IIUMSU celebrates women through ‘It’s Her Fest’

By Shaireza Jaafar

GOMBAK, 22 April 2024: “Is it too much for women to have their voices heard, express their femininity, and be in the forefront? No, it’s never too much!” mentioned the Head of Women Representative, Nur Arinna Dania binti Asmawi.

In response to International Women’s Day on 8 March, the Women Representative of IIUMSU organised the two-day event from 22 to 24 April, called “It’s Her Fest,” to bring all women together at the ICC Foyer of IIUM Gombak.

Tied around the string of ‘sisterhood,’ the festival incorporates feminism as the main backdrop which reflects the overall message that the festival is all about which is empowering women and being a platform for advocacy for women’s equity.

In asking about the significance, Arinna explained that it was the first outdoor event dedicated exclusively to women; among the committees recruited, most are women, the vendors are all women-owned businesses, and the guest speakers too are all inspiring women, the honourable Dato’ Suraya Yaacob and Nur Dinie Mohd Fadil.

The activities included booth displays by the Women Representative for IIMSU, for the visitors to engage in, there was an activity named “Echoes of Her” where anyone gets to share their opinions on stage, sharing sessions called, “Girls and Coffee Talk,” with notable guest speakers, and prize-giving postcards.

Dr. Fatimah Alzahrah presents her speech and officiates the festival

“I want to make this event as casual as possible to ensure everyone feels comfortable, especially women, to express themselves, and build connections and confidence because an indoor event might be a bit intimidating and passive,” Arinna added when asked about the need to conduct a festival outdoors.

One of the members of The Women Representative conveys her support and the significance of the festival

In addition, Arinna shares that along the way of proposing this event, she faced criticisms that her idea was deemed too ‘western-centric’ and ‘materialistic’ but she was eventually able to break this conventional view clarifying that the objective of the festival is not merely for the sake of fun but to support the importance of women.

One of the the committees expressed her excitement, “It feels amazing to see many women and men wearing pink and be involved as it reflects their solidarity in support of this festival,” expressed Nadia Erdeena binti Roshaili.

“I hope this festival serves as an event for women to feel celebrated and hope that this festival could be an annual event in future,” Arinna concluded at the end of the interview.

The festival is a collaboration between The Women Representative of IIUMSU, Hewi from Harmoni IIUM and Gender Equity from The Good Society IIUM.***