I don't think I'll be able to look at Doraemon the same way anymore, thanks to the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development. Rookie mistake or not, it's unknown what crossed their minds to illustrate such posters, telling women how they should behave at home from the way they speak to even the way they dress. Here, I managed to save the posters before they got removed after receiving criticism and backlash:
I think these posters were made because families are stuck at home for the MCO. Yes, some people think the MCO is good for families as they can spend more time together, but sometimes, it gets tough. There are others who see being at home as a trap. It was reported that the “Talian Kasih” helpline for children and victims of domestic violence (DV) witnessed a 57 percent increase of calls after the MCO was implemented. (Edit: KPWKM has denied this, saying the increase was due to inquiries into Covid-19, welfare aid and counseling. Hmm.)
It’s not just Malaysia that’s going through the same issue. Every other country is experiencing a surge in DV since imposing lockdowns and what-nots. According to Chinese media, DV cases in Hubei province tripled in Feburary, compared to last year. France saw a 36% increase in the number of reported DV cases. Then, In Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morisson announced a 75% rise in Google searches for hep since the start of the lockdown. These numbers are staggering.
I get KPWKM's intentions, but obviously, someone didn't think this through. After all, this ministry with the word 'women' in its name was supposed to protect, support and empower them. However, the message in their posters did the opposite. There was nothing comforting for women. It seemed to imply that keeping order in the family is only the women's responsibility. If any family conflict were to happen, then it's the women's fault for (according to the posters) not using a Doraemon-like voice, for not being gentle, for not being dressed well, for not wearing makeup, and etcetera.
The more I analysed the posters, the more I couldn't resist to roll my eyes. It was all downright stupid. Women already never had it easy to begin with, having fought for big things like rights to file for divorce, to have a place in the Parliament, to vote, to have equal pay (something we're still working on, actually) and to do many other things. Posters like these are discouraging.
Within the same week, my aunt and I decided to watch Kim Ji-Young, Born 1982. Released in 2019, the South Korean film is said to be controversial as it challenges Asian norms on a female's role.
A scene of Kim Ji-Young from the film.
When I first watched it, I thought: “Oh, this is trying to show the ugly side of motherhood.” 1 hour into it later, I realised it was not. The film depicts the gender discrimination and social pressure the titular character faces in every stage of her life by strangers, co-workers and even her own family members. When she was born, her mother apologised to her mother-in-law for having girl. As a teenager, she was nearly sexually harassed, yet scolded by her father for "wearing skirts too short" and "schooling faraway". As a married woman, she was forced to quit her job after giving birth to raise the baby. Any idea of returning to work were shunned by her mother-in-law. These are just three out of the many terrible situations Ji-Young dealt with. You could imagine how frustrated I was by the end of the film.
(I’m not going to talk too much about the film, otherwise this write-up will turn into a review instead. Do watch it. It’s worth it.)
MY THOUGHTS
After watching the movie and what happened with the posters, I come to realise that a lot of the sexism first begins at home – by confining a woman’s abilities to household works, belittling their capabilities on the world outside, putting the patriarch above their identity, guilt-tripping or blaming them for societal issues. There are instances of such when I was growing up – the exception given to my younger brother from doing household chores, the grudge my aunts held at my grandparents for spending more of the family's savings on my father’s education aboard rather than on them, the dismissal for my younger brother’s laziness and impoliteness as “boys will be boys” and other similar occurances. Sure, these are the teeny tiny actions, but it builds up over the course of time, allowing males to feel superior because prior actions had manifested their status. Later, they bring out those same feelings of “head-in-the-clouds” into the real world.
You know, the only difference between male and female is biological, so why all the unnecessary vast inequality between one another?
What Kim Ji-Young, Born 1982 and the KPKWM’s posters had made me also realise is that the perception of women and their roles has not changed too much. We're still not where we need to be just yet. Of course, there's no denying that the situation for women is a whole lot better now. However, we cannot expect an immediate elimination of gender discrimnation or sexism just because we've gotten more vocal in fighting for women's rights or managed to achieve big stuffs. Like what Michelle Obama said about racism at an Obama Foundation event in Kuala Lumpur last year:
"People thought electing Barack Obama would end racism. That’s 400 years of stuff that was going to be eliminated because of eight years of this kid from Hawaii? Are you kidding me?”
Put in into the context of sexism, you'll see what I mean. Indeed, it will take time, but we must have effective measures that perhaps should start from home.
Now, don't get me wrong. We're towards the end of this write-up, which brings about feminism, but I should remind you that feminism isn't about bashing men. There's always that misconstrued idea that feminism is anti-men, and I cannot blame people for thinking so when we have women flaunting feminism barbarically. It is not about tearing the patriarchy apart to create a female hierarchy (matriarchy). It is actually about looking for an equal ground between both sides here.
I don't know how long it will take to close the gap, but I hope someday, in the near future, it will.
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