ASIEH NAMDAR, CNN ANCHOR: Three years ago, a group of prominent women from various nations got together to address how to improve the lives of women in Asia. The organization recently held its second conference in Kuala Lumpur, and as Malaysia's RTM reports, members are vowing to continue their crusade to make a difference.</s>UNIDENTIFIED RTM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Women and children bear the brunt of war not only during the heat of conflict, but also in its aftermath. A resent three-day meeting of Regional Steering Committee on the Advancement of Rural and Island Women in Asia Pacific, RSC-AP, held in Kuala Lumpur, was told it was time for women to insist their voices be heard by those who draw up war policies. All this while, conflict issues have always been approached as political agenda with needs of women and children marginalized. Over half the nations in the world still allocate a higher budget for the military than for social and other needs.</s>VANESSA GRIFFIN, MALAYSIA COORDINATOR, ASIAN & PACIFIC DEVELOPMENT: More people, including women, have to examine the costs of war and make their positions very strongly known to male decision makers and those who put countries in these situations much too often, often for interests that don't reflect the whole population.</s>UNIDENTIFIED RTM CORRESPONDENT: Recognizing that women suffered most from war was one of the six resolutions passed by the
Prominent Women Gather in Kuala Lumpur to Address How to Improve Lives of Asian-Pacific Women