Doing her part: Choong on a mission to raise awareness of domestic and sexual violence through a children's book and a mentor's guide.
VIOLENCE towards girls and women occurs in various forms.
While resources about violence prevention are available for teenage girls, Allison Choong Ming Sze observed a lack of such materials for younger girls.
The 19-year-old Penang native, who is pursuing her pre-law studies in the United States, shared this with her “She’s the First” girls’ rights advocacy teammates.
Together, the team of five, aged 15 to 21 from Malaysia, Kenya, the Philippines, and the US, then set about creating an awareness campaign aimed at young girls.
At the core of their campaign was a children’s book, and an accompanying mentor’s guide, which they produced to help young girls learn how to respond to domestic and sexual violence.
Entitled Safiya Speaks Up, the book, released for free download from Sept 25, urges girls to use their voice and speak up about what makes them uncomfortable.
The mentor’s guide provides additional information, context and resources so that adult mentors can help girls understand the story and how they can use or help peers use the tools that Safiya did.
Choong’s involvement in co-writing and fully illustrating the book recently earned her a nomination as one of the five finalists for the 2023 Women of the Future Awards Southeast Asia in the category of Arts & Culture.
The Women of the Future Awards provides a platform to showcase regional emerging leaders. The winner will be announced on Nov 29 in an awards ceremony which will be held in Singapore.
“It is so surreal that I am nominated among such wonderful women who are changemakers in their respective communities. I am grateful for this opportunity to be recognised and nominated,” Choong, who is also a participant of The Star’s BRATs Young Journalist Programme, told StarEdu.
Growing up in a single-mum household, the freshman at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, said she has always found power through the women around her.
“This led me to find the courage to bring change within my community to better the lives of other young girls in Malaysia and beyond.
“Girls’ rights are human rights and with that comes the need for girls to receive equal opportunities for education and live a violent-free life. The world will never be sound until we fully achieve this,” she said.
Her interests saw her joining the 2022/2023 Girl Activist Fellowship at She’s the First, which is a US-based non-profit organisation that provides girls with the foundation they need to advocate for their rights in their families, communities and societies.
As part of the fellowship, the participants were required to create an awareness campaign in teams.
That was how Choong, along with four other fellows – Sania Hammad, Anya Legarda, Grace Owino and Annika Renganathan – came to be involved in the “Safety from Violence” campaign for young girls.
According to Choong, the team started working on the project since September last year.
“The illustrations took six months to complete while writing the book took three months.
“Co-writing this came naturally as we already had the idea of the plot written up.
“Since it was a children’s book, it was very easy to condense the plot and bring it to life. We did this virtually with our team on calls while getting feedback from professionals and mentors,” she said.
“I started the illustrations in April this year and finished them in early September. I studied my favourite childhood books to see how authors illustrated their books. Prior to this, I had never done visual art and even failed art in Year Two!” she added.
Choong also shared that the team named the main character Safiya as they were aware of the western-centric nature of the few books that teach children about sexual health, and also wanted her to be a black girl in hopes of increasing representation and awareness.
Currently, the former student and scholarship holder of The International School of Penang is involved in the Malay and French translations of Safiya Speaks Up. The Swahili, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese translations are also in progress.
“We are working on printing the book and sending the copies to several schools and community centres that She’s the First directly works with.
“By next year, we plan to distribute copies of the book to primary schools around Malaysia. I also plan to reach out to libraries that will be willing to have it on their shelves,” she said.
Having experienced two months at Drexel University, where she was awarded a full scholarship, Choong said she is “loving it here so far”.
“I believe the pathway of law will help me in my endeavours in championing girls’ and women’s rights as a career,” she said.
Expressing her hope that more girls become brave leaders, Choong urged young girls in Malaysia to be active participants within their communities.
“Raise your hand, use your voice and demand a seat at the table. If there is no seat, bring your own. Celebrate yourself, speak up for yourself and know that you have the ability to have your voice heard,” she said.
To educators and parents, Choong had this to say: “Use Safiya Speaks Up as a resource for your girls. It is equally important to be there for them and answer any of their questions or concerns.”
The children’s book, along with the mentor’s guide, is free to download at https://shesthefirst.org/safiya-speaks-up.
Malaysian educators and organisations interested in making the resource available to children can contact Choong at info@shesthefirst.org.
Nieha, 20, a student in Melaka, is a participant of the BRATs Young Journalist Programme run by The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) team. To join Star-NiE’s online youth community, go to facebook.com/niebrats.
Now that you have read the article, test your understanding by carrying out the following
English language activities.
1. How do you think students like yourself can help Choong expand the reach of her cause? Discuss
this with your friends.
2. What cause would you advocate for, and why?
Share it with your friends and have a discussion on the most effective ways to promote awareness of your chosen cause.
The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) programme promotes the use of English language in primary and secondary schools nationwide.For Star-NiE enquiries, email starnie@thestar.com.my.
