By Balqis Asrof
GOMBAK, 18 March 2022: Not many people have had the opportunity to hug their parents on stage during graduation day, but Safiya Spahic and her father, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Spahic Omer did that when they embraced each other.
It was a historic and heartwarming moment witnessed by the audience when Safiya received her scroll at the 9th session of 36th IIUM Convocation Ceremony yesterday.
Receiving First Class Degree in Political Science (with Honours), Safiya expressed her utmost gratitude towards her father who escaped the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina and came to Malaysia as a refugee some 30 years ago.
Several years after that, her father is now an esteemed professor in IIUM and sat on stage while witnessing Safiya receiving her scroll.
Asked about her relationship with her father, Safiya said although her relationship with her dad has not always been rainbows and sunshine, she and her father have a lot in common in their outlook of life which resulted in them having deep and meaningful conversations.
“An advice he constantly reminds his children is how everything around us is temporary, and this should serve as either a source of solace (for when calamity approaches) or a source of humility (for when success approaches).
This advice is what I constantly remind myself to keep myself grounded,” Safiya expressed confidently.
Safiya also shared that her father tends to give people around him advice which she found herself doing the same thing.
Like any other student, Safiya also has her own hurdles and obstacles during her days as an undergraduate. She shared that she had developed severe anxiety and depression.
“This is something that is a taboo in our society (both Malaysian and Muslim) and we have to collectively overcome this.
Mental health is just as serious as any other health problem we have, and we must start taking it more seriously in everyone, particularly among the youth,” she said.
“I have not overcome this as I don’t think I can, it’s something that comes and goes, however, how we manage through having healthy coping mechanism, a strong support system, and unshakable faith, is important,” Safiya elaborated.
She believes everyone must be more proactive in demanding for more government investments to be channelled to people faced with mental health in the industry.
Safiya is currently working in the NGO sector and will be starting her new job at the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) after Eid, continuing her thirst to make an impact in Malaysia and other parts of the world.
She hopes to be in the policymaking space in the future as she believes that there should be more women involved in politics, especially in Malaysia.
She firmly states, “I can confidently say there are so many capable Malaysian women who can lead this country if only we are to empower them and give them the space to prove themselves.” ***