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The Most Inspiring Women in Malaysia
The Most Inspiring Women in Malaysia
Women are, undoubtedly, the pillar of success behind every man and the strength behind every flourishing family. Asians have never forgotten the grand days of their matriarchal society that has shaped kingdoms and governments as we know them today. They have been with us as mothers, sisters, friends, aunts, teachers, nurses and from stall owners selling packets of nasi lemak to heads of large organizations implementing policies that can change the direction of an entire nation. In saluting these outstanding women of Malaysia, Top of 10 Malaysia is honored to present the Top 10 Most Inspiring Women of Malaysia. This is in recognition of their achievements that have come as a result of their tenacity, competence and courage.
Zainah Anwar
The 4th position is taken by Zainah Anwar, a prominent Malaysian non-governmental organization leader, activist and Muslim feminist. She was the head of Sisters in Islam - an organization that fights for Islamic women rights within the religion - for over two decades before stepping down. Moved by problems and difficulties faced by Muslim women in courts, Zainah and a few other fellow journalists and lawyers founded Sisters in Islam in 1987. Then in 1990, the movement that was formally registered and became known as SIS, focused on challenging laws and policies made to discriminate Islam women in the name of Islam. Eventually, SIS expanded to encompass larger issues of democracy, human rights and constitutionalism. Zainah was involved with Sisters in Islam for two decades as its leader. She was responsible for building the NGO from a small organization to a global voice and gave numerous talks on empowering Islam women throughout the world. SIS has been at the forefront of non-government movements influencing amendments to Islamic Family Law. It has espoused equality and justice for women, discussed dress and modesty, the right to guardianship, women as judges, fundamental liberties in Islam, and apostasy and freedom of religion.
Jamelah Jamaluddin
Ninth on the Top 10s list is Jamelah Jamaluddin, CEO of the Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Berhad, the largest Islamic bank in Malaysia with a capitalization of USD640 million. She holds the distinction for being the first woman to head a KFH bank as CEO, representing a special milestone and significant breakthrough within the KFH Group and the Islamic banking industry. An experienced Islamic banker, Jamelah was tasked with resolving the banks serious mortgage issues following a series of bad loans decisions by the past administration. Holding a Masters in Business Administration in Finance from Central Michigan University, her other notable achievements includes the introduction of Az-Zahra unit dubbed as the only Islamic retail banking branch dedicated to women and the introduction of Islamic debit and credit cards for RHB Islamic Bank.
Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
The Most Inspiring Women in Malaysia Zeti Akhtar Aziz (Tan Sri Dr) Nicol Ann David (Datuk) Siti Nurhaliza binti Tarudin (Dato) Zainah Anwar Michelle Yeoh Choo-Kheng (Dato) Marina Mahathir (Datin Paduka) Teresa Kok Suh Sim Mazlan Othman (Datuk Dr) Jamelah Jamaluddin Mother Mangalam Iyaswamy Iyer (Datin Paduka)