Eighth March: Be your bravest self, Queens!

Image via One Dollar Stock Photos

My phone buzzed a little and screen lighted up.

I caught a glimpse of a notification on the lock screen. However, the time grabbed my attention. It was 7.33am. I’m going to be late for 8 o’clock class! I cried inside. Immediately, I jumped into the car and dashed out into the street.

“Happy International Women’s Day to all the ladies here!”

It was a WhatsApp message from my course groupchat. I had almost forgotten about the existence of this message till I checked my phone after the class. Aw, how sweet! Apparently, it was sent by a male coursemate of mine. To acknowledge his simple yet kind action, he was the first who greeted everyone, specifically the girls and women in the group. 

Talking about International Women’s Day (IWD), it was first celebrated by the United Nations in the year of 1975. Since then, every March 8 was declared as IWD with an aim to support the movement for women’s rights. It is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. This day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. This year,  the IWD Campaign is given a theme of #BalanceforBetter, which visions a gender-balanced world. This campaign runs for all year long and strives hard to spread positive vibes regarding gender equality. 

Movements for women’s rights, women empowerment, gender equality have largely been conducted and wide spread nowadays. The awareness of challenging all forms of discrimination against women and girls has certainly increased among the nations of Malaysia as we can see how gender equality is included as one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Majority has come to realise that gender inequality actually deprives women’s basic rights and opportunities. Structural issues such as unfair social norms and attitudes have been given much more attention today due to the increased education level of the females. Through education, more women have realised their rights and mastered the courage to step up and voice out for the unfair treatment. As a result, progressive legal frameworks that promote equality between women and men are later developed.

In Malaysia, Women’s Aid Organization (WAO), which was established since 1982, is a non-governmental organisation that fights for women’s rights and specifically against violence against women. Since 1982, WAO has provided free shelter, counselling, and crisis support to women and children who face abuse. Today, WAO is the largest service provider for domestic violence survivors in Malaysia. WAO informs survivors about their rights and options, so they can make the best decisions for themselves. WAO also runs programmes to help women rebuild their lives after abuse.

Image One of the WAO’s outreach as well as its social impact towards the society. 

In UCSI University, The Ledang Series, which was founded not long ago in May 2018, is a sub-student initiative under English Language Student Association (ELSA). With the knowledge, skills and values acquired from the course English Language and Communication under the Faculty of Social Sciences and Liberal Arts, a women-powered community has come together to engage and educate others on social issues especially as they relate to women. Why Ledang? The Ledang’s spokesperson justifies that Ledang was inspired by the legend of Puteri Gunung Ledang. “We named the project Ledang in homage to Mount Ledang, famed for the mythical Princess said to dwell on its peak. A lesser known fact about Mt. Ledang is that the Princess was believed to have dwelt there with a bevy of female attendants, all of whom were trained in the magical arts and lived completely independently, guarded in their sanctuary by weretigers.” 

Image Ledang’s first sharing circle poster. 

Today, the team comprises of 12 ladies who are passionate about women empowerment and has been working on projects for women congruent with the fourth Sustainable Development Goal: Gender Equality. Their first event on Definining Empowerment: The Ledang Sharing Circle Series happened in last July and was pleased to have Nana, an experienced educator and poet with an avid interest in education through arts and poetry as well as facilitating safe spaces, as the speaker. As a participant, I truly think that this sharing circle is a good start to trigger awareness in both female and male community of UCSI University. The safe space created during the event allowed the girls to share stories, experiences and knowledge confidently without being exposed to discrimination, criticism, harassment, or any other emotional or physical harm. 

Event details:

Date: 7th July 2018, Saturday

Time: 10.00am to 12.00pm

Venue: Function Room, UCSI College. 

Image Ledang’s second sharing circle poster. 

After the first success, The Ledang Series is proudly presenting the women of not limited to UCSI University community with its second instalment in conjuction with International Women’s Day. This time around, The Ledang Series is tackling the issue of online harassment with Sumitra Sevaraj, the face behind Sarees and Stories. Ever had random creeps sliding into your DM’s, making weird and uncomfortable comments? Sumitra’ll walk us through her experiences and how to overcome the unwanted online attention. Due to the overwhelming responses, the registration is now closed. To those who have yet to sign up, do follow their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/theledangseries/ for their future sessions. 

Event details:

Date: 13th March 2019, Wednesday

Time: 12.30pm to 2.00pm

Venue: Conference Room, Level 5, Block B UCSI University. 

Before I end my blog here, I would like to share the following poem by Rupi Kaur, a famous poet on Instagram, popular for her feminist short poems. Be your queen, ladies!


Image via https://onedio.co/content/24-empowering-short-poems-from-feminist-poet-rupi-kaur-12146

Last note, I hope you wake up every day feeling strong, powerful and capable.