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Sarawak Ministry
of Welfare, Women
and Family
Development,
Minister Yang
Berhormat
Datuk Fatimah
Abdullah talks
about the roles of
her Ministry
Caring
society
The Chief Minister of Sarawak (third left) together
with his wife, Puan Sri Ragad and YB Datuk
Fatimah (fourth and fifth left respectively) taken
during the “Hari Warga Emas” presentation
The Sarawak government
decision on setting up the
Ministry of Welfare, Women
and Family Development shows
the concern of the government
for women and especially those
poor single mothers families in the
state. The Minister, Datuk Fatimah
Abdullah is a veteran in championing
the cause of women and family since
her foray into politics, having served
numerous roles in various ministries
since her maiden win in the state
election in 2001.
34 | BorneoTalkJan-Mar2012
“The creation of this new ministry,
Ministry of Welfare, Women and Family
Development, shows the commitment
of the government towards the welfare
of women and also those within their
care, the family unit. Studies and
profiles from all over the world shows
that women have significant roles in the
upbringing of children and the family
structure; they provide stable and safe
environment for the young children
and keep the family together. This is
indeed the very essence as to why
women need to be equipped with all
the necessary defense mechanisms and
provided with the necessary support
systems to better deal with problems
and challenges confronting them when
building homes and families, especially
so for those who are widowed or single
mothers,” said Datuk Fatimah on the
ministry she is heading.
“As rightly mentioned by the Chief
Minister recently, more women from
rural areas have migrated to the urban
centres over the years, either in search
of better opportunities for them
and their families, or following their
husbands. For those with little skills and
education, the opportunities for them
are limited so we have to identify jobs
and skills that will suit their lifestyles for
a better tomorrow. This will be one of
the functions of the ministry in lifting
the living standard of women in our
society, especially those single mothers
with school going children. The other
major role is on education whereby
we have to ensure that all children
enroll in early childhood education in
kindergartens and proceed to primary