KUCHING: The Persatuan Karyawan Sastera Sarawak (Pekasa) is committed to empowering women writers in the state.
Its president Mohidin Malek said by doing so, it would balance the number of writers in terms of gender in the writing field.
“Today’s event, the 11th Sarawak Literary Meeting programme is to gather women writers especially in Sarawak to uplift the spirit and enthusiasm for writing among women.
“It is also a very relevant and appropriate forum in helping to address the issue of the lack of women’s involvement in the world of writing especially in this state,” he said at the opening of the 11th Sarawak Literary Meeting at the Balai Budaya Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka Sarawak Branch here on Saturday.
He said that the event was also organised due to the lack of productivity among women writers recently.
“In the past, Sarawak had no shortage of talented and productive women writers. The results of their work was also published in Peninsular Malaysia.
“Writers such as Datuk Salbiah Painah, Datin Hajijah Jais, Latifah Hj. Shebli, Bibi Sabariah, Jamilah Morshidi, Ratnawati Jamil, Niziah Naziri, Sriwati Labot, Rosani Kipli and many more have produced good works.
“However, now we cannot deny that women who write literature work in Sarawak seem to be decreasing,” he said.
In a related matter he said the perception in the community that literature writing does not have an impact on the development of the country needs to be changed.
“Literature writing is very broad in scope and each literature genre plays a big role in shaping the character, thoughts and common sense of the society.
“A country with high moral values is able to present a harmonious atmosphere thus fostering a sense of togetherness and foster a spirit of cooperation in any field and is also a key element towards driving the development of a country,” he added.
