A little bit overdue but at least I get to put the message across. Over the week, a few of the GPlusMY bloggers (and myself) were invited to attend the launching of the MANifesto website, a site that is dedicated to celebrate the 100 years of celebrating International Woman's Day!
As a long time supporter of protecting the rights of women, too many times that we hear violations of women rights and for far too long, so many have kept mum about it. I took the liberty to make it for the event at whatever cost as it strike a very big interest on how exactly are they going to highlight this event.
[MANifesto FTW!I]
A brief introduction of what this whole night is all about is to promote and celebrate a pledge of those attending and for future people to come, to care and protect the rights of woman, regardless of age, gender or race. This initiative was made to show the Malaysian initiative of putting our commitment to recognize the right of woman and in the same time realize there are those out there that have no disregard for this right and should be punished.
The night started with a gathering of media and bloggers alike to The RoofTop, Lot 10 which gave a very "artsy fartsy" feel to the night itself. Like most of the other GPlusMY events, this event was sure to attract some very famous people as well as some very famous bloggers!
[Nuffies and bloggers alike showing off their "camwhore"skills]
[my compulsory picture with Sdr. Jai!]
As the night went by, more and more people started to gather at the location and it wasn't long before we started seeing some celebrities coming our way. Obviously with a high profile event like this, no surprise that some of the Malaysian "A-Listers" should come around and make their appearance. With them also come some serious "superstar" bloggers and it wasn't long for humble ol' me to take the chance for a photo op!
[The event was graced by the presence of Daphne Iking. Unfortunately that is as close as I can get to her that night....]
[note to self: didn't even realize that she comes from my kampung in Keningau, Sabah! What are the odds...]
[With Cindy Tey, who btw is uber fun to chat with!]
Once we had some refreshments and some stuff to bite, we were told that the night itself would have a full 90 minute stage show which will depict the ideas and the stories that fit to the theme for the night. In accordance with the celebration of International Women Day, the show will showcase real life stories of abuse and violation of women rights that has been happening in this country. Real intriguing stuff...
Before that, we were asked to pledge our support for the protection of women rights, something which I am more than happy to do. Plus we get to do it "celebrity style" by signing their pledge board for all to see!
[Feel rather famous already!]
[I couldn't help it... :D]
Once settled in, we all took our places in the auditorium for the show to start. I have to confess one thing, I was worried at first because I had a rather long day in the office that day and usually in that situation, I don't stand well in live shows. There was a situation where I fell asleep snoring, right in the middle of the show. Very embarrassing indeed. However, the quality of the show that night really took me by surprise and kept me focused throughout the show.
[Photobombed by two culprits!]
[highlights from the show, including the involvement of local celebrity William Quah]
I thought the entire show was bloody fantastic. The people who were involved could really portray their experiences or emotions over their stories and honestly it gripped the minds and feelings of those watching. Truly a 5 star effort from the production.
Perhaps I would like to end this post with a wee serious note from that night. In all honesty, there should not be anyone who would support the use of violence and abuse on anyone or anything, be it to a woman, a man, a child or even an animal. Fact of the matter is there are too many times we have heard and even seen instances where abuse has become a rampant issue among our society, yet the social awareness of the public is still not there. What gave my thoughts a run for its money was the fact that so many of us would actually condemn those actions that would either hurt or even jeopardize another yet not many would actually act upon to protect the rights of those who need it the most. Most importantly, sometimes it would even help if there are those who would at least voice out their support against abuse.
I leave you with a simple analogy.
Imagine a girl, walking down a street.
Imagine a situation where men would come around and pull her into a car.
Imagine that once doing so, they took turns to beat her up to shut her up.
Imagine them raping her, one at a time.
Imagine when done, they would toss her to the side of the road.
Imagine when she comes home crying, she gets blamed for it by her parents out of panic.
Imagine she gets punished with several blows to her head.
Imagine she now has to face this situation alone, with no help or support.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Imagine, if she is your daughter.
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