Marina Mahathir

Marina Mahathir is a writer and activist whose passion for women’s rights has been a constant thread throughout her working life.

As a newspaper columnist she has written for over 25 years about the many injustices Malaysian women suffer. As an HIV/AIDS activist, she has fought for the vulnerabilities of women in the epidemic to be recognised and acted upon in order to protect them.

She has also co-produced a TV programme for young women, 3R-Respect, Relax and Respond, to educate them about their rights and to provide options in life other than those they are often given.

She is on the Board of Trustees of the Asian University for Women in Bangladesh, which seeks to provide tertiary education to young Asian women from underprivileged backgrounds.

Marina has been particularly interested in Muslim women’s rights and is a member of the advocacy group Sisters in Islam, movement for justice and equality in the Muslim family in Malaysia. In 2010,

Marina was named the UN Person of the Year by the United Nations in Malaysia. On the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day in 2011, Marina was one of only two Malaysian women named in WomenDeliver.org’s list of 100 Most Inspiring Women Delivering for Girls and Women. And in 2016 she was awarded the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, the highest French national award, for her commitment to human rights and the most vulnerable.

Read an interview with Marina here

See who else is receiving an honorary degree from Sussex in summer 2018.