Q&A

HON. YU-FOO YEE SHOON (SlNGAPORE):

Mr. Chairman, I'd like to congratulate Doctor Patricia for a very comprehensive information, and I think you were very hot for women and also planned out very hotly for women and also planned out a very good plan for action.. My question is this, just now you mentioned that it's a very frightening situation of these changes to work at 21 st century. So I want to ask that I'm quite positive that through education and through participation, women would gain the ground step by step. Maybe in certain countries, faster, in certain areas, Iower. But the question is as social scientist, I think we encouraged globalization, also high technology and also mobility of labor. My friends point out to me, Indonesians allow women go out to work but come back, Even when they are Muslim they also propose divorce to their husband. Or even my friends in Hong Kong also face different prob-lems.

So the question is that, will this improvement of women participation create another situation to work with different values for marriage and different values for family structure? So as a sociologist, what is your advice to a politician? How do we face these new challenges, and especially the role to work of future generation? We're talking about creation and future population. So, is it the state, the government who spends more money to have institution okayed or should the husband and wife find a new balance and new arrangement in life?

THE CHAIRPERSON (HON. DR. PRASOP RATANAKORN) :

How about a question from India and then answering at the same time, Pat.

HON. JANGBIR SlNGH (INDIA) :

Thank you Madam Patricia for that very nice feature on the problem of women. I will raise one or two points which I want you to mention. One thing is, I'm still not clear whether what is meant by when we talk of empowerment of women. What exactly does it imply? Because I think that even today, women are very powerful especially in the household sector. And you were talking of the quotation, in fact, I want to make slight amendment on the quotation. The quotation is, "Behind every man, was turning a woman." After that you said, correct. Talking him into that he was wrong, so every woman has been telling her husband that he is wrong. He doesn't know what to do. But with that thing the husband has been improving in doing his things. So the power is only there if you talk of the household power. Talking about the power outside the household, I would like to mention that, what exactly is required in that particular field.

Now take the case of that some of the men can do this. They become engineers, they become doctors, they become -- so many professions they work in. But the moment they get married they give up their profession for the sake of the children or household. Now what happened is that in the field of engineer or doctor. he will surely become an unemployed youth. He had lost that field forever. See, that means in unemployed men, the boy