HOLDING THE GOVERNMENT
ACCOUNTABLE

Malaysia and CEDAW
Malaysia ratified CEDAW in 1995 but has submitted its first and second report to the CEDAW Committee which met in New York in 2006.

Following the establishment of the Ministry of Women and Family Development (MWFD) in late 2000, the Ministry completed the government report on all aspects of women's rights. The Ministry gave the first draft to NGOs for feedback in early 2003.

The National Council of Women's Organisations (NCWO) is coordinating a coalition of NGOs, academics and activists to work on the NGO Shadow Report.

Areas being researched and written about:

• Constitutional provisions in law and policy on gender equality
• Policy measures undertaken to eliminate discrimination
• Equality of Women
• Temporary Special Measures
• Citizenship
• Marriage and Family
• Customary Practices and Stereotypes
• Trafficking and Prostitution
• Political and Public Life
• Participation at International Level
• Education
• Employment and Labour Rights
• Economic and Social Rights
• Health
• Rural Women
• Legal rights and Contractual Capacity
• Violence Against Women
• Indigenous women
• Migrant workers

What is a Shadow Report?
When there is access to the government report that is to be sent to the CEDAW Committee, NGOs can critique it. The Shadow Report is meant to give emphasis to the prevalence and magnitude of the critical issues that women in country face and of which the government has downplayed or failed to highlight. The CEDAW Committee would read all reports sent and use it for validation during the sessions with respective governments.

How is it different from an Alternative Report?

When you are unable to obtain a copy of the government report you can still contribute to the reporting process by presenting an Alternative Report.

Why a Shadow Report?

• It is an important document delineating a comprehensive assessment of the status of women in all aspects of life.
• NGOs who write these reports represent the voices of women in the community they are closely linked to.
• The Shadow Report also outlines the discrepancies and gaps in the government report.
• It would also serve to highlight issues that are deemed 'sensitive / controversial' and is not mentioned in the government report.
• The knowledge that there is going to be a Shadow Report would also add pressure on the government during the reporting process. This is an added compulsion for them to ensure that steps are taken to eliminate discrimination against women in the country.
• The Shadow Report also highlights the 'de facto' situation of discrimination in the country.

How to write a Shadow Report?
It could be an individual report on selected issues or a coordinated endeavour, like the NCWO initiative, encompassing different areas of concern related to women in the country.

Things to consider when writing a Shadow Report:

• NGOs to identify critical issues or areas of concern of women in the country. Link it to the relevant Articles of the Convention.
• Gather data on the prevalence and magnitude of the problem, contributing factors and the effects on the women in the country.
• Identify and analyse if the government has acknowledged these issues in the report to the CEDAW Committee.
• Do an assessment on the effectiveness of the actions (laws and polices, allocation of resources, public awareness, training of personnel, etc.) that the government has taken.
• Formulate recommendations for the government to carry out on the issues/problems that have been identified.

For further information on CEDAW check out these websites:
Women Watch
UNIFEM
Amnesty International

How can you participate in this process?

NCWO and Women's Aid Organisation would be organizing a National Consultation once the Shadow Report is completed to gather feedback and comments from other NGOs, academicians or concerned civil society. If you have any data or input that can be of relevance to the report you could always give it to the coalition working on the Shadow Report. If there are areas of concern that you feel are not covered by this Shadow Report, you could come out with your own report.

How to disseminate and utilise the Shadow Report?
The Shadow Report is tool for advocacy. It is a baseline document encompassing all issues related to women in the country. It is our document which clearly outlines gaps and problems that woman still face and what we expect the government to do to rectify them.

It is most effective as a lobbying tool during the CEDAW Sessions. There are several levels of lobbying using the Shadow Report:

1. CEDAW Pre-session - you can send the report to the CEDAW Committee's working group who first meet to review all Government reports. The information in the Shadow Report would be useful to the working group when they formulate questions to ask the reporting government.
   
   
2. CEDAW Session - The issues in the Shadow Report can be highlighted during the informal meeting held the first day of reporting between the NGOs and the CEDAW Committee. There would also be other opportunities to meet the committee members.
   
   The information provided by the NGOs is vital as it could be incorporated in the Concluding Comments or the General Recommendations that the CEDAW Committee adopts. The Concluding Comments are suggestions/ proposals / directives that the CEDAW Committee will give government in order that women do not face discrimination. NOTE: THE CEDAW COMMITTEE WILL READ ALL REPORTS SUBMITTED.
   
   
3. Follow - up process - NGOs can create public awareness on the
   concluding comments. They can also advocate and monitor the government's implementation of the Committee's recommendations.

A Publication by Women's Aid Organisation (WAO). Information obtained from the International Women's Rights Action Watch - Asia Pacific Website. Funded by the British Human Rights Project Fund. For a hardcopy, please contact us.