Stay Home and Watch is an ongoing series done in collaboration with the Freedom Film Network, where we take a look at locally-made independent films, which tackle various human rights issues in Malaysia. Today we discuss a recently released short film, Saya Juga Anak Malaysia, which is a brief look at one mother’s years-long struggle to pass on her Malaysian citizenship to her daughter. The film explains Malaysia’s gender-discriminatory citizenship laws, where children born abroad to Malaysian mothers are not afforded the same right to confer citizenship on their kids, whereas Malaysian fathers have the legal right to do so. Joining us to discuss the film and the issues surrounding it are Melinda Anne Sharlini (Programme Manager) and Corina Robert Mangharam (Advocacy and Community Engagement Coordinator) from Family Frontiers, who helped produce this film, and have long been championing these issues.

Image credit: FreedomFilmFest