Sabrina Aripen

Sabrina Aripen

Asia, Malaysia, Women and Gender Issues, 2017

As the Chairperson/Founder of Society for Equality, Respect And Trust for All Sabah (SERATA), Sabrina Aripen plans, manages, and leads the execution of programs and campaigns promoting gender equality and engages men and boys in conversations to end gender-based bias and violence in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. While in the U.S., Aripen worked with Paid Leave for the US (PL+US) in San Francisco, where she assisted in their campaigns to get paid leave for all working persons in the U.S., assisted in gathering facts and data to support advocacy programs, and helped with communications efforts. Since her return to Malaysia, Aripen has worked to raise awareness about gender roles and gender equality for men and boys, specifically on the importance of healthy masculinity and respect. She also conducts workshops for young men and boys to unpack harmful gender stereotypes and societal expectations, raises awareness on the important roles of fathers in families, and calls for the Malaysian government to introduce paid paternity leave in the national labor laws.