Following its rapid debut, the government announced the approval of the female contraceptive pill, after nine long years of bureaucratic deliberation and some 35 years after its use was widely accepted in the West. This has earned Japan the distinction as the last country in the family of United Nations to adopt the birth control pill. 

What can this tell us about male and female power in Japan? 

Consider the circumstances, one can’t resist speculating the true motivation of making the pill legal. Feminists may also demand, for whom? 

But then again, it is useful to  be reminded of Japan’s conservative culture.  In spite of its sleek designer home electronics and super efficient automobiles, Japanese society remains at heart a traditional unchanging one.  It is still by and large very closed, hierachical and extremely male centered.  Although Japanese society is NOT truly reflective of all other Asian societies, the fate of Viagra and the Pill in Japan does reflect the reality of men and women’s position in the minds of some Asians. 

Women Rising
Political leaders and corporations selling to women are eager to court the female vote and harness their purchasing power.  They champion the triumph of women, and celebrate their claim to a rightful place under the sun. While politicians and companies want the female vote and their dollars, it does not automatically mean that they genuinely respect and accept women’s equality. 

In the land of the free and the world’s greatest democracy, in spite of the strength of the female vote that got Bill Clinton elected twice, the absurd Monica Lewisky affair clearly tells us that Clinton does not respect female sensitivities. 

What about our own Asian political leaders? What about the new candidates seeking office in the next election in Malaysia? 

Women voters want to find out in the still largely male-dominated Asian culture, what is the male psyche’s view of the changing face, roles and newfound power of women of the 90s?  What about women candidates themselves? How do they see themselves in a world where their innate qualities are giving them powerful strength even to overtake some men?  Can men accept women as equal and women accept themselves as such? Do us know how to respect this new equality? Do the candidates actually walk their talk? 

An Oppressed Mind?
How are women using their newfound power? To what ends are they channeling this new power? Are women candidates appealing on building different institutions or trying to assert their equality in the same old institutions? 

Are women creating a new brand of politics, bringing a new style, like Indonesian Megawati, singing a children’s song to end her rallies?  How do women campaign and debate? Are women trying to remake themselves in the image of men, behaving and politiking like men? 

Has woman risen above the suppressed, the victim, the weakling self image to move forward confidently on equal terms with their male counterparts? Are women still fighting to liberate themselves? And from what, from whom? 

 Watch the talk at the next elections. Only those who still see themselves as suppressed would liberation be necessary. Only those who see women as weak and oppressed thinks that they need protection. 

The Political Asian Women
Many Asian women political leaders are reluctant leaders. India’s Sonia Gandhi, Former Filipino President Mrs Corozon Aquino, Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto, all rose to power because of dynastic or legacy politics.  So is Indonesia’s Megawati Sukarnoputri and Malaysia’s Dr Wan Azizah, wife of sacked Deputy Prime Minsiter Anwar Ibrahim. 

Whatever the reason for them coming forward, with Megawati Sukarnoputri’s potential bid for the Indonesian Presidency, with Dr Wan Azizah charging forward to lead a reformist opposition alliance, with women sections of both the ruling UMNO and MCA agitating for more allocation of party posts proportionate to their numeric strength, we can expect quite a show ahead. 

While we watch HERstory in the making, let’s pay close attention to the election rhetoric’s to find out the prevailing perception; how female and male candidates’ court the female vote. 

Equality in all places?
Democracy is about competition. Different interest groups compete for resources and the adoption of their ideals. The sponsor of a legislation tries to persuade the majority to, for example, channel funds to set up a women’s bank, put public money to fund breast cancer research and other ailments common to women, or to set up more child and elder care facilities to ease the working women’s burden, or make laws that assure women fair play in property ownership, employment or  just build more public toilets for women. 

Worldwide, the status of women has risen spectacularly in the 20th century.  In Asia, women always have their place in society, albeit a very different one from men. The male dominated society sought to protect their space, NOT to promote equality for women in ALL places. This is the distinction we must know about Asian societies, whether you like it or not. 

How candidates make their appeal to female voters will tell us how much they value and respect the female gender and where do they see them belong in the coming century. 

In addition to that, a progressive measure of genuine support to the female interest and recognition their being is for political parties to openly support an outstanding woman candidate for party presidency or for the post of Prime Minister of Malaysia. 

Vote the Competent
While it is important to have adequate numeric representation to form the critical mass to give woman’s interest its due attention, we must also not lose sight of the needs of the moment of the nation. 

All voters (females included) should have the wisdom to know the importance of sending talent to government, regardless of gender.

More and more women are spending time on the business and political affairs pages of their daily newspapers, and less on the society and entertainment sections. In addition to that, the number switching from the Sisters’ Weekly to The Economist is growing fast.

We must not lose perspective in a trying transition time like now. We need talent and leadership in government. If there aren’t enough women with the right talent for public office, it is pointless to insist on proportionate representation.  By doing so, we are just allowing room for political manipulation and shadow-play, thus ending up giving a bad name and bad start to women in politics.

A good litmus test, we should quiz the women candidates to find out their grasp of the issues of the times and how competent they are for the job of governance in the 21st century.

Would HERstory be better?
While we can look back at the HIStory of the 20th century and fault men for making quite a mess; two world wars, global warming, degradation of the environment, moral decadence, violence and greed.  We should ask women how do they propose to make HERstory a better one? 

Women candidates aspiring public offices need to know that their first task is to CLEAN UP before rebuilding.  (Hmmm, for those who can’t quite see the challenges, maybe home keeping is nicer.  At least it is sheltered and quiet!)

Perhaps it is not fair to be so demanding as we don’t really have any better choice of leaders today, or do we? Maybe we should not use the same old pair of lenses to evaluate female candidates, lenses colored by gender. 

Why make the gender an issue with Megawati Sukarnoputri. Afterall it is the 21st century, we should experiment with the new; a New Indonesia, the New Muslim and a New World.  Fair play is not to fault her on her gender, but check her capabilities and assess her programs on rebuilding the economy.

We know she is short on ideas, but for now the least we can say is, voters want her because they perceive her as a force that can hold Indonesia together. Would she live up to expectation? As with any new leader, only time can tell. This is the risk we take with anyone new, anywhere. There is however at least one consolation about the new leader; that is he or she listens better -- which is far better than one who is competent in the old ways but stone deaf no matter how loud the cries outside become!

It is useful to remember situational leadership, and the yin and yang qualities in men and women.  Bear in mind the performance of the leader is determined by the task, the context and the personality.

Having said all these, after such a long time with male dominance, the new technological-driven, communication-centered and knowledge-based world of the 21st century is ready for more women to take greater leadership.

For the courageous, go for it! 

Kuala Lumpur, June 30, 1999
 
 
 

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