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shared values, regardless of any gender inequality, incul-
cated towards creating a culture of excellence.
Within the fair treatment and equal rights given to women
in the civil service, Islam sees a hidden jewel behind their
nature/physicality. Women in Islam are considered the
bearers of lineage and a vital component towards achiev-
ing sustainable development. Under this consideration, the
Government has enacted the Maternity Leave Order 2011
in which female officers and staff employed on a permanent
service, month-to-month, contract, site-staff, open-vote
and daily paid basis are entitled to apply for maternity leave
of 15 weeks or 105 days. The leave includes full salary paid
for those who have been in service more than six months or
180 days, while those who have been in service for less than
six months (90-180 days) will only be paid half.
The sublimity of Islam encompasses and is not limited to
the needs and health interests of mothers during their pre-
and post-natal period. It also firmly promotes and supports
optimal breastfeeding (exclusive breastfeeding from birth
to six months and continuous breastfeeding up to two
years) as a key component of sustainable development.
Professional leadership and civil society
Having made significant progress in education and gained
economic security, many women graduates and profession-
als are now contributing to the development of civil society
and non-governmental organizations in pursuit of women’s
empowerment. Many women graduates in the region are now
seen to be providing a leadership role in this civil society
movement. A good number of them have risen in promi-
nence to the ranks of national leaders in their respective fields
of expertise. They may be regarded as significant agents of
empowerment for their gender in the years to come in practi-
cally all sectors of public life.
In Brunei Darussalam, a national organization known as
the Council of Women Brunei Darussalam was established in
1984. The council comprises 13 women’s associations whose
activities range from religious, welfare and social works to
youth and business concerns. Viewed as a whole, the core
issues with which the council is concerned are women,
social and child rights. In Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore
there are older and more well-established women’s organi-
zations that have made significant contributions to women’s
empowerment, especially in education. The Muhammadiyah,
the second-largest social organization in Indonesia which
boasts more than 30 million members, established in 1917
its women’s wing called Aisyiyah with the main objective of
empowering Indonesian women in all fields of life. In Malaysia,
the United Malays National Organization was established in
1946, and its dominant ruling party since independence has a
women’s wing that is also known to have made a major contri-
bution to the empowerment of Malaysian women.
Image: channelnewsasia.com
Halimah Yacob (far right), a Malay Muslim and the first woman Speaker of Singapore’s parliament, during the opening session of parliament
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