KUALA LUMPUR: The Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) said the 2022 Budget, while laudable, could have been more ambitious to address the issue of gender inequality which, it said, had worsened during the Covid-19 pandemic.
WAO executive director V. Sumitra said the Budget was an opportunity to address fundamental inequalities that held back development and wellbeing.
She said the 2022 Budget "touched in a piecemeal manner" areas relating to gender including violence against women, employment, health, and social protection.
"However, as a whole, the Budget did not demonstrate bold initiatives to capitalise on this opportunity.
"We question if the Budget does enough to fundamentally address gender inequalities that permeate all spheres of life," she said in a statement.
WAO, she said, acknowledged noteworthy announcements such as investments in the D11 division in police, addressing period poverty, mandating female representation on the board of public listed companies and expanding social protection to the informal sector.
She also commended cash aid under the Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia (BKM) initiative such as the one-off payment of up to RM2,500 for single parents with three and more children.
"We did not see an increase in investment in childcare, despite the lack of childcare being a major impediment for women's work – a challenge which Covid-19 has exacerbated.
"We also did not hear any indication of increasing investments for crucial services like One Stop Crisis Centres in public hospitals or an increase in Welfare Department officers.
"The commitment to increase women's protection shelters was announced although the investment figure was not mentioned, while mental health was also highlighted," she added.
Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz tabled the 2022 Budget, themed 'Keluarga Malaysia, Makmur Sejahtera' in Parliament today.
The Budget has a proposed allocation of RM332.1 billion to strengthen recovery, build resilience and drive growth.