Ain Husniza (centre) with her friends Iqsa Aqilah (left) and Karyn Ngiam holding the ‘Express to Empower: Bodies, Boundaries, and Identity’ book at the Gen Z Cartoon Festival in Kuala Lumpur. — Bernama
NINE undergraduates have published a book aimed at teaching children about personal safety and how to protect themselves against inappropriate touching.
The 20-page module in English titled Express to Empower: Bodies, Boundaries, is by the group’s organisation called Pocket of Pink (POP). Project leader Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam, 20, said they aimed to provide children with a basic understanding of personal safety, their rights and dangers of sexual abuse.
The University of Nottingham International Politics student said the team decided on cartoon drawings with cheerful colours for easy-to-understand illustrations.
“Many children don’t know what sexual harassment is or what constitutes sexual misconduct.
“This is a frightening reality.
“They are unaware of the dangers around them and don’t know how to speak up if they find themselves in uncomfortable situations,” she told Bernama at the Gen Z Cartoon Festival at Rumah Tangsi, Perdana Botanical Garden in Kuala Lumpur.
“Children need to understand their own body so that they can recognise if something inappropriate happens,” said Ain Husniza.
She stressed that such education was essential to foster knowledge in children about self-autonomy and protection against exploitation.
She added that one of the main concepts in the module was the “Good Crowd”, which educates children on building healthy relationships and ensuring comprehensive education.
Commenting on the use of cartoons in the module, Ain Husniza said the approach was deemed suitable for their target age group because cartoons were a powerful medium for conveying difficult messages.
She explained that the module used simple language and included activities such as crossword puzzles to make learning both engaging and enjoyable.
She also said that using proper terminology was essential, rather than euphemisms like “flower” or “ultraman” when discussing male and female reproductive organs.
The English-language module, developed in September, was introduced to the public for the first time at the cartoon festival.
According to Ain Husniza, the book has garnered a lot of attention, especially from parents who visited their booth.
She said the team was working on a Bahasa Malaysia edition.
She further said that POP planned to introduce more books in the same series, focusing on aspects such as safe touch, safety at school and bullying.
“We plan to hold a tour so that more children and parents can access the book.
“Threats like paedophilia and child exploitation are becoming increasingly real.
“Sex education should be seen as the first line of defence for our children.
“The younger they learn, the better prepared they are to protect themselves,” she emphasised.
She hopes that the relevant ministries will support POP’s efforts.
“For now, this book is sold at RM25 per copy, but we hope that with support from various parties, this module can eventually be distributed for free,” said Ain Husniza.
