I come from a line of strong women. My great-grandmother was a Minister’s wife, and what a woman she was. She could cook, bake, sew, entertain, organise dinner parties for Statesmen, and above all, teach everyone to make the best of what life has to offer. As a Minister's wife, my great-grandfather, and her welcomed Queen Victoria when she visited Malaysia.  Even the rest of the women in my family - my mom, her sisters, and my grand-aunts, are all my pillars of strength. We are a big bunch of cheery yet talented ladies who just need an excuse to cook lots of food and celebrate life. We celebrate all the festivals even the Chinese New Year, you know, because it gives us a chance to get together, eat together, and have the time of our lives with each other.

I think the larger credit for this goes to the men in my family. They are the ones who never held us back and encouraged us to be who we are. Growing up, my father, my uncles, my brothers, and my cousin brothers are all like my best friends. My childhood was a saga of just following my brothers. I did everything they did and sometimes aced it better than them. That’s where I understood the true meaning of gender equality. It is about the ability to do everything with the same amount of passion and dedication.

If I were ever given a superpower, I would create a platform that connects all men and women with each other and let them hear out each other. There cannot be any gender equality if only women get to speak, and men are not heard. It is about understanding each other while holding our own sphere. There is a reason why men are physically strong, and women are soft and strong at the same time. Our softness is not our weakness, but it empowers us to turn every difficulty into a steppingstone to a better self.

And as for women empowerment, I would like to sit and talk to every one of them and teach them to love themselves. I believe words and thoughts are like prayers and we must use them carefully while talking to ourselves. We women often get too critical about ourselves and forget that we need to be kind to ourselves. How can we expect others to be kind to us when we are not? I would love to tell them all to take it easy and respect themselves first before respecting anyone else. That will be true empowerment.

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