GIRL GUIDES NEED TO EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY IN EMPOWERING WOMEN

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 26 (Bernama) -- The Girl Guides Association Malaysia should take advantage of technology and the New Media, such as social utility network, to help empower girls and young women to achieve gender equality in the country.

The prime minister's wife, Rosmah Mansor, said social utility network enabled all activities and campaigns of empowering women organised by association, for easy accessibility to the target audience.

"It is important for the association to complement the government's efforts and dedication to the advancement of the girls and women's quality of life in the country by becoming the agent of change.

"Thus, I would like to urge the Girl Guides to constantly challenge your boundaries and undertake programmes to help young girls and women, especially in the rural areas," said Rosmah, who is also association president, in her speech at the officiating ceremony of World Thinking Day 2011 here Saturday.

Her speech was read by association deputy president Raja Nur Mahani Raja Shahar Shah.

Rosmah attended the function but had to leave the event early to join Prime Minister Najib Razak who is visiting Federal Territory of Labuan.

The grandson of the founder of the Girl Guides and Girl Scouts movement, Michael Baden-Powell, was also present.

Every year, on Feb 22, Girl Guides and Girl Scouts all over the world celebrate World Thinking Day. For this year, the theme is 'Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 3: Gender Equality and Empowering Women'.

On becoming the agent of change, Rosmah believed the association had the capacity to develop programmes that would help to create awareness to girls and young women on the importance of education, skills development and confidence.

She said, empowering those factors would help girls and young women to optimise potential and stretch limits to achieve economic empowerment and social advancement.

Rosmah said Malaysian women had the opportunity to play a critical role in social, economic and political developments which had helped to bring about prosperity, growth and progress for the country.

Furthermore, Malaysian women had become an important component of the nation's human capital and made an impact on the business and corporate sectors, as well as politics and civil society, she said, adding that the women were given their rightful place in society, due to the government's various positive measures.