WOMEN WILL CONTINUE TO BE A PRIMARY FORCE IN DEVELOPMENT - ROSMAH

KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 (Bernama) -- Women will continue to be a primary force
in influencing development of future generations as well as an important
economic resource, the Prime Minister's wife Rosmah Mansor said.

She said the change in the social cultural environment, which have helped to
shape the profile of Malaysian women today, would continue to impact on women in
development.

"I believe you would agree with me that change is our collective
responsibility. The less responsibility we assume, the less power we possess.

"If we have little regard for our own need and feelings, there is greater
risk that our rights and that of the generations to come will continue to be
violated," she said in her keynote address at the "Women Of Independence"
conference here Tuesday.

However, the continuous change that women seek would not come easy partly
because the true struggle was not only against external factors but also within
their own doubts, fears and cynicism.

"Change will take time. There will be setbacks and false start and sometimes
we will make mistakes along the way. There are those who will continue to tell
us that we can't have what we want, and that we can't find what we're looking
for," she said.

She strongly believed that every woman should dispel this notion and be
convinced that change was indeed possible.

Rosmah urged women non-governmental organisation or individuals to work hard
and closely with one another to ensure that the future would bring them what
they so richly deserved.

"As I often said if we put our hands together and stand shoulder to shoulder
as one powerful force, nothing is impossible and no barrier is insurmountable,"
she said.

The two-day conference, held for the sixth time, serves as a platform to
empower women realise their vision by providing support and motivation.
-- BERNAMA