The Orang Asli, a community 178,000 population,
has long been marginalized to the extent that their marriage rituals
given due recognition, Pahang Orang Asli representative Fatimah Bahsen
said.
"Malaysia has signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) twice, the rights of Orang Asli is however still being ignored," she told Malaysiakini in a Orang Asli's women empowerment workshop in Petaling Jaya.
The workshop, organized by woman rights group Empower, also played a 17-minutes video, tittled "We Orang Asli woman, hear our voice", highlighting the reality Orang Asli women facing.
She said that Orang Asli marriages according to their customs are not recognized for the sake of a marriage certificate, she said.
And because of it, they will face difficulties when it comes to pregnancy, giving birth, and even divorce, she said.
"Even if we go (to make police report), for sure they will ask 'where is the marriage certificate?', and we, the Orang Asli marry without a marriage certificate. This is the problem we are facing.
"Without a marriage certificate, we are unable to apply for birth certificates for our children and so on...this creates all sort of problems," she said.
Therefore, Fatimah urged the government to acknowledge the Orang Asli's adat which will give protection to Orang Asli women and children.
Single mothers' rights denied
Apart from adat not being acknowledged, the community's single mothers are also largely denied their rights.
Even though the government has implemented policies to help single mothers, the Orang Asli can hardly get the assistance, she said.
"When we apply, the officers give us forms to fill and we do. But after they take it and we won't know where it is kept. We ask the officers but they gave all kind of reasons," she said.
All these problems make the Orang Asli feel like they are not “asli” (native) to the land, but are treated like aliens in their own space.
"The government must acknowledge our community as Orang Asli. Until this being realized, we will be seen as the pendatang in our own land," she said.
"Malaysia has signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) twice, the rights of Orang Asli is however still being ignored," she told Malaysiakini in a Orang Asli's women empowerment workshop in Petaling Jaya.
The workshop, organized by woman rights group Empower, also played a 17-minutes video, tittled "We Orang Asli woman, hear our voice", highlighting the reality Orang Asli women facing.
She said that Orang Asli marriages according to their customs are not recognized for the sake of a marriage certificate, she said.
And because of it, they will face difficulties when it comes to pregnancy, giving birth, and even divorce, she said.
"Even if we go (to make police report), for sure they will ask 'where is the marriage certificate?', and we, the Orang Asli marry without a marriage certificate. This is the problem we are facing.
"Without a marriage certificate, we are unable to apply for birth certificates for our children and so on...this creates all sort of problems," she said.
Therefore, Fatimah urged the government to acknowledge the Orang Asli's adat which will give protection to Orang Asli women and children.
Single mothers' rights denied
Apart from adat not being acknowledged, the community's single mothers are also largely denied their rights.
Even though the government has implemented policies to help single mothers, the Orang Asli can hardly get the assistance, she said.
"When we apply, the officers give us forms to fill and we do. But after they take it and we won't know where it is kept. We ask the officers but they gave all kind of reasons," she said.
All these problems make the Orang Asli feel like they are not “asli” (native) to the land, but are treated like aliens in their own space.
"The government must acknowledge our community as Orang Asli. Until this being realized, we will be seen as the pendatang in our own land," she said.
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