‘Women in Action’ towards Social Entrepreneurial Innovation and Sustainable Ventures for Social Good

By, Sharifah Fatimah AlZahrah Syed Hussien Al-Attas and Rohaiza Rokis

In conjunction with the annual AbdulHamid AbuSulayman Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences (AHAS KIRKHS) Kulliyyah’s Scholarship Advancement Programme (SAP), the Department of Sociology and Anthropology (SOCA) conducted its first programme for 2024 SOCA-SAP in collaboration with the Women’s for Progress Research Unit (WPRU) and the Unit for Social Issues and Development Advocacy and Research (USIDAR). The International Forum on Women in Action: Sustainable Ventures for Social Good brought expertise from Pakistan, New Zealand, and Malaysia to discuss social entrepreneurship among women and marginalised communities. The seminar benefitted from three prominent panels: Dr. Adeela Rehman (Fatimah Jinnah Women University, Pakistan), Dr Mohammed Farid Ali al Fijawi (Ulul Albab Islamic Institute, New Zealand) and Madam Anja Juliah Abu Bakar (Athena Holdings Sdn Bhd). It was mentioned in the Opening Remarks that Women in Action: Sustainable Ventures for Social Good is a forum that discusses issues of empowering women from Malaysia, Pakistan, and New Zealand. Women from various parts of the globe may have different motives and momentum in their efforts, but all of them are meant towards change and betterment. They wish to create and lead economically sustainable and socially impactful ventures.

Social entrepreneurship empowers the community, especially women, to drive community engagement and bring about meaningful change for their health and socioeconomic well-being. This relationship is rooted in the empowerment and inclusion that social entrepreneurship offers to women, who are often marginalised in traditional environments. This empowerment benefits the women themselves and has a ripple effect on their communities as they become role models and catalysts for change. Women’s unique perspectives and experiences enable them to effectively identify and address community needs, fostering inclusivity and resilience within the social fabric.

These enterprises focus on creating social value rather than solely financial profit, which aligns with the community’s interests and well-being. By engaging community members in the decision-making process, these entrepreneurs—both women and men—can tailor culturally relevant and sustainable solutions, ensuring long-term impact.

Dr. Farid al-Fijawi (CEO of Ulul Albab Islamic Institute, New Zealand) began by expanding on the Khair Leadership and Islamic Social Entrepreneurship (ISE) concept. He highlighted that ISE is a reasonably new concept, although its principles are not. Being trustworthy entrepreneurs and being able to benefit others in terms of giving is a superior position within the Islamic context. An Islamic social entrepreneur, in particular, who operates within Islamic ethics and principles and, thus, guided by Maqasid Al-Shariah, has the increased ability to be the source of Khair (good) rather than sharr (evil). In this context, while the focus is still to work within the entrepreneurial mindset of profit-making, its profits are balanced with social and spiritual motives: care for people (hablu min annas) and spiritual development (hablu min Allah).  The Islamic social entrepreneur practises Khadim leadership (servant leadership), which is the leader of the people who serve the people with Amanah, Tawadu’, Hifz Addin, and Rahmatan lil alamin. 

The conversation around social entrepreneurship cannot be separated from the discussion of the social and cultural context and the role of human beings as social agents of change. Dr. Adeela Rehman (Assistant Professor of Sociology at Fatimah Jinnah Women’s University, Pakistan) shared her experience in innovation and sustainability. As a sociologist specialising in public health, she is invested in the well-being of her community; Dr Adeela noticed that there was a need to promote good health behaviours among community members while recognising the unique social and cultural contexts that require unique solutions. Establishing her social enterprise, “Caring4 Cure”, provides a platform for her to work on holistic projects and programmes, focusing on nutrition and physical activities through socio-agricultural tourism, among others. Caring4cure is also an example that inspired her students to set up their own social enterprises.

Madam Anja Julia Abu Bakar (Director of Athena Holding Sdn Bhd) is a widely known figure who inspires and trains others to run social enterprises in the Malaysian and global contexts. With numerous recognitions and local and international experiences, Madam Anja shared with the audience how her journey with Athena started. In introducing social solutions, she has strong opinions that one must be resilient and ready to meet with multiple rejections. Building a strong social network is pertinent; Madam Anja specifically identifies it as “social currency”, to describe the importance of human social networking, which should never be ignored in the entrepreneurial world. According to her, “Having a good social network makes one visible to the public, and visibility in return provides trust in whatever efforts one does. She also highlighted that the passion within oneself cannot be underestimated. Being passionate about what one does leads to the purpose and the calling to serve the community. This wrapped the session beautifully.

Social enterprises become a form of resistance in today’s material-oriented and often individualistic world; for which the outcomes for both human and environment have been problematic. The Islamic social entrepreneur is able to transform the outcomes into Kahyr. While working within the profit system, ISE becomes a mechanism to serve the marginalised segments of society and work closely with its members, uplifting and empowering them; thus, improving social cohesion. ISE is driven by innovation with the benefit of the community in mind, relevantly singing Islamic ethics and principles and putting them into practice.

We would also like to convey our appreciation to our panelists for their inspiring sharing session, fellow academics who attended the seminar, and AHAS KIRKHS for its support.***

(Dr. Sharifah Fatimah AlZahrah Syed Hussien Al-Attas is an academic in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the Moderator and Coordinator of USIDAR and Associate Professor Dr. Rohaiza Rokis is the Head of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and WPRU at the International Islamic University Malaysia.)