Millennial Malaysia, a place where women actively participate in the country’s democratic processes and time when they even occupy high office in the public and the private sectors. This is a generation that cheers for the success of women like Captain Patricia Yapp Syau Yinn, Malaysia’s first woman fighter jet pilot, and Pandelela Rinong Pamg, our first woman Olympic medalist.
But like many societies elsewhere Malaysia’s women did not arrive to where they are today without years of perseverance and insistence of their foremothers. It is to them that we pay tribute by keeping their stories alive and contributions honoured using methods and tools we are accustomed to today.
Some of their stories and depictions are well documented but needing new perspectives while others are waiting to resurface to bring new understanding and give women a firmer footing in the present. Now more than ever women’s history in Malaysia needs reemergence and fair review.
Sejarah Wanita (lit: Women’s History) therefore aims to unearth, document and highlight women’s contribution to the history of Malaysia. This site will provide a platform for our collective memories where stories of Malaysian women are recovered and celebrated. It is our hope Sejarah Wanita will allow for the current generation to understand and appreciate the distinctive contributions of women in Malaysia’s history and be inspired by them.