Women Today“Japanese Women and Leadership
Development”

President, Showa Women’s University

Mariko BANDO
Under the Constitution of Japan (1947), genderequality is legally guaranteed and women are supposed
to be able to fully demonstrate their abilities in political,
economic, cultural, social and all other fields. However,according to the Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI),Japan ranked 101st among 135 countries last year.
As indicated in several measures promoted by thegovernment, there is a trend in Japan to promote theemployment of women. However, the percentage offemale members in the House of Representatives is only
7.9%, and the percentage of female managers at
companies is only 10.6%.
Since the establishment of the Equal Employment
Opportunity Law for Men and Women in 1985, theChildcare Leave Law in 1991 and the several subsequent
revisions, equal employment opportunities are legally
guaranteed. This has lead to a gradual creation of anenvironment where women can balance between childrearing and careers. The decrease in the women’slaborforce during their child rearing period has been
declining as more women continue to work.

ingenuity, and making improvements. On the other
hand, they have been bad at integrating a wide varietyof human resources to achieve goals. To remaincompetitive, however, Japan has no option but to promote
diversity. To this end, women are required to demonstrate
their own perspectives and values and open new frontiers
for society and organizations.
■ Three steps to gain more female leaders.
First, women need a good education for necessary
knowledge and skills.
Second, women need to learn the rules and etiquette
for working at companies and other organizations insociety, and to improve their communication skills. They
also need to develop their career and life style designfrom a long-term perspective, and to find appropriate
mentors and role models.
Third, women need to pursue virtue. Without
sticking to their own interests, women leaders need toact for the interests of other people and society. They
have compassion and sympathy for the weak and thosein trouble, and are always ready to face difficulties andto make self-sacrifices. Such female leaders will be
respected in society.
Female leaders should possess ideals and visions
different from those of men and to establish a new formof management to realize them.
Required now are not leaders with a male perspectivein which the focus is placed on beating rivals for more
power and higher income, but female leaders, who strive
to ensure that people help, nurture and learn from eachother. The immediate goal is to raise the number andhence percentage of female leaders, although theultimate goal is to increase the number of excellent
leaders.

■ Why are there few female leaders in Japan?
This is attributed to the following:
1. Educational levels for women are still slightly lower
than those for men. Few female students major inscience, engineering, law, and economics.
2. The responsibilities for household chores, parenting,child education and elderly care are mostly borne by
women. Additionally, support services are insufficient.
Thus, it is difficult for women to establish long-term
careers.
3. There is a bias against the capacity and qualificationsof women as leaders. This deprives women ofopportunities and experiences to act as leaders.
4. Women themselves are not confident enough to assume
the risk of becoming leaders, and there are few
mentors or colleagues who encourage women to try.
5. Not recognizing the necessity of female leaders,society has not taken positive action so far.
As for 1, political measures have been taken toincrease the number of female students in scientificmajors. Additionally, universities are making efforts to
attract female prospective students.
As for 2, most support services are too expensive toutilize. This point needs to be considered.
In my opinion, the small number of female leaders inJapan is related to the country’s strong preference forhomogeneity. More measures regarding 3, 4 and 5 should
be taken. Japanese companies and organizations havebeen successful by utilizing homogeneity, teamwork,

No.68 June 2013

Profile of Mariko BANDO
Born in Toyama Prefecture. Graduated from the
University of Tokyo in 1969 and joined the Prime Minister’s
Office. After assuming the positions of counsellor at the
Cabinet Public Relations Office, director of the Consumer
Statistics Division of the Statistics Bureau, director
general of the Gender Equality Office, vice-governor of
Saitama Prefecture, and consul general of Japan in
Brisbane, became the director general of the Gender
Equality Bureau of the Cabinet Office in 2001. Has served
as professor at a graduate school of Showa Women’s
University and the director of the university’s Institute of
Women’s Culture since 2004. Also has held the position of
the president at Showa Women’s University since 2007.
Has published U.S. Career Women Situations, ViceGovernor Diary, The Dignity of a Woman, Rust-Free Wayof Living, What Working Means, and many other works.

1

A Greeting from new President
I am very pleased and honored to take up the post of
President of the Kitakyushu Forum on Asian Women(KFAW) on April 1, 2013. This is particularly so, because
for the past 18 years I have been engaged in promoting
human development in Asia, including gender equality
and a better future for children at different organizations
such as the U.N., universities and NGOs.
This year KFAW celebrates its 20th anniversary of
establishment as a foundation, now being authorized asa public interest incorporated foundation by the Cabinet
Office. In this commemorative year, we are renewing
our commitments to work for empowerment of womenand gender equality in Asia and Kitakyushu City. We

SpecialContribution

will do this by means of researchand exchange programs andthrough practical activities.
Recognizing
the
great
President
challenges that KFAW must face
Mitsuko HORIUCHI
in an ever changing world, weknow that we must do more, and we must do it better.
For these efforts we count on your support.
Let me add that as for myself, I am very muchlooking forward to working with and for the women in
the Forum. It is my sincere hope that we will be able tostrengthen our engagement with the region on genderissues in deeper and more significant ways.

“A Lesson from the Arab Spring”


Ms. Tawakkol KARMAN (2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate)

From the end of 2010 to 2011, large-scale pro-democracy movements began occurring across North Africa and the Middle
East. These movements became known as the “Arab Spring,” which is still progressing with difficulty. One of those playing a majorrole in such pro-democracy movements has been Ms. Tawakkol KARMAN. She demonstrated her leadership in the democratization
and women’s movements in Yemen.
As a writer, journalist and political activist, Ms. KARMAN has continued her non-violent actions to demand rights for women tosafely and fully participate in peace establishment activities. In global recognition of her non-violent actions, in 2011 she became thefirst Arab women to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Ms. Ellen Johnson SIRLEAF, President of Liberia, and Ms. Leymah
GBOWEE, also a peace activist.
KFAW interviewed Ms. KARMAN by email. She explained about the Arab Spring, and delivered a message for young people in Japan.

The Arab Spring does not refer tothe governments that follow the fallof the regimes, but rather the young
Arab people who started therevolution, and adopted and protected
it as their mission. Our Spring is forthe young people who are tired ofcorruption and tyrannical states, and the states dominatedby individuals or one family. It is our young people whohave dreamt of a state with equal citizenship, of a statethat guarantees freedom and dignity. It is the young who
have the courage and the power to sacrifice themselves inorder to overthrow those regimes and change them.
Therefore, the success of the Arab Spring revolutions
should not be judged by the success or failure of thegovernments that followed the fall of those regimes. They
should be judged according to the extent to which the Arabyouth will maintain their self-confidence and ability torepeat and retain their revolutionary action to ensure thatthey achieve the objectives of their revolution, and to resist
any deviation or default in achieving the aims for which
the revolution was started.
We can say that the first lesson of the Arab Spring
revolutions is that the governments and their officials are
believed to be guilty and have to prove themselves innocent
every day, and that they are the projects of tyrants, andthus it would be foolish to rely on their good intentions.

Their good intentions can only be trusted by relying oncontrol and popular accountability, which go in line withsustainable revolutionary action in the streets andsquares. Thus, the dynamic of the streets and squares in
the Arab Spring countries is the measure of the success ofthese Spring revolutions. It is neither led by letting those
governments clear the atmosphere, nor by the governments’ability to convince the youth, deceive, suppress, or silence
them. We extend a big greeting to our splendid youth inTunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, and Syria, and a big
greeting to all the streets and squares, as well as to all the
young people who remain to be convinced.
In short: No need to worry, nor to be surprised. This is
the Arab Spring. This is our extended Spring. Regimes
Held Accountable by the People and Governments Being
Run by the Squares.

ProfileTawakkol KARMAN

A female activist, politician, writer andjournalist in Yemen.
Continuing to insist the significance ofpeaceful demonstration in Yemen, she
is called in her country the Mother of the
Revolution and has been playing a lead role in the prodemocracy and women’s movements.
Born February 7, 1979, she is a mother of three children.
In recognition of her contribution to the nonviolent prodemocracy movement, in 2011 she became the first Arabwoman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

2

No.68 June 2013

Reports on Participationin the 57th U.N. Commission on the Status of Women (CSW57)

The United Nations (U.N.) Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of the U.N.’s six major organizations. Placed under the
ECOSOC, the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is a functional commission engaged in issues related to women’s rights.
Accredited with NGO Special Consultative Status to the ECOSOC, the Kitakyushu Forum on Asian Women (KFAW) participates inan annual CSW held at the U.N. Headquarters in New York, in order to exchange information with non-governmental organizations(NGOs) both from Japan and other countries and present our research results.

Fukuoka, which provides dating violence preventive
education at high schools, universities, and other schools in
Kitakyushu City. Its presentation drew strong attention
from the audience, leading to a high-level and active Q&A
session.
In the 90 minutes allocated to KFAW, four presentations
and a Q&A session were held. During the CSW period,
approximately 360 parallel events were held by NGOs atfour venues in New York.
Additionally, 128 CSW57 official side events were held.
Featuring timely and important themes, such as theelimination of child marriages, preservation of disabled
people’s rights, and achievement of justice and delivery offull-scale services for violence victims, these events included
active discussions.
The outcome of the CSW took the form of conclusions toprevent and eliminate violence against women and girls,
which were agreed to by the 45 member countries.
At the end of the CSW57 on March 15, U.N. Women
Executive Director Michelle BACHELET announced her
resignation during her CSW closing address. She said that
she would return to her native country, the Republic ofChile. She promised that she would continue to do her best
to achieve empowerment and gender equality for women.

Opening ceremony(greeting from U.N. Women Executive Director Michelle BACHELET)

The 57th U.N. Commission on the Status of Women(CSW57) was held for 12 days from March 4, 2013 to March
15 in New York. The CSW57’s priority theme was“Elimination and Prevention of All Forms of Violence against
Women and Girls.” This theme attracted much moreparticipants’ attention than usual, from 131 countries.
This year, on top of participating in CSW, KFAW, in
conjunction with Ripple Fukuoka, held a parallel event as
part of the NGO CSW Forum for Women that coincided withthe regular session of the U.N. CSW. Ripple Fukuoka is a
citizen group established by dating violence preventive
education facilitators trained by KFAW. The theme of theparallel event was “Kitakyushu Forum on Asian Womenand the Prevention on Dating / Domestic Violence.”
The event included KFAW’s presentations on our various
efforts to prevent dating / domestic violence, such as training
dating violence preventive education facilitators, providing
dating violence preventive education at schools in Kitakyushu
City, and holding a symposium “Get United - To Eliminate
Violence against Women and Girls” at “Kitakyushu
Conference on Asian Women.” The event also included Ripple
Fukuoka’s presentation on its dating violence preventive
education activities.
After the presentations, audience members asked manyquestions. Of particular note was the presentation by Ripple“Participating in the CSW57”


Akino KANSUI, Vice President, Ripple Fukuoka

This was my first participation in the CSW. I have learned a lot
from this experience. What inspired me most was how strong
women were, regardless of the countries they come from, whenasserting their opinions. For example, whether they were good or
bad at English, some women presented their opinions without amicrophone. Some women sold specialty products from theircountries at the venue hall which was turned into a huge flea market.
There were people from various countries looking at those women.
Actually, affected by the exciting atmosphere, I purchased a carved
wooden giraffe from one of them for 30 dollars. I was not sure if theproceeds would become her own pocket money or be used for herorganization. But this made me keenly aware of the brave strengthand flexibility of women avoiding formality. I was totally impressed.
I believe we lack this type of enthusiasm. We are not yet fully
determined to achieve at any cost a society where all men andwomen can live comfortably. Worried about doing something
unconventional, we are so occupied with dealing with immediateproblems that we tend to forget our original purpose. We need tomake even more earnest efforts and live our lives even more
seriously. Stirring up my excitement, the days at the CSW made me
realize the necessity to do so.

No.68 June 20133

World Report‘‘Multicultural Coexistence in Japan, Korea, and the U.S.”
The keynote report “Current
Situation and Challenges on
Multicultural
CoexistenceinIncheon Metropolitan City” wasgiven by President KIM Min-Bae of
the Incheon Development Institute(IDI). The number of non-Korean
permanent residents in Korea hasreached 1.39 million (as of 2011), or
2.5% of the country’s total
population. It is presumed to increase to 10% in the future.
This is induced by the rise in the numbers of foreign workers
and migrant women due to international marriages. With
the increase in the number of multicultural families (families
formed through international marriages), the Multicultural
Family Support Act was legislated in 2011. Korean society
has made a large shift from its ethnic homogeneity to a
multicultural philosophy in order to survive in this age ofbirth rate decline and globalization.
In Incheon Metropolitan City, many NPOs and NGOs
are working on multicultural coexistence, leading thegeneral public to greater awareness of the issue, such asproblems of migrant women after their international
marriages. Mr. KIM concluded his address by indicatingthat it is important to create a society where people withdifferent cultures can live in harmony, and to involve many
citizens for the better society.

volunteer activities, rather thanbased only on examination results;
and 3) demand for students toexpress their opinions appropriately.
It is thought that this helps build
the foundation to accept people whoare different from themselves, raiseawareness to contribute to society
and respect diversity in society.
Ethnic Population Composition in the U.S. (2010)
2.5％
5.3％
0.2％
4.1％
0.8％

400
300

1.56

200

1.54
197

100
0

75
2005

1.88
1.57
201

2.20

2.37

2.38

1.68

1.73

2.0
1.62

208

215

222

219

Registration number (Japan)

91

107

115

116

126

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

1.0

0

62.3％

White

■

African descent■

Native American■

Asian descent■South Pacific descent■

Others■Mixed breed■

Hispanic/Latin

Afterwards, Associate Professor
Yuriko SAITO of Meiji Gakuin
University presented a report titled“Multicultural Coexistence in Japan- Focus on Women and Children.”Japanese policies on multicultural
coexistence have been mainly about
the administrative aspects of foreign
residents in Japan. Multicultural
coexistence policies have beenpromoted under the leadership of municipalities where there
are many foreign permanent residents. Ms. SAITO indicatedthat in the age of global competition, it is necessary to
improve policies on the national level to address various
challenges, such as the birth rate decline and the aging
population, as well as the future labor shortage.
She also mentioned Kitakyushu City’s advantageous
characteristics, such as its geographical proximity to Asian
countries and its being home to international organizations,such as KFAW, JICA, and UN Women. She raised a questionof whether, despite the coexistence of many foreign people,
multicultural human resources are fully utilized in the city.
She concluded her report by proposing that multicultural
coexistence does not mean support (service) for foreign
people, but living together, and that it will be necessary forthe future international society to allow people to express
their opinions freely.
The subsequent panel discussion was coordinated by
Associate Professor SAITO. The discussion further explored
what had been presented by each panelist. A Q&A session
featured
activeexchange of opinions,enabling
alltheparticipants to share
future challenges.

2.55

1.71

10.8％

■

6RXUFH86&HQVXV%XUHDX  ³$PHULFDQ)DFW)LQGHU´

Trend of foreign permanent residents in Japan and Korea
500

14.0％

Registration number (Korea)
Proportion in total population(Japan)
Proportion in total population(Korea)6RXUFH0LQLVWU\RI-XVWLFH³6WDWLVWLFVRI$OLHQ5HJLVWUDWLRQ´ -DSDQ³$QQXDO5HSRUWRQ6WDWLVWLFVRI,PPLJUDWLRQ3ROLFLHV´ .RUHD

President KIM’s address was followed by a report by Ms.
Kay MAKISHI, Coordinator of International Relations at
the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program, on“Multicultural Coexistence and Women’s Participation inSociety in the U.S.” The U.S. society was once characterized
by the concept of the “melting pot” (minority groups abandon
their own cultures and languages and merge into themajority group). Now, the focus has been shifted from thatto the concept of the “salad bowl” (minority groups ensurecoexistence, while respecting their own cultures andlanguages). This has transcended the boundaries of just
racial and ethnic categories, forming diverse society for awide range of minority groups, including gays, the disabled,and sexual minority groups.
As one of the efforts toward multicultural coexistence,
she introduced the U.S. educational system. Differences incomparison with the Japanese system include 1) emphasis
on understanding different cultures; 2) assessment ofstudents from general aspects, including music, club, and4

No.68 June 2013

The 22nd KFAW Foreign Correspondents’ Reports
ProfileFemale Union Council (UP)
Members

I am a journalist turned to development organizer and an ex-professional
journalist of the 2nd largest national newspaper, “the Daily Inqilab.” (1983-1994)
I served as Deputy Director, Manush Manusher Jonnyo, NGO (1995-2006)
and as its Director, 2007 until now. I am interested in women development.
My lifelong endeavor is to empower women through education and skill
training to survive in life. I have made efforts for the safety and sustainability ofpoor women’s food, clothing, shelter, access right to health service, education
for life and dignity as human beings in the community. I believe that focusing
women in the media is the best tool to make a change.

Mr. Mizanur RAHMAN (Bangladesh)
Bangladesh is a country of villages (79,828), with the
majority of people living in rural areas. All people know
about the Union Council (Parishad/Panchayat in India)—
the grassroots level, rural-based local government agency
representing the community. There are 4486 Union Councils(UP) throughout Bangladesh. The Union Council is thelowest tier of the administrative unit in Bangladesh. Its
main functions include public welfare, maintenance of law
and order, revenue collection, development, relief andrehabilitation works, and distribution of foods and materials
provided by the government and NGOs. Its source of income
includes grants, taxes, fees, and other sources.
The UPs are governedby one elected chairperson,nine regular members andthree female members: both
men and women can run forthe position of chairperson
and the nine regularmembers, but three seats
are reserved for women inorder to ensure genderequality
andempower
women who may be found in
Ms. Khurshida, a social worker,
vulnerable positions. The
became a new UP member.
voters of the Union Council
directly elect all. UP female members often focus ondevelopment planning and implementation to eliminate
poverty. My area’s former member Nasrin emerged as adevelopment provider and newly-elected Ms. Morzina
determined to render better services.
Newly elected UP female members are concerned about
their duties and responsibilities. They can sometimes be
deprived of assigned works because of their politicalaffiliations and/or affinity with opposition parties, which
may be in direct opposition to the current ruling party.
A tough balance must be maintained between the leaders
and their constituents at the village level in order to getenough aid, relief, assistance and funding for development
projects. There are women members (both reserved positions
and directly elected) and female chairpersons in positions ofleadership in rural Bangladesh that manage village-centric
development projects, distribute of food cards for vulnerable
groups, women and landless people, administer and monitor
welfare programs, and launch advocacy and awarenessprograms for women. Almost all women UP members are
kitchen managers and have become grassroots-level
development actors and pioneers for empowering women andgender equality.
The government’s outlook for empowering women’s media
campaigns, training schemes for female UP members andlocal movements can strengthen the pivotal role of female
UP members as a key catalytic agent of socio-economicchange in the countryside. Kitchen managers have become adriving force to alleviate poverty among the rootlesscommunity. They need training from the government, CSOs
and NGOs to address the needs of the stakeholders andvoters. They distribute grants to widows, the destitute,
those with disabilities, maintain law and order, halt eve
teasing, prevent the trafficking of women and children, andact as local arbitrators in rape cases, violence towards
women, divorce, child marriage, and dowries. In most cases,
female UP members have good relationships with their malecounterparts, but a few are coldly rebuffed and may be on
the receiving end of cold and undesirable behavior. There
are different committees within the UP headed by members,
such as law and order, family planning, women and children
and lucrative project committees, but the latter committee
is often led by men because of gender inequality. There aremany standing committees at UP ordinance papers but inpractice they do not exist. As well, within the context of work
allocation, female UP members are often deprived of theiractual rights.
Female UP members may be pioneers in different fields
of development, and require intensive training to achieve
realistic measures to enhance rural welfare programs. It
may be feasible for the Local Government Ministry, Membersof Parliament (MP), Deputy Commissioners (DC), SubDistricts Officers (UNO) and Chairpersons to allocate moreassignments to empower female UP members as the people’s
voice and real players during times of distress, such as
cyclones, famines and other natural disasters, in daily life.

THE FORUM WINDOW

five years as a country’s leader. KFAW will also pay
close attention to how the inauguration of a femalepresident will affect the progress of gender equality
in Korea.
The report on the election of President PARK Geunh y e h a s b e e n c o n t r i b u t e d b y K FA W f o r e i g ncorrespondent, Ms. KIM Young Joo. Details areavailable at KFAW’s website.
URL http://www.kfaw.or.jp/correspondents/

In Korea, the presidential election was held lastDecember. The winner was Ms. PARK Geun-hye,
Korea’s first female presidential candidate. She waslater inaugurated as the country’s 18th President.
The world is paying keen attention to how President
PARK Geun-hye will manage Korea over the coming

No.68 June 2013

5

Profile“How Poverty Affects theEducation of Girls in Sri Lanka”

I am a BA Honors graduate and possess double Masters in International
Relations and Linguistics. I have been working as a language lecturer
since 2008. I am currently working at Kotalawala Defence University in Sri
Lanka as an English lecturer. Being a language lecturer at a defence
university, I have been associating with male and female adolescentsengaged in various defence activities.
My mother is a senior government servant and has been actively
contributing to gender equality in Sri Lanka. I also have been influenced bythis and have developed a passion to read and write on gender issues.

Ms. Thilini WIJETUNGE (Sri Lanka)
Sri Lanka has achieved remarkable progress in theregion, and even globally as more females enter into thehigher education stream. The country has achieved over
80% enrolment of women as law students and over 50% as
medical students, and there are many more women who
have access to free education in the public university system.
Despite these achievements, however, there are stories ofgirls who are deprived of their rights to education, mainly
due to poverty.
There are many stories which relate to the above problem
in the local context. The story of Sanoja, the eldest daughterof a family in a remote village in a central northern provincein Sri Lanka, depicts the hardships that young women haveto go through due to social pressure and economical strain.
Her mother, having had to leave the home to go to the Middle
East as a domestic worker due to economic hardships, hasleft the care of the little children in the hands of her eldest
daughter, Sanoja. Being just 12 years old, she was supposed
to do all household chores in the absence of the mother, in
addition to taking care of the younger siblings of the family.
Although she managed these duties at the beginning withthe help of her father, gradually she lost his support and had
to attend to all tasks by herself. Under these circumstances,
Sanoja had to stop her education and became a full-timeworker in her own house. Despite doing all this work, Sanoja
was subjected to harassment by her father due to various
unpleasant incidents such as the taste of the food and not
being able to prepare meals on time. Because of thissituation, Sanoja became miserable and held no hope for her
future. There are many girls with similar stories in Sri
Lanka, mainly in rural areas and in under-educated andpoverty-affected families.
Sri Lanka is a country where many women seek foreign
employment as domestic servants due to economic burdensof their families. There are many situations where evenyoung girls try to go outside of the country for employment
opportunities, in search of more financial sustenance tosupport their families. They face a lot of hardships due toinexperience and immaturity while working abroad in
unfamiliar and strange circumstances. The story of Rizana
NAFEEK who was beheaded in Saudi Arabia in January
this year after being convicted of murdering a child under
her care is one such example which proves the tragic
circumstances that these women face after migrating as
domestic workers without having experience in such trades.
Rizana was born in 1988, but was forced to alter her dateof birth to secure employment as a house maid. She had
been forced to alter her passport to indicate the year of birthas 1982. She had been sent abroad as a domestic servant toa family in Saudi Arabia. After starting working, she was
assigned to bottle-feed an infant of four months. Rizana,
having had no experience of taking care of such a tiny infant,had no understanding of the task she was handling nor any
clue as to what she was about to face. While she was feeding,the baby started choking, which ultimately and tragically
led to his death. After this incident, Rizana was handed overto the police along with accusations that she had strangled
the baby. She was very harshly treated at the police station
and was not able to explain what had happened due tolanguage problems, and without even a lawyer at her trials
or her family to support her, she had to face many inexplicably
difficult and strenuous hardships.
Ultimately, she was convicted of murdering the childand was subsequently beheaded. Although many accept that
this is a gross Human Rights violation, even the efforts of
Sri Lankan Government were of no avail, and have notelicited sympathy for her plight.
All these stories well represent the deprivation of womenand girl children due to poverty. Particularly, girls in poorfamilies are not only deprived of their rights to education
due to poverty but are also subject to gender-based violenceand sexual harassment in their efforts to fulfill their basic
needs. These girl children and their mothers are compelled
to seek employment in foreign countries as domestic workers
mainly to earn an income for family survival, and in manycases, with the intention of building a house. Once mothers
leave their families to make ends meet, they suffer fromboth ends. While being employed in foreign countries, manyare subjected to various forms of sexual harassment andtheir children suffer here at home without the care andprotection by their mothers. Girls, in particular, are denied
their right to education and are subject to gender-based
violence, including rape, incest and various forms of sexual
harassment.
In view of this situation despite the remarkableachievements in education, there is another side to the story:
poverty has caused a lot of women and girls to undergo
extremely difficult situations. Although the numbers are
decreasing, we still hear such stories daily. There may be a
lot of Sanojas or Rizanas in the current world. Some families
suffer without even receiving any information about theirfemale members who have gone abroad as housemaids. Theiremployers or job agencies do not provide any information
about these women. Sometimes, after a long lapse of silence,
the families are informed that these women have been
injured or dead. Hence, until the country reaches its targets
in poverty reduction, it is not fair to boast only about theachievements in education.

6

No.68 June 2013

▼

FY 2012 KFAW Asian Researchers Network Seminar

ISSN 0918-8266

 he 3rd Seminar “Recent State of Affairs in Singapore:
T
Falling Birthrates and Progressive Greying of the Population”
Date and time December 20, Thursday, 2012, 18:30 - 20:00
Lecturer	Ms. Keiko TAMURA, Professor, Graduate School of the University of Kitakyushu▼

Singapore, a small city state in Southeastern Asia, is well-known for having achieved an
economic prosperity even greater than that of Japan. At the same time, just like Japan, Singapore
is facing the serious social problems of a rapidly declining birthrate and an aging population.
As a country with almost no natural resources, Singapore has long believed that human resources are their only resources
and have strived to improve their labor force from both quantity and quality perspectives. Of particular note is the social
advancement of women in the country. The former Prime Minister, LEE Kuan Yew, believed that there would be no future insociety if half of the population was not educated or utilized just because they were women. He thought that women in Singapore
should receive a good education and their abilities should be fully utilized. Based upon this belief, Singapore has been actively
promoting efforts to encourage women to work outside the home, such as by promoting primary and secondary education, andaccepting foreign domestic workers. As a result, in 2011, a considerable increase was observed both in women’s labor participation
rate (60%) and the percentage of women managers within the government and in other public organizations (35.1%). However,
the total fertility rate decreased from 3.1 in 1970 to 1.15 in 2010, indicating the rapid decline in the birthrate.
To resolve this situation, the government is promoting a wide variety of measures, such as providing family support andincreasing the number of foreign domestic workers. However, many more people believe that these are merely makeshift measuresthat will not produce favorable long-term results. In this regard, it is expected that drastic measures will be taken in the future.
The 4th Seminar “Growth through Diversity: Issue of Gender,
Economy and Ethnicity in Malaysia”
Date and time January 17, Thursday, 2013, 18:30 - 20:00
Lecturer	Ms. Ayame SUZUKI, Lecturer, Fukuoka Women’s University

In the 1980s, Malaysia adopted the Look East Policy, in which the country strived to achieve
economic development by introducing the work ethics of Japan and Korea, technology andmanagement policies, and other elements. Subsequently, Malaysia realized rapid economic
growth, and is currently aiming to join the ranks of developed countries by 2020.
On the other hand, it is true that Malaysia has the history of struggle for the coexistence of ethnic groups. The Bumiputera
Policy (an economic policy giving preference to certain ethnic groups) implemented in order to eliminate economic disparity
among ethnic groups, guaranteed the Malay race and other Bumiputera special status. A wide range of affirmative actions weretaken in the fields of education, employment, house purchase, etc. This policy certainly reduced economic disparity among ethnic
groups, but triggered a brain drain of non-Bumiputera who were unhappy with the policy, reportedly affecting the country’s
economic development. Moreover, in politics, a harmony among ethnic groups was prioritized leading to some restrictions ofcitizens’ rights.
However, some citizen groups began to promote activities to expand individual freedom and governmental transparency
beyond the ethnic boundaries. Particularly, considerably affected the revision of the Criminal Evidence Act (Rape Act) and theestablishment of the Domestic Violence Act.
Malaysia is today shifting towards the growth through diversity. Under the slogan “One Malaysia,” the current NAJIB
administration has adopted a strategy aiming to gradually eliminate discrimination between ethnic groups and to accept thevalue of every such group. Moreover, the administration is striving to increase the employment of women to enhance laborproductivity. Malaysia has the potential to become a thriving country where people can contribute the economic development bydemonstrating their own strength.

Information
Celebrating KFAW’s 20th Anniversary of Its Establishment This Year andMaking a New Start as a Public Interest Incorporated Foundation on April 1!
Striving to resolve gender issues, KFAW will implement further programs that generate significant public benefits andcontribute to the enhancement of welfare for the general public. KFAW will continue to promote the improvement of the statusof women in Japan and other Asian countries, as well as working towards the realization of a gender-equal society.

Location of
Kitakyushu

KITAKYUSHU OTEMACHI BUILDING 3F
OTEMACHI 11-4, KOKURAKITA, KITAKYUSHU, 803-0814 JAPAN
PHONE＋81-93-583-3434 FAX＋81-93-583-5195
E-mail: kfaw@kfaw.or.jp URL: http://www.kfaw.or.jp/index.html.en

DalianBeijing

Seoul

Tokyo
Kitakyushu

KFAW
The Kitakyushu Forum on Asian Women (KFAW) was established in October of 1990 with a special
government fund for revitalization projects. Subsequently, in 1993, the KFAW was recognized as afoundation by the Ministry of Labour (the present Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The purposeof the KFAW is to promote the improvement of women's status through various projects as well as their
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mutual understanding and cooperation in Asia.

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