10 May Michelle Yesudas: Quiet Girls Rarely Make History, Riot Girls Do

All over the world, a ‘good girl’ is always quiet, obedient, knows her place and carries out her ‘duties’. A ‘bad girl’ is disobedient. A bad girl creates a sense of discomfort. A bad girl rebels against the place given to her in the world. And a bad girl will not always agree with the roles given to her. What is a good Malaysian girl? Would you still be seen as a good girl if you dared to challenge the opinion of other more powerful men? Is it more dangerous for a Malaysian girl to be opinionated and outspoken? What are the consequences of being an outspoken girl in Malaysia? Join Michelle Yesudas, Syerleena Rashid and Steven Sim as they discuss the politics of the quiet/riot girl, to unpack old ideas, traditions and trends surrounding women and their social and political participation in society. They discuss the surge of visible young women in the social and political sphere and will draw from their own experiences in law, politics, punk rock music, culture and identity, and share their thoughts on how more young women can step forward and take part in becoming game changers.

SPEAKER Michelle Yesudas is currently with Amnesty International as the campaigns consultant for the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. She was previously a legal/campaign coordinator at Lawyers for Liberty, an NGO promoting human rights, civil liberties and law reform through strategic litigation, advocacy and campaigns. She is a proud hula hooper and part of a larger ‘flow arts’ community.

DISCUSSANT Syerleena Abdul Rashid is a councillor at the Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang (MBPP) representing the Democratic Action Party. She contributes political op-ed articles regularly to Malaysiakini and Free Malaysia Today.

DISCUSSANT Steven Sim is the MP for Bukit Mertajam representing the Democratic Action Party and, among other posts, is the director of Penang Women’s Development Corporation. He is the author of The Audacity to Think.

Nusantara Forum  Saturday 21 May 2016, 7.30pm to 10.00pm