BIBI Ramjani Ilias Khan is the president of the Kelantan Football Association (Kafa). Yes, a woman is at the helm of the all-male soccer team.
The batik dealer and real-estate developer is, however, not the first to hold such a post in the local football scene. The country’s first female club president is Tunku Aminah Maimunah Iskandar, who heads the successful Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) club.
And there are other women who have broken the male-dominated mould in the Malaysian public and private sectors.
A quick Google search led me to many names. They include Tan Sri Dr Salma Ismail, who became Malaysia's first female doctor in 1949; Datuk Dr Mazlan Othman, the country's first astrophysicist; Datuk P.G. Lim, Malaysia’s first woman ambassador; Datuk Yvonne Chia, first Malaysian female commercial bank chief executive officer; Datuk Professor Zuraina Abdul Majid, first female archeologist; the late Tun Dr Fatimah Hashim, the first woman minister from 1969-1973; Tan Sri Siti Norma Yaakob, the first woman High Court judge, Court of Appeal judge, Federal Court judge and Chief Judge of Malaya; Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, the first female governor of Bank Negara; and Datuk Ooi Chean See, the first Malaysian woman orchestra conductor.
But these two caught my attention: Royal Malaysian Air Force combat pilot Major Patricia Yap Syau Yin, who is not only the first female fighter pilot to qualify on the MiG-29 in Malaysia, but also in Asia and female firefighter Peng Xue-er, who was in the first batch of female firefighters to join the Fire and Rescue Department in 1990.
While many dream of flying in a jet-fighter, it certainly is not an experience for the faint of heart. I have seen videos of strapped young men screaming and losing consciousness when the pilot takes the jet through 7.5Gs.
And I have gone through basic training at the Fire and Rescue Department when I was a member of St John Ambulance in school to know how tough it can be.
So, these two women, having survived the respective tough training regiments, have my highest respect.
History shows that it was during the first and second World Wars that women took on a variety of jobs as thousands of men were conscripted to the armed forces or summoned for other work.
“And if you think they were stuck in comfortable office jobs, think again — women pretty much held the country together across all sectors. They serviced the railways, worked on canals and buses, built infrastructure and tanks, maintained vehicles, and worked in metal and chemical industries...” Sandy Clarke wrote on Leaderomics.com.
The website, which creates, gathers and curates the best leadership content from all around the world, also said that World War 2 proved to be a catalyst for social change: when it ended in 1945, it was impossible to undo this new known: that women were just as capable as men — and often even more so — at getting the job done whatever it may be.
So, do women make better leaders then?
Research suggests that, at the very least, they perform equally well as leaders.
Given women’s superior emotional intelligence and nurturing competencies, both of which aid the building of relationships and navigating the nuances of leadership challenges, it’s surely safe to stick one’s neck out and say that they might just make better leaders after all.
“Of course, it’s important to note that leadership is a complex practice in itself and, regardless of gender, effective leadership boils down to whether or not any particular individual possesses the necessary skills, competencies, and character to lead others,” Clarke added.
But despite the incredible progress that has been made since World War 2, there’s still a lot of work to be done to fully address the gap in gender equality for women in leadership roles — to say nothing of the substantial pay gap.
“Perhaps what some are reluctant to say, but which nevertheless appears to be the reality of gender inequality, is that the hierarchical traditions where men rule are still the accepted norm, so much so that last year, we consider it a celebration of progress that America has seen its first female nominee for the presidency,” he said.
I believe Bibi Ramjani and many others, who made their mark as being the first in their respective fields, are worth their salt.
Forty-eight hours of becoming Kafa president, she paid the salaries owed to players and officials for the months of July and August, as well as to the Kelantan President’s Cup squad.
She said her priority is to increase Kafa’s revenue and will be looking at ways to generate income. Her own company, Desa Murni Batik, had sponsored the Kelantan and Terengganu teams back in 2013.
We shall have to wait to see if Bibi Ramjani can as she had pledged to bring the Red Warriors, as the Kelantan football team is known, back to its glory days.
The writer, a United Nations’ Journalism fellow and Wolfson College Cambridge press fellow, with 30 years of experience as a journalist, is associate editor, Lifestyle
