THE ASEAN Conference on Gender Equity in Sports kicked off today at the Cititel Hotel, attracting over 200 participants from across the region.

The conference which will run until June 26 was officially launched by Minister of Youth and Sports Hannah Yeoh.

In her opening speech, Yeoh highlighted that gender equity in sports is not about medals but about access, visibility, recognition, and dignity.

“Achieving gender equity in sports means equal participation where girls and women must have the same opportunity to engage, compete, and flourish, from community programmes to Olympic arenas,” she said.

Yeoh cited herself as an example of equity, explaining that as the Minister, she chairs the High-Level Committee (HLC) for the biennial Malaysia Games (SUKMA), which includes all State Government Excos and State Sports Council Directors, and she is the only woman at the table.

The committee approves all technical decisions, including the final list of events for each SUKMA.

“For SUKMA 2024, during the HLC meeting on July 18, 2024, we were finalising the list of events for the games in August. Each event must have at least six states participating to be included.

“However, the Women’s Sepak Takraw Team Regu event only had five states, so it did not meet the requirement. Often, some states do not allocate enough budget for their women’s teams.

“Although only five states participated, these teams had trained and prepared for two years. Being at the decision-making table, I highlighted this issue and underscored the need for greater support for women’s sports.

“As a result, the HLC unanimously approved allowing the event to proceed with five states for that year,” Yeoh said.

Yeoh, who is also the Segambut MP, added that it is important to address the challenges faced by persons with disabilities to ensure equity in sports for everyone.

“Gender equity also means removing barriers, and we often hear about issues like sexual harassment in sports.

“Since 2023, we have received 59 complaints or cases, 40 cases under the National Sports Council and 19 cases under the Safe Sports Committee.

“A total of 1,187 organisations (government, sports bodies, and non-governmental organisations) have signed their commitment to the Safe Sports Code.

“I also want to thank the National Sports Council of Malaysia and the Paralympic Sports Council of Malaysia for encouraging their associations to adopt this code, making it safe not only for athletes but also for coaches,” she said.

Apart from that, Yeoh said that across southeast Asia, many national sports bodies struggle to meet the 30% women’s representation target in leadership.

“Data shows that women represent less than 20% of accredited coaches in ASEAN. Coaching remains male-dominated, often excluding women due to unconscious bias and lack of role models.

“In Malaysia, only 602 active licenses out of 3,027 licensed woman coaches.Percentage of women under National Sports Institute of Malaysia (ISN) National Coaching Licensing Scheme are only around 20%.

“If the shortage of quality women coaches is a concern, we should create a national registry for women coaches and provide them with support at all levels to help them continuously improve.

“The National Coaching Academy under the ISN, chaired by Datuk Marina Chin, is actively working to increase these numbers,” she said.

Yeoh also said that, Malaysia is also guided by its National Sports Vision 2030 (VSN 2030), a long-term framework aimed at building a sporting ecosystem that is competitive, inclusive, safe, and progressive.

“There are nine agencies under the Ministry, with four boards chaired by women, making up 44%. In March this year, I appointed the first woman chair of the Malaysia Stadium Corporation Datin Anita Azrina Abdul Aziz,” added Yeoh.

Meanwhile, state Youth, Sports, and Health Committee chairman Daniel Gooi said that certain sports are facing challenges in terms of women participation.

“All the states need to address this. As for Penang, my office will collaborate with State Social Development, Welfare, and Non-Islamic Religious Affairs Committee chairman Lim Siew Khim and Penang Women’s Development Corporation to boost women participation in sports,” Gooi said.

Some of the pictures taken at the ceremony:-

Story by Tanushalini Moroter

Pix by Muhamad Amir Irsyad Omar