I came all over from Mekka, and last time when I came from Sabah, my wife used to serve
here.
I'm so great.
At an International Women's Day function in 2006, the idea of a regular nationwide women's
meeting was raised.
Similar to events in other parts of the world, this was expected to allow women and men,
regardless of their backgrounds, to exchange ideas, solidarity, and strategize around issues
of feminism, women's rights, development, and democracy in Malaysia.
This was seen as very timely given the challenges faced by the local women's movement in terms
of organizing and addressing different forms of inequality and discrimination.
The Women's Development Collective, WDC, which proposed this event, approached other
members of the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality, JAG, and later the Gender Studies
Program of University Malaya to be co-organizers.
This was the first time women's groups and the academia would come together and work
in this manner.
The name Fiesta from this style was chosen for this historical event.
The theme of embracing diversity recognized that women may have many differences, yet
these need not divide us if we can build respect and relationships of trust.
Two of us together traveled, most of them are the first time traveled, you know, using
the flights and they are very anxious and very happy to have this opportunity because it
provides them to look at situations in the university at the same time, talking about
issues that is very important for them.
Coming here to talk about what is the struggle, what is the concern and aspiration of indigenous
women, especially in the rural areas, in this platform, in this Fiesta, it's very happy,
very good and encourage us to sort of continue probably to look forward to another event
like this.
It is a very good platform for us to voice out our problem, problem of women with disabilities
and at the same time, it is also a good place for us to build up our network with other
women groups and other disabilities groups and also we learn how to tackle our own problem
in the future.
We really look forward to the conferences since it tackles young women's participation
in the movement and since we just formed the organization, we want to see what it's like
here in Malaysia so maybe we could exchange ideas on how we can change our society for
gender quality.
Fiesta Feminista was guided by five principles in its planning, organizing and mobilizing.
Anti-patriacal, anti-fundamentalism, anti-ethnocentrism, racism, xenophobia, anti-neoliberal globalization.
It was also developed as an environmentally friendly event.
Work began in September 2006 with the formation of an organizing committee, secretariat and
five working groups that met regularly.
No less than 40 planning meetings were held.
Members comprised a mix of older and younger women volunteers with the letter forming the
majority.
Several information sessions were held to draw in new members.
A week-end workshop titled The Political ABCs of Fiesta Feminista was conducted to help
key volunteers better understand the reasons and processes behind this project.
Indeed Fiesta Feminista has been as much about the processes involved in its organizing
as it has been about the actual two and a half day event.
Fiesta Feminista is like the first thing that's going to happen in the very long, it's something
very new, it's something very new and then hopefully after the whole thing happens people
will see feminism as a bad thing.
The organizing of the Fiesta Feminista definitely I think very overwhelming but I think everybody
pitched in at all levels and I think that's the most fantastic part of it.
To take time out to talk to each other, not just the women's movement but start talking
to other groups and make a conscious effort and a decision to incorporate that in the
work we do, to clear up any misunderstandings, any prejudices, I think that's very important.
It's my first time at this type of gathering and I knew the movement as well so I think
it's very empowering, very encouraging, very moving and just absolutely amazing.
I'm very excited to know about women's issue as well as how women's group could actually
network on this sexual imaginance issue which we never ever touched so long, you know, in
history wise.
So it's really a good history for us whereby we actually managed to network with women's
group and the sexual imaginance issues.
Getting to know women that I met them again, that I have met for a long time maybe 10,
30 years and I'm so happy to see them that they're still going strong in the movement
and also making new contacts and learning new things that are developing in the women's
movement so for me this is a great meeting for women in Malaysia.
To achieve its objectives Fiesta Feminista included a range of activities, plenary sessions,
mini lectures, dialogue sessions, skill building workshops, exhibitions, cultural performances,
film screenings, information booths and more.
These were organized under four tracks, feminism, gender and development, human rights and democracy,
social movements, women organizing for change.
So many women here are really going to support me in this world, if anything happens to me
they are there to voice out for me.
I think this is a good opportunity for the transsexual community because their issues are
more or less the same as the issues of women's rights and I think other than the issue of
women's rights, they can also share their experience and knowledge to improve their lives.
I learned more, then get more knowledge about women or feminism in the Fiesta, then I met
many people from the region, know more about other countries' movement on women's movement
and also get more sharing of those speakers that come to the conference.
I feel that we have not seen anything like this happening in the university, normally
conferences are very dull and very dry but this has brought a fun dimension to a conference
especially when we have young people around, the spirit is really fantastic and the energy
is great, the energy level is extremely high at the opening ceremony and there were times
when some of the performances were touching on really very central issues that families
are concerned about but in an entertaining way and at the same time touching you and I
thought that was a very powerful way of reaching out to people.
I really enjoyed myself in this Fiesta, I met a lot of people from different backgrounds
and it really inspired me to get myself involved in more activities in future.
To have a meeting of women who have disabilities here, women who are from plantation sectors,
from the women's groups, I couldn't have imagined this when we first started thinking
about this or when the organizing committee started talking about it, I wouldn't have
imagined that it was possible but here it is and I'm thinking that we can only grow
from strength to strength, if there's anything, any communities that haven't been able to
meet other communities, I have so much faith that the next time we organize this that there
will be more of that.
So actually I'm looking forward to FF2.
How do you find about the Fiesta today, wow that was great, three days of enlightenment,
three days of treatment was tiring but it gave me a wealth of information with a number
of issues on gender issues specifically, men and women, the differences in similarities.
Oh yeah, same with me when I was thinking what is this word family style, I thought it
was just woman issues, I never thought that it would connect to this gender issues and
I find that if people are aware of these gender issues, it would be great for them to be involved
and to know more.
I agree and I'm so amazed about this, to learn how serious this issue is and that we need
to be treated equally.
One, two, three,
four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, ten, ten, ten, ten, ten, ten, ten, ten, ten,
ten, ten, ten, ten, ten, ten, ten.
You
