Beyond boundaries
> Conversations with Marina Mahathir on women and the unprecedented rise in solo female travel
THE topic on empowering women in order to develop a nation has been examined in detail in women economic empowerment articles, and in essence, has been discussed at lengths across the globe among world leaders.
While the powers-that-be across nations have set up policies and programmes to help women advance, collectively, women have and can empower each other to grow, develop and live fuller lives in small yet significant ways, like being there for each other.
“The best thing about being a woman is female friendship,” says Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir.
“It is the company of other women that is wonderful because we talk about things which really matter ... including our feelings and our experiences. It is these female friendships that enrich life,” says Marina.
An individual well known for standing her ground and speaking her mind on a wide variety of issues, she says: “Everything I do is related to women.”
When it comes to travel, Marina shares that many women think they can’t go away on their own. “They feel they need a man to guide them,” says the founder of www. Zafigo.com, a travel website specifically for women.
“For example, some women who follow their husbands to conferences stay within the hotel and don’t dare venture out on their own,” she relates.
Though sometimes, she says, it is the husbands who won’t allow their wives out, these women, thus miss out a lot on the travel experience.
Marina shares about Zafigo.com, which she set up in 2014.
“It is for women travellers to share information, tips on travel, their experiences and views, especially those who travel around Asia for work or leisure, benefiting women travelling to Asia for the first time in particular.
“Once we started it (the website), we realised that a lot of women are travelling these days as flights are cheaper.”
Marina also tells of the rise in the number of women who travel solo these days, along with a niche group which does not necessarily explore the usual commercial routes or visit touristy spots.
“Women are travelling the unbeaten paths; some are into adventure travel, even helping communities abroad by building schools or digging wells, ” Marina says.
An avid traveller herself, Marina talks about Zafigo, a “brand” coined from a corruption of the words “Safe I Go”. It was founded to fill a need that she herself found lacking in her travels.
“As a member of an NGO, I often travel to places that most tourists wouldn’t necessarily go, for meetings and conferences.” She shares of the time she had to travel to Pakistan for a meeting of parliamentarians on HIV/AIDS and recalls wondering what would be appropriate to wear for what was considered a conservative Asian country. Unable to find any information online, she ended up bringing baju kurungs, which were perfectly acceptable, she says.
“The lack of information quite surprised me. Why hadn’t anybody thought of it? I realised then that when women travel, we face a lot of issues, quite different from men – like dress etiquette, safety guides and advice, and cultural differences.”
While she noticed that men could just wear a suit and tie or a bush jacket in more formal circumstances, women always had a tough time.
“In some countries, women are expected to dress much more modestly than in others. It is just that sometimes we don’t realise the cultural differences and we end up getting caught in awkward and sometimes embarrassing situations.”
Zafigo was her solution. “I thought about it and felt we needed a place to get information,” she says matter-of-factly.
Although there are many travel websites that cater to women travellers, most do not provide information on culture and many are written by Western women for the Western female traveller.
“I realised that travel is very genderbased then. The experiences women have when we travel are different from those of men. As an example, safety is a huge issue, particularly for women, having heard of the terrible cases of women being attacked, raped, even killed,” she said.
“The idea, however, was not to scare women but to empower them with the knowledge to be able to travel with confidence – safely and enjoyably.”
Marina points out that women travellers cannot take things for granted. She relates a simple biological issue as an example, on toilets and trekking in the jungle.
“It’s not about being fussy or difficult. It’s a necessity that you need to feel comfortable with.”
She shares of a friend who offered a tip that no man would have known: that even if a woman has completed her monthly menstrual cycle, it is advisable to bring sanitary pads on high-altitude treks as sometimes those great heights can bring on one’s menses.
Marina also brings up a Griffith University study on women and travel, which states that the travel industry crafts travel packages and products for men differently from those for women “because they often stereotype women and have not caught up with what women travellers want these days”.
According to the study, travel for men is about adventure while for women, it is usually about lying on the beach or going to spas. “We want adventure too,” says Marina, “but it is not marketed to us. I’m not saying we do not want to shop or visit the spa, but not on every holiday,” she says.
For someone with such vast and diverse travelling experiences, the question of ever being faced with bad travel experiences naturally pops up. She shares of the time her wallet was pick-pocketed in the Paris Metro.
“It was the first time it had happened to me. But I remembered something I had read somewhere that our voice is a weapon, so I just shouted at the woman I suspected was the thief. Miraculously, she dropped my wallet and although I lost some cash, my credit cards were intact.”
Visitors on Zafigo can read about Marina’s own travel experiences as well as those of contributors, both local and foreign. Some are serious, some funny, but all provide insights that the Zafigo team hopes will be of help to women travellers.
One who wholeheartedly believes that knowledge is power, Marina explains that the insights by experienced women travellers are exactly the thrust of the annual events organised by Zafigo called ZafigoX.
“ZafigoX began as ‘ZafigoTalks’ where in 2016, we organised a panel featuring women speaking about their different travel experiences: one on Afghanistan, another about Africa, and one on humanitarian missions to conflict-ridden countries and one who encountered a natural disaster while on holiday.
“It was such a success that last year we organised the first ZafigoX at the George Town Festival in Penang. For two days, we showcased several women speakers who spoke of very different travel experiences, panels who shared travel-related issues, even workshops on self-defence, photography, and what beauty products you should bring on your trips.
While each speaker shared about their travel adventures, they more importantly revealed what they learnt during those trips.
“These were what women found inspiring. And this is what is empowering for other women. Ostensibly, the talks were about travel, but they were really about self-confidence, empowerment, encouragement and inspiration. It is about having the knowledge to travel confidently and how to open yourself to good experiences when travelling around the world,” Marina explains.
According to Marina, the women participants found the event really inspiring. “You could see it in their eyes.”
Hence, ZafigoX returns this year, on Nov 9, 10 and 11 in Kuala Lumpur.
“It is the only such event for women and travel in this region,” informs Marina, who intends to make it a regional event for women travellers.
“We want to build a community of women who travel so that if you are part of the Zafigo community, you can visit another country and reach out to a local Zafigo member there, meet up and maybe have a meal together or get tips on places of interest, etc.”
“It is a way to bring women together, those with common interests in travel. That’s the aim of Zafigo,” Marina reiterates.
In conclusion, Glow cites Helen Keller who once said: “Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing at all.”
So, ladies, let’s broaden our horizons by getting out there to explore the world and discover life and what it has in store for us.