Today is International Women's Day, a day where the world unites to celebrate the achievements of women while pushing for greater equality, highlighting gaps in policy that continue to isolate women and keep them from enjoying equality at home, in the workplace and in society. StarLifestyle is highlighting the stories of young women who are stepping up and taking action for causes they believe in to make Malaysia a better and safe place for everyone
One of the greatest challenges that human rights activist Firdaus Husni has in carrying out her work is convincing Malaysians of the need for them to protect, preserve and defend the Federal Constitution.
After all, it is the Constitution that affirms our citizenship, gives us our rights and the power to vote for our government.
“We are Malaysian. That is enshrined in the constitution along with provisions about our fundamental liberties or basic rights that allow us to live our lives with dignity. I mean, we don’t want to wake up one day and find that we have lost our rights, right?
“I really want Malaysians to see that human rights isn’t something that is ‘liberal’ or ‘foreign’ or ‘secular’. Unfortunately, political propaganda can sometimes feed the belief that the concept of human rights is incompatible with Islam or religion. Sadly, many people buy into this kind of propaganda, ” she says.
Also a challenge, she admits, is encountering people who believe that Islam has no place in a secular society like Malaysia.
“The Federal Constitution is the highest authority of the land and within the constitution is the recognition of Islam (as the religion of the country).
So it is possible for Islam to exist within the structure, ” asserts Firdaus, 35, who left the legal practice to focus on human rights activism in 2019.
As the Chief Strategist Officer at the Malaysian Centre for Constitutionalism and Human Rights (MCCHR), FIrdaus and her “small team of five staff” run programmes with lawyers, youth and the public on the constitution and human rights.
In the past five years alone, the MCCHR has reached more than 8000 youths through its public dialogues with youth through its UndiMsia! programme which provides a safe platform for youths to discuss current issues to increase their awareness and understanding of important issues affecting them as Malaysians.
“We also try to get youth connected to their MPs. Youth are concerned about a lot of issues but often aren’t sure who to address it to and we show them how they can communicate with their MPs, ” says Firdaus.
MCCHR’s Laporan Rakyat project (carried out from 2011 to 2012) which aimed to challenge youths in Hulu Langat and the Klang Valley to assess their MPs and State Assemblyperson, highlighted how little they knew about their elected representatives, indicating a lack of concern by the voter population on who they vote into power.
This reinforced the relevance of UndiMsia!’s projects and led to the development of an user-friendly and interactive online portal called MyMP.
The organisation also develops strategic litigation training for lawyers which introduces them to the fundamental liberties provisions within Federal Constution and also human rights advocacy.
“Also, after the 2018 elections, we had quite a lot of engagement from the government and were consulted for policy reform, particularly in areas like statelessness, citizenship and nationality provisions. Unfortunately, since the change of government last year, that has taken a back seat, ” she notes.
All kinds of stereotypes
Firdaus admits that she is stereotyped “all the time” in the course of her work.
“Firstly I am a woman. Add to that, a Malay, Muslim woman and one who wears a headscarf! There are all sorts of stereotypes associated with all these intersectional identities that make me me and it does affect how people interact with me or whether they’d consider me for engagements.
“For a while, it did bother me and I didn’t like it that people approached me to be a part of a programme just because I appear to represent a certain segment of society, rather than picking me for my merit.
“But over time, I’ve learnt to accept that first impressions do matter but also that I can use that to further a good cause, ” she says.
She shares an instance when she was invited to talk about Hudud law and the constitutionality of it to an audience in Terengganu.
“The essence of my talk was to urge the audience not to get caught up with labels but, rather, to consider whether or not such a law will achieve justice, regardless of whether it is Islamic law or civil law. We have to look at the substance and not the form or the rituals.
“I was definitely more nervous than I would have been if the session had been anywhere else but after the talk, a gentleman came up to me and asked me if I would consider delivering the talk in other states.
I was really happy to think hat maybe I’d played a small role in shifting perspectives in that one person and that’s how I want to continue to push for a mindset change, ” says Firdaus who is from Kuala Selangor and is the eldest of six siblings.
Although she admits it can be scary to go against the norm – “sometimes I fear that someone will come barging through my door” – Firdaus is determined to do all she can to make a positive change for society.
“Standing for what is right is how we can find our sense of purpose. Living isn’t about how we survive individually but how we can all exist together.
“If we appreciate that everyone is entitled to human rights in equal measure, wouldn’t it be a much better world to live in?” she concludes.
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