Thailand and Southeast Asia Regional Office

Women's Development Collective (WDC)

A small effort goes a long way

``I was afraid of sharing my life with others, but after this session my burdens have been made lighter.´´

``In my childhood I was a free bird. Today I realise that I was actually a bird in a cage. Though my brother loves me, I was still discriminated against. I was led to feel that I did not have as many talents as my brother. Thus I narrowed the view I had of myself.´´

``I have begun to realise how great the oppression of women is. It is much bigger than my own problems.´´

``I want to share with you how I struggled alone as a single mother. For three years now I have raised my daughter by myself and I am proud of what she is turning out to be. We can change our lives.´´

These are some of the ideas which were exchanged during a training session on ‘Understanding Gender and Development’ for kindergarten teachers that was conducted by the Women’s Development Collective (WDC) in Malaysia.

Since its formation ten years ago by about a dozen Malaysian women with the aim of creating fora to strengthen the women’s movement in the country, the WDC has been reaching out to women from all sectors of society. In the last couple of years, WDC has begun to focus its efforts on the setting up of a training institute. Currently this institute is preparing four curricula. Each of these courses run for about three to five days. The participants of the courses come from all over West Malaysia. So far WDC has not invited participants from the eastern part of Malaysia, because of the high costs of travel within the country. The training institute is situated at Kajang, a small town roughly 35 kilometres from the capital Kuala Lumpur. Once it is fully equipped, it will have hostel facilities, since most of the courses are residential and the participants are required to stay in. Even during the non-residential courses, many of the participants prefer to stay in, because they travel from far away places.

The four courses offered to women, are ‘Gender and Feminism’, ‘Health and Safety for Women Workers’, ‘Paralegal course for Women Workers’ and ‘Leadership and Organising For Women’. In addition, women and also men from different parts of the country meet once or twice a year to deepen their understanding of issues that affect women.

The course facilitators are people who have worked in the curriculum area or who have an interest and training in that area. WDC arranges workshops on curriculum development and resource development to help the facilitators. It is planned that the facilitators of the future will be from among former course participants who went through a ‘Training of Trainers’-programme. All facilitators at the institute work on a voluntary basis, since the institute does not have any full-time trainers or long-term courses. However, since the demand for training courses is constantly growing, it will be necessary to engage full-time personnel from 1999 in order to offer training courses on a regular and institutionalised basis.

The type of women who attend the courses varies. So far, WDC has offered courses to full-time staff of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), women activists, trade unionists, kindergarten teachers from plantations as well as to women workers. For example, in a recent paralegal course, participants hailed from small trade unions. From the applications WDC picked only those who registered first. There have also been invitations by some NGOs to train women in their programmes. The kindergarten teachers from the plantations who attended the recent gender course are one such example.

Saratha, a woman worker, attended a paralegal course and learnt what the labour laws offers Malaysian workers. Since the course she has been sharing her new-found knowledge with her colleagues and many of them are eager to see that they receive the mandatory benefits, which they are currently not getting. Things have got to a point where the formation of a trade union in that particular factory is under discussion.

Sumathi, a woman worker who attended the Health and Safety course, is now busy planning for a similar course for women workers who live in her community. ``I believe that all women workers should know how to make their workplace a safer place to work in.´´

Vijaya, a woman who attended the Leadership and Organising course, says that she had never spoken in public before. The course gave her confidence enough to do so. Now she is organising a core of women leaders in her community. Her message is: women can be effective community leaders.

At the Health and Safety course, a woman was sprawled out on a large sheet of paper, while another was drawing out her body outline. Amidst much laughter and fun, the women were learning where the different organs were located in their bodies. The women also shared their experiences of accidents occurring in the factory through role play. These are the methods which are often used during the courses, giving time to women to share their experiences and ideas within small groups. There is an attempt to help women to articulate their experiences through drama, role plays, songs, pictures and diagrams. Thus at each course both, the facilitators and participants leave much more enriched by the enthusiasm, laughter, sharing and solidarity expressed at the course.

WDC works closely with some grassroots NGOs and has contact with many individuals who are active in NGOs working with women. It also has contacts with international women organisations who have often helped them by sending resource persons to conduct training for WDC members and the training institute facilitators, present papers at WDC conferences and host internship programmes. However, WDC itself is not a member of any international organisation .

WDC has also participated in campaigning on women’s and human rights issues.

The WDC training institute and the courses it offers, aim at making an impact on the lives of women in Malaysia. So far that vision appears to be taking shape and the courses are giving birth to new efforts to share the new skills, knowledge and consciousness with others.