crosses to bear; higher depression and suicide rates, more frequent incarcerations – not forgetting deaths in detention, and higher direct combat-related deaths in men.

But let’s be honest. How many powerful positions were filled by men simply because they were golf buddies with other powerful men? A reality that must sink in sooner is that people don’t get hired for their talents and skills, but for their clout. Anyone who is telling you otherwise is a liar. That’s just how the world works.

To be more focused and cogent in my anger, the aim of my hatred is actually women who are in leadership positions who have managed to secure their seats at the big boys’ tables, who have redecorated their C-suites and who have driven their customised pink Maseratis. What exactly did you do to get there, sisters? 

With the latest blow-up, I am also convinced that the only way a woman can make it in this world is either by deceiving other women, holding the place for other men, or getting endorsed by men as a token.

A rich woman in this country either sells cosmetics products that are harmful to women at a price beyond exorbitant or sells her own dignity by gyrating in front of enough cameras to leave impressions on bank accounts.

And if women want to have bigger representation, our voices and ideas are only relevant when we are warming the seats for our husbands.

Mothers, don’t tell your daughters that they can earn their pink-tinted glass offices atop the highest tower in the city’s golden triangle. You know the women there now couldn’t have make it unless their fathers are Tan Sris or their names carry titles, or they have sleeping partners that are Tan Sris with names that carry titles.

Women, men are not the enemy. The enemy is other women who have done great disservice by lying about their own nature the minute they hold offices of leadership. Female leaders, who would turn a blind eye for anything that would benefit their husbands or sons, are the enemy. They are the ones who strut around while denying other women positions of power – never once thinking about mentoring successors or empowering women around them.  

So they become the first female CEOs, governors, chief secretaries, etc. while ensuring the game plan for male dominance remains status quo. No ceiling being raised, no goalpost being pushed, as long as their own interests (and coffers) are fulfilled. Other women and young girls can continue to slough through a 60-hour work week and not make even a meagre amount of the price these female leaders pay for their Richard Mille watches.

We are told to sit still and look pretty while swallowing the bitter pill of reality, that nothing we do in our lifetimes will amount to anything. We are placated by sayings such as “we will be rewarded in the afterlife because we are living with higher morality and with dignity”. All the while, the women in power sleep with the right partners to ensure riches beyond means. It’s easier to dream big when you’re waking up in a luxurious penthouse.  

Young girls, don’t be deceived. These women are the enemy. – February 24, 2022.

Fatihah Jamhari reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.