LETTER | Despite numerous calls from women to be given more opportunities to be part of the political system in the country, once again women were given a raw deal.

The total number of women candidates announced for the GE15 so far remains below the 30 percent mark promised by political parties, with Umno allocating only 10 percent to women.

MCA's women representation was at 16 percent, while PKR was at 19.4 percent.

What makes it worse is that some of these women candidates were merely announced as "pawns" in the greater chess game.

I label them as "pawns" because some were just there to make the numbers and were given "sure lose" seats.

We need more women representation and these candidates should be given a fair chance to contest winnable seats also.

After all, women make up 50 percent of the total electorate and there is no reason why they should be treated differently.

So far, apart from Nurul Izzah Anwar and possibly, Young Syefura Othman, there are hardly any other prominent women leaders in the race to date.

A strong advocate for women's rights has been incumbent Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin who has been very vocal in fighting for 30 percent women representation.

We need more "women of steel" like Zuraida to help fight for the rights of women as this is still sorely lacking in Malaysian politics.

In fact, from what we know, the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry headed by her was the only ministry in the last cabinet to have 30 percent women representation.

It is our hope that more women like Zuraida and even Nurul Izzah, who is another strong advocate for the weaker sex, continue their fight for greater women representation, not only in politics but in all aspects nationwide.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.