02/08/2026
19th Session | Feminist Reading Group
Topic: Women and Power in the Malay World
Presenter: Ruby Jusoh
Register: https://shorturl.at/P7tkb
Abstract:
How have women exercised power in the Malay world, and why are they so often remembered as passive figures? Join us as we explore the changing roles of women from the era of the Malay royal courts to the rise of anti-colonial nationalism. Drawing on Malay court narratives and historical accounts, it argues that women were never absent from political and social life, even when their voices were constrained by male-dominated structures.
Women shaped alliances, dynastic continuity, and political legitimacy, while later generations emerged as educators, activists, and nationalists. By tracing these shifts across time, the session aims to highlight both continuity and change in women's experiences. It also challenges colonial portrayals of Malay women as passive and subordinate, revealing instead a long history of female agency, negotiation, and influence within the Malay world.
