BINTULU: Educational opportunity provided by the government and personal commitment has enabled  women to lead in many areas previously dominated by men.

Welfare, Women and Family Development Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah said according to records from the Ministry of Higher Education in 2010, the ratio of men to  women who successfully graduated from higher learning institution is 29:71 for mastery of literature and 46:54 for technical subjects and science.

She said this was evidence that along with the men, women can participate in all levels: social, economic, education, cultural, management, politics, medicine, and science and technology.

“Most notable is the participation of women in the educational and health service sectors. And not to be missed is the participation of women in fields once dominated by men: politics, sports, media and entrepreneurship,” she said.

Fatimah was speaking at the presentation of cash and food packs organised by Women and Family Development Council Bintulu Division at Li Hua Hotel yesterday.

According to her, the achievement of Sarawak’s women after 50 years of independence is noticeable, made possible by education that increased their socio-economic status.

Among the initiatives is the provision of education in Sarawak with a total of 1,263 and 185 primary and secondary schools respectively.

The number of pupils for primary schools is 290,015 while secondary schools around 219,940 students.

(Source : Borneo Post Online , 29 April 2013)