Glass Breaks, Girls Don’t.

by Calista Chew and Nasya Catherine

On October 12, 2019, Women's Aid Organisation celebrated the International Day of the Girl Child (IDOTGC) as an extension to their “dream big” campaign. The event was held in collaboration with IACT college students and sponsored by The Body Shop. YB Hannah Yeoh attended as the main guest speaker. Dream Big was held to create awareness and to celebrate young girls with big dreams. Its aim was to empower young girls to speak up about their dreams and to show them that achieving it is possible. Determined. Inspiring. Ambitious. Passionate. Words that can be appropriately associated with girls, young girls to be exact as the truth is girls are all of that and more.

Young girls have all these ambitions, determination and spark within them. They believe they can do certain things and be whatever they want to be. However, a lot of times it is society that unconsciously tells them otherwise and celebrates their weaknesses instead. As they grow up, they gradually lose that spark in them without even realising it, and they automatically get put in living standards where they are living in a “man’s world”. Thus, having the mentality that men are more powerful than women. They fight for justice, their voices being ignored leads them to believe that men are more of a dominant figure. Having said that, a new era is approaching soon and as of now, things are changing for the better. There are more women coming together to fight for justice and rights. Women are telling people that they can be who and what they want to be, breaking down that stigma. Women are finally being heard and that is so important for young girls as there is nothing more powerful and beautiful than empowered young girls who believe that they can be more, achieve more and that all their dreams are valid and important. 

During WAO’s event for the celebration of The International Day of The Girl Child (IDOTGC), YB Hannah Yeoh made an ever-inspiring speech. The Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development spoke about the challenges and limitations women face in Malaysia. She called it a “glass ceiling”. YB Hannah Yeoh said that no matter who you are, whether a boss, CEO or survivor, there will always be a glass ceiling over your heads.  “Smash those glass ceilings and don’t let anyone tap your throne” she emphasized. With 20 ambitious young girls sitting in the crowd, YB Hannah Yeoh expressed that “ The very thing you are destined to do usually comes with a passion to do it”. Reminding those girls to break their limitations and go after their passion.

Women and young girls all around the globe are currently fighting for more representation in our community. Women want equal representation, equal opportunities and equal treatment. They want people to look at women and young girls and think “They can do it too”. Events like WAO’s celebration of IDOTGC raise awareness towards girl’s abilities and determination. During Malaysia’s most recent governmental election, the current government promised “at least 30 percent of policymakers are women.” this proves that the new government are implementing this because they know it is what the people want. The nation’s voices are being heard and there is a change coming, Malaysians have to continue this effort to bring us closer to equality.