Relatable: Different narrative on followership and leadership needed - Dr Harlina

SHAH ALAM - While women's political positions are an important factor in development, it is also important to recognise the role of followership and leadership that can help with build better political structure in the society.

Akademi Dr Har Founder Prof Datuk Dr Harlina Haizah Siraj said different followership and leadership is needed in the society to understand how women can play their roles as leaders.

“We need to have a different narrative about followership and leadership, then women will look at being a follower doesn't mean you have to be passive and always being sidelined,” she said as a panelist on Sinar Daily’s Relatable programme with the topic “Self-Sabotage? When Women Don’t Vote Women”

She said that women need to put themselves on the same par with men that they are also as important as men in taking roles as leaders.

To change the paradigm, she said it needs to start from the younger generation to teach them about respect and all the things that come with it.

“You don't just say ‘Oh what do women know’, (because) we know a lot of things.

“We are 50 per cent of the population and the other 50 per cent comes from our uterus,” she said.

Commenting further, she said women should not be put on the sideline and a lot of time has been wasted not putting women where they should be.

“It is true that when you educate a man, you are educating an individual but when you educate a woman, you are educating a generation.

‘I think we should not wait any more, we have wasted too much time not putting women where they should be,” she added.