Women in the Dewan Negara

There have been 136 women in the Dewan Negara since the establishment of the Parliament of Malaysia. As of 2018, there are 14 female senators, or 20.00% of the body.^[1]

Women have had the right to sit in Dewan Negara since 1959, however, it was not until Aishah Ghani to be appointed as the first female senator in 1962.^[2] Women have been appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and indirectly elected by all state legislatures to represent their states in the Dewan Negara. Since then, all states have had multiple female senators – in chronological order: Kedah (1975), Terengganu (1975), Pahang (1977), Sabah (1989), Kelantan (1991), Selangor (1991), Johor (1997), Negeri Sembilan (1999), Malacca (1999), Perlis (2005), Perak (2006), Sarawak (2010) and Penang (2015).