Tuesday 13 February 2018
Irene Fernandez


Irene Fernandez, a champion of the oppressed in Malaysia whose indefatigable advocacy for better treatment of foreign migrant workers prompted her government to denounce her as a traitor and human rights groups to shower her with awards.

Ms. Fernandez abandoned a career as a teacher in her early 20s to fight for social causes. She helped organize the first textile workers union in Malaysia and campaigned for women’s rights, improved consumer education and safer pesticides.

Her signature crusade was for the rights of the poorest and most marginalized people in her relatively rich country: the migrant workers who do the dirty, ill-paying jobs most native Malaysians shun. Foreigners account for more than 16 percent of the work force in a population of 29 million people, and more than half the foreigners are in the country illegally.

A prominent advocate for the rights of migrants and women in Malaysia for decades, Fernandez helped found the Kuala Lumpur based rights organization Tenaganita (Women’s Force) in 1991. Tenaganita provides legal services and conducts advocacy on behalf of migrant victims of abuse, trafficking victims, refugees, and asylum seekers. In recognition of her tireless work and leadership, Human Rights Watch in 1996 honored Fernandez with its human rights monitor award.

Fernandez was harassed repeatedly by the Malaysian government for her activism. In 1995 Tenaganita released a report documenting beatings and sexual violence against detainees by prison guards, and inadequate food and water in Malaysia’s immigration detention camps. Fernandez was arrested in March 1996 and charged with malicious publication of false news under the draconian Printing Presses and Publications Act of 1984.

After seven years of trial, she was found guilty in 2003 and sentenced to a year in prison. She was released on bail pending her appeal, but the government used her conviction to bar her from running for parliament in the 2004 elections. The conviction was finally overturned in November 2008, ending the 13-year case.

She was also a member of the organizing committee of the recently concluded People’s Tribunal on Malaysia’s 13th general election.

Fernandez had received numerous other awards, including the Amnesty International Award in 1998; the International PEN Award in 2000; the Jonathan Mann Award in 2004; and the Right Livelihood Award in 2005.

#malaysianindian #malaysianindianwomen #msianindianwomen #inspiringmsianinsianwomen
Posted by The Malaysian Indian women at 01:56
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