Actress and politician Dira Abu Zahar urges Malaysian men to play their part to stop rape
PETALING JAYA, July 15 — Malaysian TV personality Dira Abu Zahar is calling on Malaysian men to sign up for her rape prevention campaign and promote a safer environment for all.
Dira, who heads the Puteri Umno division in Jasin, Melaka, told Malaysiakini that men play a critical role in stopping rape incidents and that their voices were vital to bring more awareness to the issue.
“What’s interesting is that we don’t just want the attention of women who are often labelled as victims, but we need men on board as well.
“They play an important role in making sure (rape cases) can be brought under control and eventually eradicated.
“Men need to sign up for campaigns like this to ensure harmony in our communities which are supposed to provide protection to our families and our daughters,” said Dira, 36.
The mother-of-two recently kickstarted a rape prevention campaign and is set to moderate a forum titled “Pemangsa Serakah versus Mangsa Menyerah (Greedy Predators versus Helpless Victims)” tonight at Plaza Flamingo, Ampang.
Dira hopes to shed light on rape crimes through the forum while touching on other social ills such as incest.
“I hope men can participate in this forum so we can educate society on a larger scale.
“We want to continue our efforts to raise awareness in society about the importance of controlling situations like this.”
Data sourced from the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) by the Women’s Aid Organisation states that 1,582 rape cases were reported in 2017, with 1,163 of the victims aged under 18 and 94 of them aged below 12.
A majority of the crimes took place in Selangor and Johor with 296 and 175 cases respectively.
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