Muslim Women's Summit

It was a hectic 3-day event at PWTC.I was asked to moderate a couple of sessions.Initially, IMAN members were just helping with the moderating sessions at the Muslim women NGOs' meet which ran concurrently with the peacebuilding conference (yah..a bit confusing there and you have to be smart to figure out just which room you need to be in).

But we all had fun, connecting and networking with women from all over.A beautiful meeting with lots of actions to do post Summit.The ladies from Uzbek bought me something from Tashkent (sweet) and I met new friends from Saudi, Tunisia, Kosovo, Australia, NZ and it was nice listening to presentations from the UK, Yemen, Mynmar, Kashmir, the Philippines, etc. We shed many tears.And laughed much as well.

Post Summit, Prof Aziz called me to sit in a short meeting with a DG from OIC.We discussed future plans and events. It's going to be a hectic period next year with my two international conferences and the gals plan another rombongan Cik Kiah somewhere.Doakan I sihat cos' I thought seriously of retiring early in recent days as one by one of friends and family members got sick, died etc.I feel that I need to do more "real" ibadah...working for the surau etc.

We had our research findings presentation at the prison semalam. Che Noraini belanja satay kajang after that.Alhamdulillah.


Some lasting concerns from the Summit:

1. A study on 3 countries bordering Turkey found that although educated, 80% of Muslim women do not know their rights in Islam.

2. A pakar sakit puan from Turkey working with Syrian refugees esp women  said they needed other forms of expertise to help (money is not an issue) - something I'd take up with colleagues in KOM, KOS and ICT.

3. Yemen is under seige and children are dying of malnutrition, infection, etc.And yet, aids are not allowed.We cried in this session as a video clip by BBC was shown.

4. Rohingnyas, Kashmiris, Afghans, it's really endless folks.Sign up with Mercy or whatever international relief agencies, folks.We are really in a rut but western media won't highlight this.

Belated pics of CREAM 2016

We kept CREAM closing ceremony short and simple due to budget constraints. Some pics of pics I have not posted (yg nmpk comel sikit :D)

Orang nampak kita senyum

Dr Wan and Dr Fauziah and I have started our research on the Rawas (Wan got the FRGS grant...I am her co-researcher) and as I was trying to get in touch with Dr. Talib Samat, found out that he had passed away in April this year.Al fatihah. I suka puisi dia. But I tried my luck calling his old number ..his wife took it. And we bonded immediately cos' I pun masih dalam kesedihan for losing Mek.I could relate to that cliche, "Orang nampak kita senyum...dalam hati siapalah tahu."

And in my first ENGL 4515 class (kids looked fine), as I told them about ayat Quran mentioning each place/civilisation had a lifespan ..mcm kita manusia juga...akan they would die jika terlalu banyak kemungkaran mcm manusia..panjang umur bila byk bersedekah, buat baik that orang doakan kita etc, I just had to go that route again..got really stuck as though there was a frog in my throat but saya berjaya kontrol macho. :) Pesan saya kpd anak2 gen y ini: if someone is sick, don't take him or her for granted cos' she/he might die. Sebak dadaku sebak.

And I got teary so early in the morning when Bibik told me that her 17 years old daughter was forced to marry bekas penjenayah and was kidnapped by her own dad (Bibik's ex hubby - as a form of domination over her absent ex wife). The family is intimidated by the ex husband and refused to lodge a police report.I just had to interfere.Called up my friend in Surabaya (closest city to my Bibik's kampong) to seek her help.She said kawasan itu memang terkenal suka kawinkan anak gadis di bawah umur (they would lie about their age through forged docos) and their women's groups could not do much despite awareness campaigns etc. I understood fully Prem's story on child marriage due to poverty and illiteracy which I used to teach in World Lit.He was going against this tradition.That was written in 1960s/1970s. This is 2016. I cried on the phone with my friend. She agreed to help where she could and agreed with me when I told her: if we do not help, who else because Allah gave us intelligence...what use is our intelligence ?

Hanya Allah yang akan tahu kesudahannya.

Penang

Aida invited me to run an English workshop at her school in Penang (Guar Perahu, Seberang Prai).I roped in Pyan who roped in Khairol and I further roped in Maryam and Nadia based in USM. 110 students woi..tak terhandle kami berdua.

I slept at Aida's while the guys were at a homestay paid by the school.Kita sampai mlm cos' I had to work late at the uni.Terus tidur after berborak2 dgn Aida like zaman Bursary at Levin.Aida said I tertidur while still telling a story.:D

Besoknya we had breakfast at the school.And then met the kids (Form 1-3). Cikgu Muniandi said the students had fun and another teacher said the students told her, "Cikgu, lain kali buatlah aktiviti mcm ni lagi dan bukan suruh kami dengar orang bercakap sahaja". What a critical mind. Don't think they are stupid.We had fun too...Nadia and Maryam were the judges, I took a backseat but worked one on one during the drama preparations.It's nice to see my former students taking over now.

Then we crossed over to lunch at Nasi Padang at Jln Travers.Mcm makan daun ketum...felt high. :D Sedap giler.Took the ferry on the way back.