One step forward, 10 steps back for women

ACTRESS Sharifah Amani (pic), who has spent nearly two decades in show business, has spoken out about the “seasonal” attention given to women in the arts, Mingguan Malaysia reported.

Acknowledging that roles for women had changed over the years, she however said, “When we take a step forward, it appears we also take 10 steps back.”

This despite Erma Fatimah having directed Jimi Asmara at the age of 25 and Shuhaimi Baba, who directed Ringgit Kasorrga in 1995, she said.

Sharifah Amani, who is fondly known as Nani, appeared in the acclaimed Sepet at the age of 17.

Now 37, she said that she had put in much effort to voice out issues concerning women and the arts.

“Hopefully, in the future, we can see women given equally important roles, not just as supporting characters to the male lead,” she said.

> A dowry of RM50,000 with the cash arranged in the shape of a seven-tiered cake has caused a stir on social media, Metro Ahad reported.

The gift was presented at the engagement ceremony between Nur Izz Abdullah, 25, and Ruziana Mohammad, 26, which was held in Sandakan on Feb 24.

Naraynawate Otoh, the brother of the groom-to-be, said he spent one day to construct the “cake” with the help of three friends.

“The design was based on a request from the fiancée’s side,” said Naraynawate, 24.

He said his brother, who works in China, wanted to give a RM50,000 dowry even though Ruziana’s family had asked for RM20,000 only.

“My brother’s fiancée had supported him a lot financially when he was still studying for an offshore licence,” he said.

Ruziana owns a bundle business. The couple plans to get married at the end of the year.

A video of the RM50,000 “engagement cake” has notched 1.5 million views.

● The above article is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ‘ >’sign, it denotes a separate news item.