A Biography: "FATIMAH - Gadis Desa Srikandi Bangsa"

A Biography: "FATIMAH - Gadis Desa Srikandi Bangsa"
This 269 page book narrates the life and times of DATUK DATIN PADUKA HAJJAH FATIMAH BINTI HJ ABDUL MAJID. Other than being the first assembly woman in Johor, Datuk achieved a remarkable string of excellent "firsts" for women in the nation which elevated and exalted the status of womanhood as a whole! She was also the soft-spoken lady whose deep love for her country inspired her to selflessly pioneer and establish the brave and daring PASUKAN TENTERA WATANIAH WANITA / WOMEN'S VOLUNTARY MILITARY CORP. on our beloved soil when it was threatened by external aggression! She is a true SRIKANDI and our very own WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE! Get to know more about this amazing woman! TO ORDER THIS BOOK ONLINE, KINDLY CLICK ON THE IMAGE.

TEMURAMAH FAUZIAH FADZIL / PENULIS

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Is There Gonna Be Peace In Wanita UMNO?


Wanita Umno chief Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz (left) and her deputy, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, at a meet-the-delegates session in Kota Baru yesterday. — NST picture by Syamsi Suhaimi

THE animosity in Wanita Umno has grown so intense that its members expect more than fireworks during its general assembly-cum-election on March 25.

Gone are the days when Wanita leaders met with hugs and kisses. Now, only cool handshakes are exchanged between supporters of Wanita chief Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz and her deputy-turned-challenger, Datuk Seri Shah-rizat Abdul Jalil.

Wanita Umno appears headed to a point of no return where whoever wins would inherit a movement so divided that only a miracle could reunite the rival camps.

The contest now is said to be the fiercest ever and far more heated than the 1972, 1984, 1996 and 2000 elections.

After 12 years as chief, Rafidah was challenged for the first time in 1996 and lost by 27 votes to Datuk Dr Siti Zaharah Sulaiman. However, it was a sweet revenge four years later when she defeated Siti Zaharah by 12 votes.
Rafidah's predecessor, Tan Sri Aishah Ghani, said both sides badly wanted to win and the contest was no longer seen in a family spirit.

"During my time, we did not attack our opponent directly and were very careful with our choice of words.

"But today, some of the SMSes circulated are slanderous and racist. Maybe we are taking the contest far too seriously. I am very sad that we have gone down to such a low level just because we are desperate to win," Aishah said.

There has been too much bad blood in this year's election. Rafidah's supporters have yet to forgive Shahrizat for going against her numerous pledges not to challenge for the Wanita leadership.

Shahrizat's supporters argue that it was the grassroots who pushed her despite constant pleas that she only intended to defend her post. Shahrizat was nominated by 73 divisions compared with 118 for Rafidah.

"Agreed, that Shahrizat had always said she would not challenge Rafidah. But what about the voice of the grassroots? Do we simply deny their aspirations and ignore their wishes? Are we not told to listen to what the members want?" said an executive council member.

A senior Wanita Umno leader said: "We are lying if we say that everything is fine and this is just a contest. It goes beyond that as the split is beyond repair.

"Rafidah has been the Wanita head for 21 years. In her victory speech in 2000, she said that she would only hold the post for two terms and intended to groom Shahrizat as the successor. So why the U-turn now, whatever her excuses may be?"

It is known that, of late, the relationship between Rafidah and Shahrizat has not been cordial, especially during meet-the-delegates sessions in the various states.

The duo come separately with their supporters, the senior-most of whom are contesting for executive council seats, they hardly smile at each other and do not even sit at the same table at lunch.

It was said that at a delegates' session in Penang, Rafidah in her speech hit out at Shahrizat for supposedly being impatient to take over the movement.

Rafidah's supporters are also upset with Datuk Kamilia Ibrahim, who has since won the Number 2 post unopposed.

"Shahrizat and Kamilia have betrayed us. We told our supporters to nominate Shahrizat as the deputy as we thought that she would honour her promise not to challenge Rafidah.

"And Kamilia kept mum on whether she would accept the nominations to go for the Number 2. If only we saw this coming, we would have nominated Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique," said a state Wanita head.

Another candidate keen to contest the post was former Puteri Umno head Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, who, however, failed to secure the 29 minimum nominations required.

"Being the only woman minister from Umno, one would have expected Azalina to easily get the nominations. But Azalina has never made an effort to get closer to us.

"It would be hard for her in the next election as she would be overtaken by other former Puteri leaders who are far better received, like her successor Datuk Noraini Ahmad," said a state Wanita head.

With two weeks left before the election, the competition between the two sides is expected to escalate up to the last minute on March 25.

By:
SAJAHAN ABDUL WAHEED
NST-Online / March 09, 2009


Women's Day Marks Crisis of Poverty, Violence!

In remembrance of the International Women's Day - 8th March.

Women rallied worldwide to demand equal rights and protest against domestic violence and growing poverty in the global economic crisis as they marked International Women's Day.
Thousands gathered in public squares from Bangalore to Kinshasa to the capitals of Europe Sunday, drawing attention to discrimination and fears facing women in their respective countries.

For Europeans, deteriorating financial security in the face of recession has made life more precarious for women workers. "Masculine globalisation equals female poverty" read a banner at a march in Madrid, while in Warsaw calls for equality were linked to paychecks: "Equal rights, equal pay."
"When, in times of crisis, jobs become scarce, women are often the ones who are the first to go," said Helga Schwitzer, a leader of Germany's powerful IG Metall union.

"Women must not be the losers in the crisis," she told a gathering in Emden, northwest Germany, as she noted that women still earn on average 23 percent less than men.

US President Barack Obama said women are "vital" to solving world challenges and called for "the full and active participation of women around the world."

His former White House rival, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, celebrated women's untapped potential but lamented that "no nation in the world has yet achieved full equality for women."

The French government sought to raise awareness by releasing a book for 18-year-olds titled "Respect Girls", warning teenagers not to buy into stereotypes in advertising and providing information on sexual harassment and equal opportunities.

"These few pages will help you know your basic rights so that you can translate this into positive and ambitious life choices," Valerie Letard, state secretary for women's issues, at a meeting with about 100 young women in Paris.

The Vatican took a different spin on Women's Day, proclaiming what has liberated Western women the most is none other than the washing machine.

"The debate is still open. Some say it was the pill, others the liberalisation of abortion, or being able to work outside the home. Others go even further: the washing machine," the official Vatican newspaper said.

For women mainly outside the West, however, their very existence is in peril from violence and cultural attitudes that endanger their lives.

Indian activists in Bangalore, in India's south, met in parks and open areas to protest a spate of violent attacks on women by religious extremists in the name of "moral policing".

In Africa, women called attention to the plight of their sex in war zones. Some 10,000 women marched in the streets of Kinshasa to protest massive and savage violence against women and children using them as a weapon of war.

"The desires of Congolese women are clear: stop rape, stop HIV/AIDS, and stop other human rights violations against women and children," said Marie-Ange Lukiana Mufwankolo, family minister in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Darfur rebel leader Abdel Wahid Mohammed Nur called for support for women and girls in the strife-torn region who are "victims of Islamic fundamentalism and ethnic cleansing."

"I call upon all women in the world to celebrate Women's Day by helping Darfur people and Darfur women and girls," Nur told AFP in Paris, where he has been living in exile for a year and a half.

In Iraq, despite post-war reconstruction, many women -- especially widows -- are too poor to provide for their families, according to a report by aid agency Oxfam, published to mark International Women's Day.

"I was convinced that I could improve conditions for women, but I ran into a wall," said Nawal al-Samarrai, Iraq's former minister for women's rights who resigned in despair over lack of support last month.

Another female politician who has risen to the top in a male-dominated society, Shukria Barakzai, an Afghan member of parliament, also lamented her gender's plight.

She is campaigning against forced and child marriages -- practices still common in Afghanistan -- after her husband took a second spouse.

"It is very painful for me that my husband has another wife. I myself am a victim of male violence against women in this country. My husband married his second wife without even telling me," she said.

Muslim women around the world are facing a "growing crisis" as Islamic governments fail to honour commitments to end inequality and violence against them, an independent UN expert warned.

Yakin Erturk, the United Nations' rapporteur on violence against women, told a weekend conference in Malaysia that women must demand their governments carry out pledges to grant them equal rights and ensure their safety.

And the Colombian office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights pressed for violent sex crimes against women to be investigated and punished, saying that often "the guilty parties are members of several armed groups."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said this week one woman in five around the globe has been a victim of rape or attempted rape, and that in some countries one woman in three has been beaten or subjected to some kind of violent act.

In Cuba, President Raul Castro called it a "disgrace" that Cuban women's representation in political life was not as significant at the "decision-making" level as it should be.

In Caracas, meanwhile, Cuba's key ally President Hugo Chavez announced he would be upgrading the Women's Affairs Ministry to a stronger role in his self-styled socialist revolution. The new entity will be called the Ministry of People's Power for Women and Gender Equality, Chavez said.

- Fr. NST-Online (March 9, 2009)

HELLO WORLD! APA KHABAR?

Assalaamualaikum To ALL!

This will be a space in the virtual reality where I shall be sharing my thoughts and topics of interest with you world!

May unconditional love towards all creations of Allah - The Most Gracious and The Most Compassionate, brings more peace and harmony in this only 'home' we have...Mother Earth! So let us protect it well.