As DAP Wanita Chief and National Publicity Secretary, I fully condemn the intimidation and scare tactics perpetrated against Saudari Teresa Kok, MP for Seputeh. Recently, Saudari Teresa found a letter which contained a death threat and two bullets in her home mailbox. She has since filed a report with the police.
This act of violence not only is a threat of life to a sitting member of Parliament but also to a woman in public service. Saudari Teresa has chosen to bravely represent her people of Seputeh since 1999, devoting more than two decades of her life to improve the lives of her constituents, to speak truth to power and fight for the downtrodden, even when the tides were against her.
As women, we are usually taught to confine ourselves to duties as a mother and as a wife. That we are to only fulfil our potential at home. Even though those roles are deeply important, people like Saudari Teresa are a beacon of inspiration in showing that there are other paths to life where you can find meaning and purpose.
I am equally concerned that acts of violence like this will deter other women from joining politics. In 2014, there was a study that was conducted by UN Women and Centre for Social Research entitled “Violence against Women in Politics” which revealed that the insufficient implementation of laws, lack of support, the socio-economic divide and current power structures are the major reasons for violence.
The study also finds that while the percentage of female voters and women candidates fielded by political parties has increased in all three countries which are India, Nepal and Pakistan, the percentage of female representatives in national bodies has decreased. The study also finds that more than 60 per cent of women do not participate in politics due to fear of violence.
Hence, we as a society must do more to improve the environment in which women can thrive in public service. We cannot encourage more equal participation of gender without first increasing more awareness and investing more infrastructure for our women. Thus, more implementation of policies and legislation combating violence against women and more intercultural community dialogues between different genders, races and religions is needed to mitigate feelings of animosity and hate.
In conclusion, I hope that we see a way forward where regardless of differing opinions and views, that we as Malaysians never resort to violence as an answer. I stand in solidarity with Saudari Teresa Kok and countless other women who have to bravely look violence in the face everyday and still show up as their authentic self.
TEO NIE CHING
DAP National Publicity Secretary
DAP Wanita Chief
