Malaysia - case study 2 馬來西亞 - 個案研究 2

Freedom Film Network’s project Amplifying the Voices of Young Indigenous Women is a collaboration with young indigenous women from various tribes in Malaysia together with partners, JKOASM (Jaringan Kampung Orang Asli Semananjung Malaysia – an indigenous community-based organisation), and EMPOWER (a women’s rights organisation).

The project aims to amplify the voices of indigenous women through storytelling and film-making where they articulate their lived realities and their demands for equality and rights for their community. Through a unique participatory and creative production process, the young women tell stories of their indigenous identity, their community’s struggles in the area of land rights and education and their vision for a better future.

This collaboration was initiated through a series of engagement programmes with film bootcamps, human right and gender workshops and story labs, over the course of four years, from 2018-2021. The collaboration resulted in three successful film productions, a published book, and a public performance.

The process has empowered the indigenous young women to confront the inequality that exists and to call for more discourse to give visibility to their community.  The indigenous women have been emboldened to continue to contest for change and justice with their own initiatives.

They have started a YouTube channel, ‘Apa Kata Wanita Orang Asli’ or ‘Voices of Indigenous Young Women’ and are producing and publishing their own short videos online. The content of the videos is curated by the young women themselves and touches on their own indigenous language and culture and counters stereotypes and discrimination commonly faced by Indigenous youth.

The young indigenous women are also speaking up about their rights to bring awareness on issues that matter to them, as panelists during dialogue sessions organised by civil society organizations. They were also interviewed by various media organizations, resulting in articles on mainstream media.

In addition to enriching the nationhood narrative, it has also inspires more young women from their community to speak out and to share their stories.