Wheel2Wheel is pleased to announce our partnership with Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) in Malaysia. WAO is a non-religious, non-governmental organisation committed to protecting and promoting the rights of women.
When investigating key themes for Malaysia, we found a very interesting contrast between Malaysia and its near neighbours. In recent decades Malaysia has experienced rapid economic development thanks to its natural resources and development of key industries such as information technology. With annual economic output of around USD 15,000 per person (GDP per capita), several times greater than most of its SE Asian neighbours, the social issues it faces are very different than say the needs in Cambodia or Laos.
The Malaysian Government and NGOs in the country are working to ensure that social development and environmental stewardship keeps pace with the economic growth.
Within this potent mix, the issue of empowerment of women emerged as a challenging and complex but important issue to which W2W would like to lend our support. It is a very broad issue ranging from discrimination, access to education and employment, and violence against women – all of which continue to be signicant issues, not just in the region, but globally.
WAO is a respected pioneer for women’s rights in Malaysia, since its formation in 1982. They have been successful in campaigning and lobbying for legislation to protect women, as well as directly supporting victims of violence, harassment and human trafficking.
In addition to counselling services, WAO created Malaysia’s first women’s refuge to provide shelter from harm and violence. This has also evolved to include a child care centre which provides for the children of women at risk, the unfortunate incidental victims.
Combining their leading work in advocacy and research on the issues, and learning from the stories of women whose lives have been saved and turned around by the caring staff at the WAO refuge, WAO continue to be a leading voice in campaigning for the rights of women.
The W2W team are inspired by their work.
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