Fourth Academy > Blog > Alumni Feature October 2024: Ain Husniza
Fourth creators alumni feature:
Ain Husniza
Every month, we feature a Fourth Creators alum to share their journey into content creation, journalism – or even just an interesting story they have.
If you have been following the local impact scene, you would have heard of Ain Husniza, a passionate gender equality advocate and the spearhead of the #MakeSchoolASaferPlace campaign in Malaysia. Since the campaign started, Ain has been a continuous driving force in creating advocacy content, particularly in breaking the silence and raising awareness about sexual abuse in Malaysian schools.
Interview by Tanish Tanjil
Hi Ain, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Ain: Hi! My name is Ain and I’m a passionate gender equality advocate, leading the #MakeSchoolASaferPlace campaign in Malaysia.
Drawing from my personal experiences, I aim to shed light on the pervasive culture of silence surrounding sexual abuse in Malaysian schools.
Through mediums like art, videography, and writing, I amplify advocacy efforts and have engaged with projects like BicaraBukanBenci (2023), TEDx, and UNICEF conferences. As a UNICEF Youth Ambassador for Women and Children, I’ve been honored with accolades such as the Civil Society Award 2023 and the WikiImpact Top 100 Changemakers 2023.
Ain was featured in national news for her presentation at a Unicef conference in 2021.
My aspirations lie in bridging the gap between activists and policymakers to effect both social and legislative change for a more progressive society.
What got you started in content creation?
A: For my generation, using social media or creating content comes quite naturally. It’s a way to document our lives and connect with those around us. I initially began by recording my artwork and daily life.
It wasn’t until I started the #MakeSchoolASaferPlace campaign, which went viral, that I took content creation more seriously.
From that point, I refined my work and used content creation as a platform to advocate for women and children, contributing to social justice.
Can you share some of your favorite projects or pieces of content that you’re really proud of?
One of my favorite personal projects is my YouTube channel, which I began early this year. I promised myself to consistently upload one video each week.
Although that lasted for only a month, I sincerely poured my love into researching and editing each of my video essays.
I enjoyed it because I had the freedom to practice my creativity without any expectations. I’ve covered topics like the complexities of the mother-daughter relationship, the harm of AI on women, and self-help content.
Surprisingly, I gained over 200 subscribers within a few weeks, starting from zero! I hope that once I have more time, I can invest more in this hobby.
What have been some challenges you’ve faced along the way in your advocacy journey?
The biggest challenge has definitely been evading censorship.
On stricter platforms like TikTok, discussing stigmatised and taboo topics related to sexual abuse and women’s or children’s rights often led to my videos not reaching the algorithm or being outright flagged. Eventually, my TikTok profile was banned due to being flagged too many times.
One of Ain’s YouTube videos exploring issues related to women in today’s society.
However, this experience didn’t cause me to falter. Instead, I expanded my horizons and experimented with my content creation, which is how I ended up starting my YouTube channel.
Have you attended any media skills programmes, and how did those experiences help you grow?
Being a part of The Fourth Creators Camp KL in 2023 was the first journalism workshop I ever attended, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The program brought more structure to my content creation process and refined each phase.
One of my favorite things I learned at the camp was how to find a good angle for your story. Every story has its angles, and some angles make for the best stories. Additionally, I learned technical skills like editing and shooting, which have immensely helped me in my social advocacy.
Balancing school, leadership roles, and content creation sounds like a lot! How do you manage your time and what tips would you give to others?
It’s not easy, but I like to utilise my time to the fullest by filling it with tasks. To avoid descending into chaos, it’s integral to stay up-to-date and keep track of the tasks you take on.
One way to manage this is by using a calendar and journaling at the end of each day. This helps you prioritize and label commitments by difficulty to ensure you can handle them. Most importantly, you need to enjoy the work you’re doing.
“To avoid descending into chaos, it’s integral to stay up-to-date and keep track of the tasks you take on.” – Ain.
How important do you think it is for young people to have platforms to develop their skills and share their voices?
It’s incredibly important because every individual possesses different priorities, skills, and ideas. Especially for the youth, they bring new ideas and fresh perspectives that contribute to and build on old, stagnant themes. These voices need to be platformed, and one way to do this is through journalism and content creation.
Part of the reason why I believe the #MakeSchoolASaferPlace campaign went so far due to the impact of social media in platforming young voices that shared the same vision I had for more inclusive and safer environments in academic settings.
Finally, what advice would you give to young people who want to make a difference through journalism, content creation, and/or advocacy?
My advice is to take up space unapologetically. You have the right to speak your mind and practice your art. Regardless of the pushback you might receive, think of it as a sign that you’re going the right way.
Activism is supposed to be difficult and intrusive; it’s meant to shake the status quo. You aren’t advocating if it’s not changing people’s minds.
Follow Ain on LinkedIn to learn more about her.
We’ll be featuring a Fourth Creators Alumni in every monthly newsletter. If you’d like to nominate someone, including yourself, please get in touch with us by emailing us at academy@thefourth.media.