Anis Sabirin

Last updated

Anis Sabirin (born 1 March 1936), also known as Anis Sabirin Ramzi, is a Malaysian writer of fiction and nonfiction, known for her feminist writings in the 1960s.

Contents

Early life and education

Anis Sabirin was born in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, on 1 March 1936. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] After studying both Malay and English in grade school, she attended the University of Malaya, Singapore campus, now the National University of Singapore. [2] [4] In 1960, she was hired to work in the research department of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, the government body concerned with the Malay language. [2] [4]

Feminist writing in the 1960s

Sabirin emerged as part of a wave of major women writers in the 1960s, alongside Salmi Manja, Khadijah Hashim, Adibah Amin, and others. They worked to examine the changing roles of women in this period, which was marked by major cultural shifts. Sabirin's work in this period preceded a larger wave of feminist writing in Malaysia throughout the following decades. [6]

She began publishing stories and articles in various publications including Dewan Sastera  [ ms ], notably "Realisme Sebagai Satu Aliran Sastera" in 1962. [3] [6] Then, in 1966 she published her first short story collection, Dari Bayang Ke Bayang ("From Shadow to Shadow"). [1] [6] The 20 stories in the collection examined the difficulties faced by both traditional women and modern ones, all of whom suffer in one way or another due to the pressures of societal expectations. [2] [6]

Sabirin more directly explored the way cultural shifts were affecting women in her 1969 essay collection Peranan Wanita Baru ("The Role of the New Woman"). [2] [6] She criticized social norms that restricted women, and she derided male writers' stereotyped depictions of women in existing literature, becoming one of the first Malaysian women writers to highlight this issue. [3] [6]

Later career in the United States

In the late 1960s, Sabirin was awarded a Fulbright and a P.E.O. International Peace Scholarship, so she moved to the United States and pursued a Ph.D. in economics at Claremont Graduate University. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] Since then, she has lived in San Francisco and Los Angeles for several decades, working in the economic field. [3] [12]

Though she was a pioneer of Malaysia's 1960s feminist wave, her later work has garnered less recognition. [3] However, she has continued writing and kept a foothold in the Malaysian literary scene. [13] [14] Persona, her 1994 collection of 16 short stories, centers on women building their own identities independently of men in their lives. [6] [15] In 2008, she published a memoir titled Dua Dunia ("Two Worlds"), which deals with her experiences in the United States. [8] [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka</span> Malaysian language regulator and publisher

Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, abbreviated DBP, is the government body responsible for coordinating the use of the Malay language and Malay-language literature in Malaysia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shirley Geok-lin Lim</span> American poet (born 1944)

Shirley Geok-lin Lim is an American writer of poetry, fiction, and criticism. She was both the first woman and the first Asian person to be awarded Commonwealth Poetry Prize for her first poetry collection, Crossing The Peninsula, which she published in 1980. In 1997, she received the American Book Award for her memoir, Among the White Moon Faces.

Keris Mas, born Kamaluddin Muhamad, was a prominent Malaysian literary figure and was one of the founders of the Asas '50 literary movement. His numerous contributions to Malay language literature led him to become Malaysia's first National Laureate in 1981.

Ishak Haji Muhammad, better known as Pak Sako, was a Malaysian writer, active in the 1930s until the 1950s. He was a nationalist and his involvement began before independence and continued thereafter. He fought for the idea of the unification of Melayu Raya where Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei are united in one collective.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faisal Tehrani</span> Malaysian writer

Mohd Faizal Musa, also known under the pen name Faisal Tehrani, is a Malaysian author and playwright. Due to the frequent writing and ideas he was known as a controversial person. He is the author of many books and literary works of various lengths, including stage plays. National Laureate Anwar Ridwan praises of Faisal's writing "conscious of high literature and full of vision."

Tan Sri Abdul Samad bin Ismail, who often went by the moniker Pak Samad, was a Malaysian journalist, writer and editor. He was also one of the founding members of the Peoples Action Party in Singapore

The Writers' Movement '50, better known as Asas '50, is the first and oldest literary association in post-war in Singapore. It was founded on 6 August 1950, with a stated philosophy of "Art for Society".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malaysian literature</span>

Malaysian literature consists of literature produced in the Malay Peninsula until 1963 and in Malaysia thereafter. Malaysian literature is typically written in any of the country's four main languages: Malay, English, Chinese and Tamil. It portrays various aspects of Malaysian life and comprises an important part of the culture of Malaysia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Usman Awang</span> Malaysian poet, playwright, novelist

Wan Osman Wan Awang, also known by his pen name Usman Awang was a Malaysian poet, playwright, novelist and Malaysian National Laureate (1983).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S. M. Zakir</span> Malaysian writer

Syed Mohd Zakir Bin Syed Othman Al-Yahya, is a Malaysian writer of prose, poetry, and theatrical texts.

Norsiah binti Haji Abdul Gapar is a Bruneian writer who is the first Bruneian woman to be awarded the S.E.A. Write Award in 2009. She is regarded as one of Brunei's most successful female authors and as one of the country's few intelligent female writers who either embodies or attempts to uphold Brunei's civility in her works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fatimah Busu</span>

Fatimah Busu is a Malaysian novelist, short-story writer, and academic. She is one of the leading contemporary authors of fiction in the Malay language, actively publishing since the 1970s. She is also the foremost Malay-language literary critic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siti Zainon Ismail</span> Malaysian novelist, short story writer, poet and academic

Siti Zainon Ismail is a Malaysian novelist, short story writer, poet, and academic. She is best known for her multi-genre novel, Pulau Renik Ungu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adibah Amin</span> Malaysian writer

Khalidah Adibah binti Amin, known professionally as Adibah Amin, is a Malaysian writer, columnist, teacher, translator and actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rahimidin Zahari</span> Malaysian poet

Rahimidin Zahari was a Malaysian poet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noordin Hassan</span> Malaysian playwright and Malaysian National Laureate

Noordin Hassan is a Malaysian playwright and Malaysian National Laureate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmad Kamal Abdullah</span> Malaysian writer (1941–2021)

Ahmad Kamal Abdullah was a Malaysian poet, novelist, playwright, literary critic and Malaysian National Laureate (2011). He was known under the pseudonym Kemala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raja Rajeswari Setha Raman</span> Malaysian poet and translator (born 1961)

Raja Rajeswari Setha Raman is a Malaysian poet and translator. Tamil by ethnicity. She is also a lecturer of the Teacher Education Institute, Malay Language Campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruhaini Matdarin</span> Malaysian writer

Ruhaini Matdarin is a Malaysian writer from Sabah.

Zaharah Nawawi was a Malaysian novelist, journalist and editor. She won the S.E.A. Write Award in 1996 for her novel Anugerah.

References

  1. 1 2 Zaini-Lajoubert, Monique. "Anis Sabirin". Le Dictionnaire Universel des Créatrices (in French). Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Salmon, Claudine (1977). "Le rôle des femmes dans la société malaysienne selon Anis Sabirin". Archipel (in French). 13 (1): 321–326. doi:10.3406/arch.1977.1349.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Izharuddin, Alicia (2015-03-09). "Anis Sabirin: suara feminis lantang yang terkubur". Malay Mail (in Malay). Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  4. 1 2 3 Chee, Tham Seong (1975). "LITERARY RESPONSE AND THE SOCIAL PROCESS – An Analysis of Cultural and Political Beliefs among Malay Writers". Southeast Asian Journal of Social Science. 3 (1): 85–106. doi:10.1163/080382475X00094. ISSN   0303-8246. JSTOR   24489969.
  5. ↑ "Carian Umum". prpm.dbp.gov.my. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Smyth, David (2000). The Canon in Southeast Asian Literatures: Literatures of Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Psychology Press. ISBN   978-0-7007-1090-4.
  7. ↑ "Dissertation Abstracts". Journal of International Business Studies. 9 (3): 135–138. 1978. doi:10.1057/jibs.1978.50. ISSN   0047-2506. JSTOR   154223. S2CID   189838874.
  8. 1 2 Musa, M. Bakri (2008-11-10). "Changing Mindsets". Malaysia Today. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  9. ↑ "PEO Holds Reciprocity Meeting". The San Bernardino County Sun. 1969-01-23.
  10. ↑ "Sisterhood Will Fete Scholarship Student". Progress Bulletin. 1970-03-03.
  11. ↑ "IPS student speaks to PEO members". Redlands Daily Facts. 1969-01-20.
  12. ↑ EI-Sanabary, Naget M., ed. (1983). Women and Work in the Third World: The Impact of Industrialization and Global Economic Interdependence (PDF). Center for the Study, Education, and Advancement of Women, University of California, Berkeley.
  13. ↑ "Winners of Hadiah Cerpen Maybank-DBP". New Straits Times. 1998-04-09.
  14. ↑ "Prize-winning short stories". New Straits Times. 1997-06-18.
  15. ↑ Zakaria, Ali (2002-02-20). "Woman caught in the face of reality". New Straits Times.
  16. ↑ "Anis Sabirin". WorldCat.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.