EXERCISE 1: MARKET RESEARCH (Aiza Naili 0138894)
1.
What is the name of the nonprofit
organization (NGO)?
The name of the NGO is All Women’s Action
Society also known as AWAM. (About Us – AWAM – All Women’s Action Society,
n.d.)
2.
Who founded/established AWAM?
It was founded after a workshop by the
Joint Action Group (JAG) and not by an individual. JAG is known for being a
women’s rights organization that addresses gender-based issues. (Wikipedia
contributors, 2024)
3.
When was AWAM established?
AWAM was established in 1985. (About Us
– AWAM – All Women’s Action Society, n.d.)
4.
Why was AWAM established?
AWAM was established to address gander-based
violence, discrimination and inequality. AWAM advocates for women’s rights and
gender equality while providing support for survivors from all forms of
violence and discrimination. They also strive to raise public awareness and educate communities with feminists’
principles. (About Us – AWAM – All Women’s Action
Society, n.d.)
5.
Where is AWAMs office located?
AWAMs office is located at Taman Paramount.
Their address is No. 85, Jalan 21/1, Taman Paramount, 46300 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia. (About Us – AWAM – All Women’s
Action Society, n.d.)
6.
What positions are there in the board of
directors and who are the members?
Ho Yock Lin – President
Amanda Kong – Deputy President
Andrea Emmanuel Koh – Honorary Secretary
Wong Peck Lin – Honorary Treasurer
Eve Lim – Ordinary Council Member
Robin Tan – Ordinary Council Member
7.
How many people are there in the whole organization?
By including council members, staff, interns,
and volunteers, there is roughly around 130-150 people who are actively involved
in AWAM. (Annual Report – AWAM – All Women’s Action Society, n.d.)
8.
Does AWAM have a shelter?
No, they do not have a shelter, but they will refer the client/survivor to other agencies that provides accommodation such as the Women’s Aid Organization (WAO).
B.
Their Journey.
9.
What were the key social or political
conditions that led to AWAM’s founding in 1985?
Absence of legal protections – At
the time, rape laws were out of date, sexual harassment was not recognised or
covered by work rules, and there were no laws against domestic abuse.
Marginalisation of women's issues – Women's
rights were not a major topic in policy talks, and issues like sexual
harassment, rape, and domestic abuse were viewed as private affairs.
Need for collective feminist organising
– In order to fight systematic gender injustice and promote women's rights,
activists realised they needed a cohesive platform. (Hossain, 2022)
10. How
did AWAM’s early advocacy efforts shape Malaysia’s legal landscape for women’s
rights?
Domestic Violence Act (1994) – For
almost ten years, AWAM and JAG pushed legislators to acknowledge domestic abuse
as a legal problem rather than a personal one. To increase awareness, they
created policy suggestions, hosted public forums, and interacted with the
media. Through its activities, AWAM brought domestic abuse into the public eye
by framing it as a violation of human rights.
Constitutional Reform Article 8(2) (2001)
– AWAM played a key role when Article 8(2) of Malaysia's Federal Constitution
was amended in 2001 to include "gender" as a protected category
against discrimination.
Telenita Helpline (1997) – Launched
a free and confidential helpline manned by legal aid volunteers and certified
para-counsellors which provided thousands of women access to counselling, legal
advice, and emotional support.
(All Women’s Action Society - End
Slavery Now, n.d.) (Hossain, 2022)
11. What
is the whole story about Constitutional Reform Article 8(2) (2001)?
AWAM actively promoted constitutional reform as
part of JAG which then persuaded the government to change Article 8(2) to make
gender discrimination prohibited. Malaysia's adherence to the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was in line
with AWAM's position. The change was viewed as a step towards CEDAW’s
commitments being fulfilled. Not only that, AWAM helped raised awareness about
the lack of gender protections in the Constitution through media outreach and
educational campaigns. To add on, AWAM worked with policymakers to draft
proposals which shaped the urgency of the amendment. (Gender Equality Under
Article 8: Human Rights, Islam and “Feminisims” by Salbiah Ahmad - the
Malaysian Bar, n.d.)
C.
Core Cause and SDG.
12. What
are some core causes of AWAM?
Ending gender-based violence
Promoting gender equality
Empowering women and communities
Provide support
Build feminists movements
13. Why
is empowering women and communities a core cause?
AWAM works to build the ability for women’s
empowerment and social change by educating, uniting and rallying communities.
They have done campaigns and programs that involved Orang Asli estate workers
and students to ensure inclusivity in their advocacy efforts. (About Us – AWAM – All Women’s Action Society,
n.d.)
14. Why
is building feminists movements a core cause?
This NGO seeks to educate, unite and inspire
communities by promoting feminist’s ideals and gender justice. This involves arranging
feminist conferences, youth engagement programs, public education campaigns and
collaborating with other NGOs. In order to help bring forward long-lasting
change, AWAM promotes collectivism, shared leadership and inclusive commitment.
(About Us – AWAM – All Women’s Action Society, n.d.) (Annual Report –
AWAM – All Women’s Action Society, n.d.)
15. What
are some AWAM’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)?
SDG 4 – Quality education
SDG 5 – Gender equality
SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities
SDG 16 – Peace, justice and strong
institutions
16. How
does SDG 4 align with AWAM’s views?
By conducting public education and training
programs that clarifies gender stereotypes and encourages critical thinking
through university engagements and hosting workshops on consent, sexual
harassment, and gender equality. AWAM has also spoken out on issues about Malaysia’s
education system that lacks the respect for students’ privacy and dignity as
well as the need for comprehensive sexuality education. (Public Calling for
Accountability in the Ministry of Education – AWAM – All Women’s Action Society,
n.d.)
D.
Mission and Vision.
17. What
is their main mission?
AWAMs mission is to establish a society in
which everyone, especially women are treated fairly. This involves promoting legislative
modifications to protect women’s rights and gender equality. The organization’s
additional goals include empowering women, promoting social change and assisting
women in crisis situations. (Wikipedia contributors, 2024)
18. What
is their main vision?
AWAM envisions a society that treats every
individual, particularly women with the utmost respect and live free from
violence and discrimination. This organization plans to build a movement based
on the ideals of feminism to accomplish important objectives like protecting
women's rights, promoting gender equality, enabling women to change society,
and helping those in need. (About Us – AWAM – All Women’s Action Society,
n.d.)
E.
SWOT Analysis.
19. What
are some strengths of AWAM?
AWAM has an established reputation that is
widely recognized for its feminist advocacy and their strong network with an
experienced team which consists of staff and volunteers with expertise in
gender rights and legal advocacy.
20. What
are some weaknesses of AWAM?
AWAM gets limited funding because they rely
on donations which is unstable and unreliable. They also get little to no
visibility due to rural areas and non-English speaking communities being hard
to reach.
21. What
are some opportunities that AWAM
AWAM can work with the government and the
public to grow support in favour of gender equality that creates space for
further legal reforms. This organization may also grab the opportunity to work
with marginalized groups such as Orang Asli and LGBTQ+ communities to broaden
their impact and image.
22. What
are some threats that AWAM faced?
They may get backlashed for advocating political sensitivities
such as gender issues. Other than that, cultural differences and resistance that
cause deep-rooted patriarchal norms might hinder development in some communities.
F.
Latest campaign.
23. What
is AWAM’s latest campaign?
Their latest campaign focuses on
gender-based violence experienced by women in media industries called #MediaToo:
Untold Stories of Gender-Based Violence in the Media.
24. When
did this campaign happen?
They had their latest campaign back on November
25, 2024, that is still ongoing in 2025.
25. What
was this campaign about?
It is to shed light on violence against
women in the media industry due to their gender that includes journalists and
media workers. They partnered with the International Federation of Journalists
(IFJ) and the European Commission (EC).
26. What
is their goal with this campaign?
AWAM’s goal is to raise awareness on harassment
and abuse in media spaces and to advocate for a safer and more inclusive workplace.
(Campaigns – AWAM – All Women’s Action Society, n.d.)
G.
Reflection.
It was quite hard to find information about
AWAM as they are not as big as I thought they were which saddens me because it
means other women may not easily find this organization to reach out for much
needed help. I find it inspiring on what they have done for our people especially
due to being an all-woman organization which may have gotten a lot of criticism
because of Malaysia’s patriarchal views.
H.
Reference
About us – AWAM – All Women’s
Action Society. (n.d.). https://www.awam.org.my/about-us/
All Women’s Action Society - End
Slavery Now. (n.d.). Freedom. https://www.endslaverynow.org/all-womens-action-society
Annual Report – AWAM – All
Women’s Action Society. (n.d.). https://www.awam.org.my/annual-report/
Campaigns – AWAM – All Women’s
Action Society. (n.d.). https://www.awam.org.my/campaigns/
Gender Equality under Article 8:
Human Rights, Islam and “Feminisims” by Salbiah Ahmad - The Malaysian Bar. (n.d.). https://www.malaysianbar.org.my/article/news/legal-and-general-news/legal-news/gender-equality-under-article-8-human-rights-islam-and-feminisims-by-salbiah-ahmad
Hossain. (2022, January 24). All
Women’s Action Society (AWAM) - Hati.my. Hati.my. https://www.hati.my/all-womens-action-society-awam/
Public calling for accountability
in the Ministry of Education – AWAM – All Women’s Action Society. (n.d.). https://www.awam.org.my/public-calling-for-accountability-in-the-ministry-of-education/
Wikipedia contributors. (2024,
July 10). All Women’s Action Society. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Women%27s_Action_Society
1
Comments
Post a Comment