Real Talk: Speaking Up on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV)

Real Talk: Speaking Up on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV)

“Sexual and Gender-Based Violence is not a female issue, it is a humanitarian issue. It affects us all.” Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), often abbreviated to Gender-Based Violence (GBV), refers to harmful acts of sexual, physical, mental, and emotional abuse perpetrated based on gender. GBV, in a modern context, is the term attached to aggression against women and girls. In fact, a popular statistic details that 1 in 3 women have experienced GBV. However, the reality is that this number is far larger. In all corners of the globe, girls are born into neighbourhoods and societies that are unsafe, unjust, and discriminative. Be it catcalls, sexual advances, unequal salaries or other common injustices; these occurrences have become normalised in the lives of women and girls which have no right to be normal in the first place.

Gratitude and Perspectives

Gratitude and Perspectives

The popular misconception of happiness is that once we obtain tangible things or experiences such as achieving a certain grade, the opportunity to work in a prestigious company or a chance to travel the world- we would be happy. Phrases like ‘When I have this amount of money in my bank account, I will be happy’, or ‘when I lose this much weight , I will be happy’. Everyone has this ideal notion of attaining and acquiring certain physical things and opportunities that would result in happiness. However, in reality happiness is achieved from within. No amount of external tangible objects, experiences and people can make you truly happy. Nevertheless, aligning your perspective to be more receptive towards gratitude will do wonders in helping you to achieve inner happiness and the appreciation of the biggest miracle and mystery to ever occur- life. 

Finding Courage in Femininity

Finding Courage in Femininity

Picture this: a strong woman who has all the traits to take on the world with her own prowess and seemingly infinite courage. She is the epitome of what an empowered woman should be: she can shatter the demarcated bounds of achievements, she can nonchalantly seize the attention of a room so that her voice is heard, and she can fight, and she does so effortlessly.  Odds are that the first image you conjured up is the carbon copy of the ones we have all seen or read about in the media; the woman who rejects all that is deemed feminine and carries herself with the confidence of a man, whilst discarding all her “feminine-like” characteristics. But why do so many of us look up to and aspire to be women like these?

White Flag, Black Flag and Red Flag movement

White Flag, Black Flag and Red Flag movement

Backstory 

Malaysia was once one of the top 20 countries that best managed the Covid-19 pandemic. However, after the Sabah election in September 2020, mass gatherings had triggered a third wave of COVID-19 spike. Furthermore, the highly contagious Delta variant landed in Malaysia recently. According to Dr Noor Hisham, this variant is far more contagious whereby an infected person could spread the virus to 5 to 8 people as compared to the original SARS-CoV2 that only spread to 2 to 4 individuals.  As screening continues, more asymptomatic carriers are identified which reached 8000 confirmed cases for the first time and cases even exceeded 10,000 since 13th July. This uprise signalled that the war with the virus would not end soon.

Healing The Planet: The Fight Against Climate Change

Healing The Planet: The Fight Against Climate Change

Look 214,000 million kilometers away from Earth, and you will find our sister planet, Venus. Named after the eponymous Greek goddess of love, this planet shines as one of the brightest celestial bodies in our night sky. Mankind has always looked towards colonising potential planets such as Mars. Yet, Venus is rarely brought up as a possible candidate. Have you ever wondered why that’s the case? Well, the truth of the matter is that Venus is entirely uninhabitable. Ravaged by the long-lasting effects of climate change, our sister planet has completely metamorphosed from having similar atmospheric conditions to Earth to a fiery sphere of literal doom. 

Recovering from Mental Illnesses

Recovering from Mental Illnesses

This article contains a discussion about depression, anxiety and eating disorders. The opinions and views expressed by the author are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health or personal advice. Reading discretion is advised.