Suriani Kempe

Suriani Kempe is an intersectional feminist activist. Throughout the years, she has been actively championing several causes in Malaysia related to gender and inclusion. Suriani heads Family Frontiers, an organisation fighting for equal citizenship rights for Malaysian women.

Currently, Family Frontiers is actively fighting back against the Court of Appeal’s decision which reversed the High Court’s ruling that allowed women to confer citizenship by operation of law.

Suriani is also the co-founder of Queer Lapis, a local NGO serving the LGBTQ+ community through an online site that presents queer views, voices and resources that promotes inclusivity and equality.

Previously, Suriani held the Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment portfolio at the United Nations Development Programme in Malaysia and worked on Parliamentary Affairs with the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development in Malaysia.

Suriani’s effort to promote gender equality doesn’t stop with the Family Frontiers fight; she recently set up a feminist consulting firm, Kemban Kolektif.

For more info on Family Frontiers, click here.

To me, making an impact means seeing a proposed solution manifest into reality, and then positively affecting those who are the most vulnerable and in need of assistance both immediately and in a lasting way. All of us have the capacity to make an impact on those around us–one could make an impact in small and yet significant and meaningful ways, or advance change that will affect the lives of many–but it is up to us to decide whether that impact is going to be positive or negative.