It Begins With Respect: 3R Celebrates International Women's Day 2004
In conjunction with International Women's Day, award-winning TV programme 3R (Respect, Relax, Respond) is organising a month-long series of events aimed at empowering women and raising awareness of women's issues. With the theme It Begins with Respect, the events for this year seek to send a strong message that a safe environment begins with having self-respect and respect for others.
"Violence against women is an issue that is just not going away," says 3R Executive Producer Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir. "We must all, men and women, take responsibility and demand a safe environment. Hopefully, through our events people will feel compelled to take action."
The events, targeted primarily at young women between the ages of 16-29, are scheduled as follows:
| IWD Series of Events |
| Saturday, 21 Feb |
All Women's Futsal Playoffs |
| Sunday, 29 Feb |
IWD Charity Movie Premiere "The Missing" |
February 14 & 28,
March 20 & 21 |
Video Workshops |
| Sunday, 7 Mar |
IWD Ipoh Safety Workshop by Awam & 3R |
| Monday, 8 Mar |
IWD Ipoh Safety Workshop by Awam & 3R |
| Monday, 8 Mar |
IWD Charity Movie Premiere of "20, 30, 40" |
| Saturday, 13 Mar |
A Girl's Day Out |
| Sunday, 14 Mar |
A Girl's Day Out |
"Our events are very much activity-based," says 3R Co-Executive Producer Lina Tan. "Young people don't want to be preached at. They get the message much faster when it is delivered in a fun and challenging way."
The International Women's Day events are organized together with non-governmental organisations focused on women's issues, including Women's Aid Organisation (WAO), All Women's Action Malaysia (AWAM), Amnesty International (AI), Sisters in Islam (SIS) and Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC). Kicking off with the All-Women's Futsal Playoffs on 21 February, the series of events will culminate in a two-day celebration sponsored by Kotex, called 'A Girls' Day Out" at the Mid Valley Exhibition Centre, Kuala Lumpur.
'A Girls' Day Out' is meant to highlight the right of women and girls to go out and enjoy themselves without fear," says Tan. "Right now, whenever girls leave their houses, their parents worry. Wouldn't it be great if we could eliminate that fear?"
The 3R hosts , Azah Yazmin Yusoff, Kartini Kamalul Arifin and Low Ngai Yuen, will be joined by ex-host Rafidah Abdullah who has returned to Malaysia after successfully completing her Masters in Scriptwriting in the UK. They will host the event together with various local celebrities.
Young women are encouraged to participate in any of the events and can log on to www.3r.com.my to volunteer their services especially for 'A Girl's Day Out'. A full listing of all the events can be found at the same website.
3R (Respect, Relax and Respond) is an infotainment televison programme which aims to empower young women with issues relevant to their lives. It has won several awards including Best Infotainment Program in the Asian Television Awards 2002 and the Red Ribbon Media Award. More than just a television programme, this is the third year that 3R will be organizing a series of Events in conjunction with International Women's Day together with Women's NGO's AWAM and WAO.
