MELISSA LOW

Chief operating officer of Riuh

A woman of our time, Angela Lee Duckworth, said it best, “Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals”. Grit drives me in many aspects of life. After realising that there was a real vacuum in Malaysia’s creative scene, I saw an opportunity to make a difference with Riuh. Grit got us here, and grit will keep us going.

International Women’s Day (IWD) gives us the opportunity to embrace the many facets of women’s identities—the intersections of faith, race, ethnicity, gender or sexual identity, or disability from the past, present, and future. Womanhood transcends the traditional preconceptions of society. We’ve had the pleasure of partnering with moving organisations during Riuh’s IWD special in March last year. Social enterprise Jari Indai sells bags and accessories made by women living in the longhouses of Sarawak, Sze Women of Hope empowers single mums and women, while The Picha Project helps refugees in Malaysia start a new life.

When it comes to female empowerment, Sheila Murray Bethel sums it up pretty accurately: “One of the most courageous things you can do is identify yourself, know who you are, what you believe in, and where you want to go.”