KUALA LUMPUR — Three hundred women leaders representing organizations from Malaysia, Korea, Indonesia, and the Philippines attended the inauguration of Global Peace Women Malaysia, a new initiative of the Global Peace Festival Foundation which will advance the role of women in leadership and emphasize the special capacity of women to promote peace and the welfare of families and communities.
“The Global Peace Women initiative will be dedicated towards developing and expanding the innate value of women so that women can better contribute in building happy families, a healthy society and peaceful world,” said Tan Sri Zaleha Ismail, the Chairman of Global Peace Festival Malaysia, in her welcoming remarks.
Hon. Puan Sri Datin Noorainee Abdul Rahman, wife of the Right Honorable Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, served as guest of honor of the event. In her remarks to the assembly, Hon. Rahman said that women have “a natural sense of nurturing, solving conflicts with compassion, tolerance, and tender-heartedness, which can offer a lot more toward the betterment of our society.”
GPW Malaysia in partnership with other women’s organizations in Malaysia will organize regular programs empowering women to contribute to peace in areas such as women’s rights, women’s leadership, strengthening of the family, and community service.
Malaysia is the first nation to launch a Global Peace Women initiative after the international launching in Seoul, Korea last year.
“This gives us a lot of hope and confidence to have this initiative launched in many other nations,” said Mrs. Shinsook Kwak Kim, Secretary-General of Global Peace Women, who represented the United States at the event.
The launch of GPW Malaysia was followed by a forum, “Women in Peace-Building and Raising Children of Character.”