Sarasvathy Muthu
Sarasvathy Muthu is a woman labour rights defender who has been at the forefront of human rights movements in Malaysia since she was a teenager, by organising unions for oppressed factory workers so that they could defend their rights.
In the early 1990s she co-founded Alaigal, a community based organisation in Perak which focuses on labour rights issues. As part of her work she has gathered and organised communities across various sectors, including plantation workers, squatters, farmers and workers, educating them on their rights and empowering them to voice their struggles.
In Malaysia, the country's monolithic Barisan Nasional has ruled for 60 years. Prime Minister Najib Razak’s rise to power was characterized by an increased repression of civil society and human rights defenders and a lockdown on public debate.
