The BAC Women's Legal Rights Club
Empowering Women & Advocating for Equality
WLRC and Its Humble Beginning
Established in 2022, founders Keren Jeet Kaur, Shassvathy Suthakaran, and Narvina Reddy turned an idea of hope into something tangible. Driven with a mission to advocate for women's legal rights while also providing a voice for those who have none, the founders formed the "Women's Legal Rights Club" with the help of Dr. Selvamalar Ayadurai, from BAC's Strategy Execution.
The founders worked tirelessly to form this new club and its ideals. Spending hours and days forming the core of the club, its skeleton, drafting documents, conduction interview sessions and to finally unveiling its official logo. A collaborative effort between the founders and Mr. Moo Tik Pin and Miss Shenoj Kuruvilla from BAC Engage, and Dr. Selvamalar, features a symbolic touch.
The gavel symbolizes the club's mission, and the genetic symbol of females signifies the specific group that the club wants to support. It was hard work and it took the founders dedication to form the WLRC.
Their Mission
The club's ambitious goal is to be a recognised platform that embraces and encourages empowerment, while looking into the welfare of women by providing legal education and advocacy.
Counseling & Legal Aid
Carrying out their own extensive research, the founders have learnt that women and children, specifically in the underprivileged sects of society, are more susceptible to domestic violence and all forms of abuse. Coupled with the fact that these areas of society have lower than average literacy rates among women, it creates a void in justice as these women are not aware of their legal rights.
Hence, the WLRC urges law students to utilise their knowledge by offering legal aid and counselling to help women and children find their voice and attain the justice they clearly deserve.
Raising Funds for Equality and the Vulnerable
The WLRC also intends to use its platform to raise funds to help financially aid women and children in need. This is done by carrying out fund-raising activities and collaborating with other institutions. Funds earned via these fundraisers will directly be donated to multiple shelters and organisations that need financial aid to help the welfare of women.
However, WLRC is going beyond just donating to very useful causes. To further accelerate their mission, the WLRC has included into their manifesto to educate and taking collective action to assure change is taking place - to achieve true equality between the genders and sexuality. Equality for all!
WLRC Annual General Meeting
The AGM marked the formal induction of all the board members, bringing together 17 driven individuals under a common goal of empowering and advocating for women's rights. The WLRC AGM was to serve as a bridge between past and present, with the chief founder, Keren Jeet Kaur, addressing persistent challenges faced by women and inspiring a call to action. Keren emphasized the accomplishments of the previous tenure and encouraged the new board to expand the club's reach.
New Leader, New Goals
New acting president, Jaslynn, began with a bang for the club. Outlining key goals and events that will take the club to the next level, she encouraged members participate in events and vowed to keep an eye on students out there.
Activities and Achievements in 2023
WLRC has achieved significant milestones. Just within the first tenure alone, the club managed to organise 3 refugee shelter visits, and visits to the House of Peace and the Home of Peace, where the welfare of children and women were prioritised within these shelters itself. Funds were raised and utilised to purchase necessities for these shelters.
Committed to its mission, WLRC conducted talks in these shelters, addressing contemporary issues such as the gender pay gap and discrimination against women. The club also educated shelter residents about their legal rights and what actions need to be taken in the event they were to face problems such as abuse, and discrimination, among others.
In 2023, the club orchestrated a successful fundraising initiative through a small pop-up market, featuring stalls like an origami station, snack corner, and a self-care corner offering henna and fake tattoos to BAC students. This event garnered significant attention, ultimately resulting in the club successfully raising a substantial amount of funds. These funds played a vital role in purchasing essential goods for the shelters they visited.
The club also undertook an impactful project on human trafficking, raising over RM1000. The initiative involved setting up a booth to collect donations for survivors, particularly aimed at reuniting 14 rescued women with their children and families. The project featured various games priced at RM1-2 to encourage student donations, offering an enjoyable experience. Notable activities included henna tattoos and a mini blind date, contributing to expanding social circles and raising awareness about the cause.
WLRC also created an informative website to raise awareness about issues affecting women and children globally. The site features carefully researched articles addressing everyday challenges, as well as information on Malaysian laws regarding women's rights. It also highlights inspiring women-led institutions and organisations.
The Pride of the WLRC
The club is proud in its ability to achieve a significant impact despite being a relatively new club. Members have dedicated themselves to spreading awareness on social and legal rights that extends to more than women in need, but to the broader society as a whole; and this is done through their active presence on social media and the WLRC informative website.
Shelter visits stand out as a cornerstone of the WLRC commitment, offering crucial support, resources, and legal knowledge to those who require it most. Funds raised through a variety of successful events underscore the club's financial sustainability, guaranteeing the seamless continuation of impactful projects.
The club could not help but celebrate the team's diligence and creativity in creating, organising, and executing events that leave a lasting impression. Above all, the WLRC pride swells in having successfully recruited over 100 like-minded individuals who share their passion for making a lasting change for women and children alike.
WLRC Goals for 2024
Legal Empowerment
The WLRC intends to further educate women and children on their legal rights, to be their advocate and to be the voice of those who can’t speak for themselves. In order to achieve this goal, the WLRC intends on creating events such as legal counselling and continue shelter visits, where they can reach lend a helping hand to women and children while also raising their awareness on their legal rights.
Strengthening Old and Forming New Collaborations
The WLRC intends to strengthen collaborations with schools, universities, and NGOs such as IbuPrenuer and AWAM to broaden the impact and reach of WLRC's initiatives. This involves actively participating in community events, workshops, and projects.
Advocacy and Awareness
Raising awareness for women's rights issues like gender pay gap and discrimination against women in the workforce and other facets of society remains to be a significant goal for the WLRC. Hence, for 2024 the WLRC intends on organising a Women’s History Event and Women’s Health Day event where the club can raise awareness on not only the pressing issue women still face but also to bring to light the sacrifices made and the fight for rights that led to the world we are living in today.
Community Engagement, Self-Defense and Fundraising
The club is eager and determined to continue their stint of successfully organising and executing a new and more engaging set of events throughout the year to keep the community engaged in the good fight. This includes a bake sale, Valentine’s Day activities (secret cupid and speed dating), and Game Night.
Not only that, but the WLRC is going to begin a new programme for women through a self-defense workshop. This involves experts and trained professionals to provide practical knowledge and techniques for women to be safe in the world they live in.
To be a part of impactful movements and initiatives, join the Women's Legal Rights Club! So, what are you waiting for? Clink the button below and be a part of a club that changes lives.
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