The Future is Female

Melisa Idris speaks to Chan Yoke-Fun, Head of the Department of Medical Microbiology at Universiti Malaya's Faculty of Medicine. Yoke-Fun is the winner of the 2020 ASEAN-US Science Prize for Women – an award that honours the discovery and application of scientific knowledge by women in Southeast Asia. Her research focuses on developing a vaccine to combat a virus that causes Hand, Foot, and Mouth...

How do we transform workplaces into safe and inclusive spaces, particularly for women? Melisa Idris speaks to Emellia Shariff, Managing Partner at Speak Up Malaysia, a consultancy that helps organisations change toxic environments, focusing on addressing sexual harassment, bullying and whistleblowing in the workplace.

Asians makeup almost half of the world’s cancer cases but we are in less than 10% of cancer research. On this episode of The Future Is Female, Melisa Idris speaks to Dr Teo Soo Hwang, Chief Scientific Officer at Cancer Research Malaysia, and Dr Ho Weang Kee, Associate Professor, School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Nottingham Malaysia, about a ground-breaking genetic study on the risk of...

Melisa Idris speaks to YB Nurul Izzah Anwar, PKR Member of Parliament for Permatang Pauh, about the highs and lows of being a three-term legislator and how to win over sceptical stakeholders through evidence-based policy.

Melisa Idris speaks to Sabera Shaik, Founder & Artistic Director of Masakini Theatre Company, about moving performance arts to a virtual stage and how to create immersive storytelling to an online audience.

Melisa Idris speaks to Sivananthi Thanenthiran, Executive Director of ARROW, which recently launched the Gender Equality Initiative in Malaysia, aiming to work with policymakers and civil society organisations to improve the lives of women, girls, and marginalised groups in Malaysia.

Melisa Idris speaks to Deborah Henry, Miss Malaysia World 2007 and Miss Universe Malaysia 2011, co-founder of Fugee, a non-profit which champions for the right of refugees to build a meaningful life through equality and access.

Melisa Idris speaks to Meriza Mustapha, co-founder of Maideasy, an online platform to hire part-time cleaners. They discuss gender equality in care work in households and Maideasy's mission to bring dignity to cleaning work.

Melisa Idris speaks to President of the Malaysian Council For Rehabilitation, Datin Paduka Khatijah Sulaiman, and its Honorary Treasurer, Rose Ng, about the international Abilympics competition. The Abilympics is an international 'Olympics of Abilities', in which qualified People With Disabilities (PWD) from around the world pit their skills in vocational, leisure and ICT abilities. Datin Paduka K...

Melisa Idris speaks to YB Hannah Yeoh, former Deputy Minister of Women, Family & Community Development and MP of Segambut, about dealing with the fallout from the sudden change of government, the successes achieved 20 months in the role, and the challenges she’s faced as a woman in politics in Malaysia.

Pinkcollar Employment Agency aims to help migrant domestic workers in Malaysia gain access to better and safer job opportunities here, through ethical sourcing and hiring practices for workers and employers. Melisa Idris speaks to the co-founders of Pinkcollar, Zenna Law, Elaine Sim and Sophia Jamal, about their efforts to make the entire recruitment process online, transparent and accessible, whi...

Cervical cancer is currently the third most common cancer in Malaysia, and the third leading cause of death among Malaysian women. Will Malaysia be able to effectively eliminate cervical cancer? In conjunction with Cervical Health Awareness Month in January, Melisa Idris speaks to Professor Dr. Woo Yin Ling, Faculty of Medicine in Universiti Malaya, about the ROSE (Removing Obstacles to Cervical S...

Melisa Idris speaks to Nurainie Haziqah Shafii, President of Girl2Leader, an organisation dedicated to developing strong leadership skills in girls and young women. They discuss the constructive changes that can be done as a culture, or a society, to improve things for women to become leaders in the political and corporate spheres.

Melisa Idris speaks to Dr Anjhula Bais, a Director of Amnesty International, the first from Malaysia to be appointment to the board. They discuss how the climate crisis is the biggest threat to human rights and its impact on mental health, seen through the rise in cases of eco-anxiety.

Melisa Idris speaks to Tiwin Aji, a Brunei-based writer and media personality who gained popularity with her video blog, "Winnie on Wednesday", where she tackles social issues with humour and sass. They discuss Tiwin's radio programme "T-Time" on Progresif Radio, a show that uses celebrity news as a way to deconstruct and challenge celebrity culture and social media narratives.

Melisa Idris speaks to Khazanah Research Institute’s Director Of Research, Christopher Choong, and KRI Research Associate, Nazihah Muhamad Noor, about their recent report: ‘Time to Care: Gender Inequality, Unpaid Care Work and Time Use Survey’. They discuss the value of unpaid care work, and the existence of a “double burden” for working women.

The World Giving Index 2018 ranked Malaysia as the 13th most charitable country in the world. Melisa Idris speaks to Cheryl Low, CEO of SimplyGiving.com , a crowdfunding platform for social causes in Asia, about Malaysia's quiet generosity and the launch of MYGiving - a week of kindness to encourage charitable action.

Melisa Idris speaks to Anita Yusof, the first Muslim woman to ride solo around the world. Anita shares her story of her year-long Global Dream Ride - her motivation to travel and lessons learnt along the way. She also talks about the challenges of travelling as a woman, and how it can be made safer for fellow female travellers.

Melisa Idris speaks to two first-time female filmmakers - Azreen Madzlan, director of 'Demi Paymitra' and Minxi Chua, director of 'Bila Kami Bersatu' - about the importance of telling social justice stories and getting the narrative right.