Marina Mahathir

Marina binti Mahathir

Marina Mahathir
Born (1957-05-11) 11 May 1957
Alor Setar
Nationality Malaysian
Alma mater University of Sussex
Occupation Activist, columnist[1]
Religion Sunni Islam
Spouse(s) Tara Sosrowardoyo
Children 3
Parent(s) Mahathir Mohamad
Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali
Website http://rantingsbymm.blogspot.com/

Marina binti Mahathir (born 1957)[2] (Jawi: مارينا بنت محضير) is a Malaysian socio-political activist and writer. She is the daughter and eldest child of the 4th Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Mahathir Mohammad and Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali.[3] She graduated from the University of Sussex.

Career

Marina is a leader in many non-governmental organizations such as the Malaysian AIDS Foundation and is an active socio-political blogger. She also writes in her bi-weekly column called Musings in The Star newspaper since 1989.[4] Some of her pieces in the column have been published in her books such as 50 Days: Rantings by MM, published in 1997 and Telling It Straight, published in 2012 by Editions Didier Millet.[4] The latter is a selection of her articles published in her column between 2003 and 2012. It includes a foreword by Dr Farish A. Noor, a local political scientist and historian. It contains 90 articles which are written thematically including a special written introduction on the topics discussed in the book. It also includes two previously unpublished articles.[5]

She is an active campaigner for women's rights. In 2006 she has described the status of Muslim women in Malaysia as similar to that of the Black South Africans under apartheid.

Marina has called for an end to discrimination based on sexual orientations in 1998 and 1999.[6]

She had appeared in Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's Documentary released in late 2009 with the rest of the members of the Mahathir Family.

In 2010, she was awarded UN Person of The Year for her volunteer work in combatting HIV/AIDS.[7]

In 2016 Marina denounced the destruction of Malaysian culture and traditions by what she perceives as 'Arab colonialism'.[8]

Personal life

On 7 June 1998 Marina married Tara Sosrowardoyo, a renowned Indonesian photographer. They have two daughters and a son.[9][10]

Bibliography

Awards and accolades

In 2016, Marina was conferred the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur by the French government for “her voice and charisma to many causes”, citing her work with the Malaysian AIDS Council and with migrants as examples.[11] Marina became one of eight Malaysians to receive the award so far.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://rantingsbymm.blogspot.com/
  2. ↑ "Liberal, Muslim, feminist, and comfortable". Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Marina Mahathir receives highest French honour for activist work". Malay Mail. March 30, 2016.
  4. 1 2 Cheng, Nicholas (11 November 2012). "Marina tells it straight". thestar.com.my. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  5. ↑ "Telling It Straight - Marina Mahathir's Musings in a book". thestar.com.my. 9 November 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  6. ↑ Asia-Pacific | PM's daughter slams Malaysian anti-gay group. BBC News (1998-10-23). Retrieved on 2014-01-07.
  7. ↑ UNHCR Award
  8. ↑ AsiaOne News - Mahathir's daughter speaks out against 'Arab colonialism'
  9. ↑ PASSAGE. Asiaweek (16 July 1999)
  10. ↑ Tara Sosrowardoyo (b. 1953, New York City). artsasia.com.my
  11. ↑ "Marina Mahathir 'knighted' by France for her work". Free Malaysia Today. March 31, 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/22/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.