Women Of Will: A Tapestry of Empowerment and Hope for Women

What does social mobility mean to you? It may be that hard-won job promotion. Or perhaps power to acquire more of the creature comforts that vie for attention on our social media feeds. For the large majority of single mothers who fall under Malaysia’s B40 household category however, personal advancement may simply be the ability to afford the bare necessities —food, water and shelter.

One such individual from the B40 community — which refers to the bottom 40 per cent of Malaysian households in terms of income distribution — is Isham binti Ramli, whose husband passed away 16 years ago while their children were in university. For years, the mother-of-three struggled to foot her family’s daily expenses, running multiple ventures including a mobile spa and food business.

“There were times when we only drank lukewarm water (instead of meals) as I didn’t have enough money. Around the time my husband left us, I felt like I had reached a dead end,” recounts Isham, who also goes by Misha.

Then in 2016, an opportunity emerged for the entrepreneurial mother, who had previously supplemented her income by hawking food and taking on sewing assignments. Through a friend, Isham discovered Women Of Will (WOW), a non-governmental organisation that equips disadvantaged women with the skills, knowledge and funding to develop and run sustainable businesses. These include single mothers, widows, and abandoned or abused women who live in poverty and uncertainty.

“Women from the B40 community who have the desire and ambition to develop themselves should be given the opportunity to do so”, explains Lakshwin Muruga, executive director of Women Of Will. “Our goal is to support these women in reaching their full potential so that they can empower themselves, their families and their communities.”