FAQs
Q: What is Fiesta Feminista?
A: Fiesta Feminista is a two-and-a-half-day gathering of women and men interested in feminism and activism. It is about making connections, exchanging ideas, and educating ourselves about issues surrounding feminism, women's rights, development, and democracy. The theme for this inaugural event is " Embracing Diversity ".
Q: Why have Fiesta Feminista?
A: Feminism is often misunderstood and maligned. This event seeks to bring people together to re-examine what feminism means and to reclaim the word. It intends to involve Malaysian women and men of different classes, ages, ethnicities, religions, sexualities, locations and organisations , to recognise and celebrate diversity. This is a space where thinking out loud is respected; where people who care about the challenges that women face, can engage, equip, and inspire each other.
Q: What will we be talking about at Fiesta Feminista?
A: The activities at Fiesta Feminista are organised around four main tracks:
- Feminism, gender and development : What is feminism? How is this relevant to gender and development? How do we popularise feminism?
- Human rights and democracy : What are human rights? What kinds of rights should we be concerned about? How are human rights and democracy relevant to women?
- Social movements : How are women involved in other movements - workers, indigenous, migrants, environment, sexuality, etc.? What are their issues and how do these connect to the work that women's NGOs do?
- Women organising : How are women organising for change and transformation? What strategies can we learn from? Which should we avoid? What are the ways forward?
Q: What kinds of activities will take place?
A: This two-and-a-half-day gathering will offer an incredibly diverse selection of activities-skill-building workshops, mini-lectures, interactive presentations, exhibitions, a marketplace, cultural performances, short films, and more. For a schedule of the activities at Fiesta Feminista, click here!
Q: Who are the organisers of Fiesta Feminista?
A: This event is organised by the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) and t he Gender Studies Programme of the University of Malaya . JAG is a coalition of progressive women's groups in Malaysia comprising: All Women's Action Society (AWAM) , Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) -Women's Section, Sisters in Islam (SIS) , Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) , Women's Centre for Change, Penang (WCC) , and Women's Development Collective (WDC) . The Gender Studies Programme of the University of Malaya is multidisciplinary in approach and offers a range of courses in feminism, gender and development. The Fiesta Feminista Secretariat is WDC.
Q: Where and when will this event be held?
A: Fiesta Feminista is happening at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Malaya , from 15-17 June 2007 (Friday to Sunday). The tentative timing is as follows:
6pm -10pm Friday 15 June
9am-10pm Saturday 16 June
9am-7pm Sunday 17 June
For directions to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Malaya click here.
Q: How can I be a part of this exciting event?
A: You can get involved either as a participant or volunteer. You can also support Fiesta Feminista financially.
*Please note that we will be accepting walk-in registrations at Fiesta Feminista. Kindly do not fax or email in any more registration forms to the Secretariat.
If you intend to do a walk-in registration, do refer to the participant's information note before you arrive.
As a participant:
Fill in a participant registration form and send it to <info@fiestafeminista-malaysia.org>. The cost of participation is based on which category you fall under:
- Fully waged (professional): RM70
- Partly waged (non-professional, part-time, casual, NGOs): RM45
- Unwaged (unemployed, students): RM20
The above registration fee applies if you register before 28 May 2007 , so hurry! If you register after this date, the fee is a flat rate of RM100.
As a volunteer :
Fill in a volunteer registration form and send this to <info@fiestafeminista-malaysia.org>. Non-student volunteers are requested to contribute a sum of RM20 towards food and beverage for the entire event. Student volunteers participate for free. Each volunteer will be expected to perform various tasks for up to around four hours a day. Upon completion of these tasks, s/he can participate freely in any of Fiesta Feminista's activities .
As a donor:
We need all the support we can get! To contribute in cash or kind, write to Shazana at <info@fiestafeminista-malaysia.org> or call 603-7784 4977/6979 .
Q: How is Fiesta Feminista different from other women's events?
A: Fiesta Feminista is guided by certain principles in its planning, organising and mobilising. It is important that those who are involved or participate understand, and as far as possible, keep to our five guiding principles:
Anti-patriarchal
Patriarchy is a system of social structures and practices in which men hold most of the power. Fiesta Feminista advocates the ideology of feminism, which seeks to redress systems of inequalities, not only on the basis of gender, but also class, ethnicity, race, religion, sexuality and any other structures out of which discriminatory and exploitative relations can arise.
Anti-fundamentalist
Fundamentalism is understood as a mindset where one's own values are placed as the absolute truth while all other positions are devalued. Given the context of Malaysia , Fiesta Feminista focuses on fundamentalism that involves the politicisation of ethnicity and religion by those in power to assert control in society. This results in societal polarisation, intolerance and violence arising out of identity politics. Fiesta Feminista is a platform to celebrate the diversity of views and opinions.
Anti-neoliberal globalisation
Neo-liberal globalisation is based on market-led ideas of trade liberalisation, deregulation and privatisation of public services. Priority is given especially to corporations making profits, often at the expense of poor and marginalised communities, in particular women. Fiesta Feminista seeks a fair and just socio-economic system in which profits are to be equitably shared in society. It supports the globalisation of solidarity, not globalisation merely for profits.
Anti-ethnocentricism/racism/xenophobia
Ethnocentricism means evaluating other groups according to the values and standards of one's own ethnic group, especially with the view that one's ethnicity is superior to that of other groups. Racism has its historical roots in the belief that the white race is superior to all others. It is a system that privileges one group (white people) over another (black or coloured). Xenophobia is a fear and contempt of foreigners or that which is not familiar. Fiesta Feminista does not support prejudice or discrimination of any kind, against any individual, group or community, whether this is on the basis of ethnicity, nationality or race. In a multiethnic and multireligious society like Malaysia , diversity should not merely be tolerated but embraced, respected and celebrated.
Environmentally-friendly
We realise that as a part of humanity, we carry the responsibility of preserving our environment and eco-system in a sustainable manner. In the organising and holding of Fiesta Feminista, the organisers strive to reduce consumption and to conserve resources (promote recycling) as far as possible.
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