IWTC Women's GlobalNet #323
Activities and Initiatives of Women
Worldwide
By Sofia Binioris
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RITA RAJ, CO-FOUNDER OF THE
ASIAN-PACIFIC RESOURCE AND RESEARCH CENTER FOR WOMEN (ARROW), DEDICATED
WOMEN’S RIGHTS ADVOCATE Adapted from the tribute prepared by Rashidah
Abdullah, Rita’s friend and co-founder of ARROW |
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Rita
Raj, co-founder of the Asian-Pacific Resource and A
long-time advocate for women’s rights and an advocate for the feminist vision
of improving poor women’s lives in Asia-Pacific, Rita worked with a number of
organizations in Malaysia. As an
Evaluation and Information Officer for the Federation of Family Planning
Associations, Malaysia (FFPAM), Rita was held in high regard for her dedication,
knowledge and hard work. Together with
Marjorie Butcher and Hari Kaur,
Rita contributed in shaping the organization towards a woman’s rights
focus. Following Rita’s work with
FFPAM, she joined the National Family Planning Board, ICOMP, and helped
establish Karyaneka, a national handicraft
organization for women. She was highly
valued by the women leaders of the organization for the tremendous and loyal
support she gave them in developing and implementing innovative programmes to
assist women. In the early 1980s, Rita
received a Masters Degree in Political Science and joined the corporate
sector as HR manager in a large telecommunications firm. In
1988, Rita accepted the invitation of Noleen Heyzer to join the Gender and Development Program at the
Asian and Pacific Development Center (APDC). Along with Rashidah
Abdullah, she worked on APDC’s women’s health book
and later was a co-coordinator of the path-breaking National Domestic
Violence Research sponsored by the Women’s Aid Organization (WAO), an
organization for which she later served as President. Rita
and Rashidah, having worked together on numerous
projects, then decided to become partners in setting
up ARROW as a new NGO to help meet the health and rights needs of women in In
addition to her lifelong efforts as a feminist and advocate for Asian-Pacific
women, she is most fondly remembered and valued as a friend. Rita organized women friends’ weekends in
Malaysia and touched her colleagues with her generosity of spirit and
thoughtfulness. Rashidah Abdullah writes of Rita: “The
seeds that Rita planted in ARROW as a founder will always be remembered and
will remain in all aspects of our organization especially our values and
mission. We honour and thank Rita
profoundly for helping to establish an effective organization which treasures
women’s lives, friendship and partnerships and believes that feminism and
women’s activism can change ourselves and the world.” |
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