Under the “Dispatches” column on its website, HRW’s Senior Advisor for Asia Division Mickey Spiegel said it was now a quarter of a century since Tenaganita was founded.
She said: “It has thrived despite persistent government harassment and roadblocks to its work. But one look at its determined and principled leadership explains a lot.
“Since Tenaganita has never blown its own horn, too few people know of the group’s ground-breaking struggles for decent working conditions for both Malaysian and migrant women – be they on remote palm oil plantations, crowded factory assembly lines, or isolated in private homes as abused migrant domestic workers.”
She said since 1991, Tenaganita had been instrumental in fighting for justice for women and men trafficked into forced labour and sexual exploitation in Malaysia; for urban refugees seeking the right to work and for their children’s right to schooling.
Tenaganita has also fought for a vision – that all Asean countries make their laws and practices conform with international rights standards.
Mickey said: “I and other Human Right Watch staff members learned much from Tenaganita about finding possible solutions for women workers’ struggles.”
She went on to praise the Tenaganita staff for their patience, modesty and principled persistence.
She especially had high praise for Tenaganita’s “inimitable founder, Irene Fernandez”.
Mickey said Irene had faced down repeated government threats to her work and her freedom in a trial and appeal that lasted 13 years. The authorities charged her for “maliciously publishing false news” after Tenaganita issued a report about the abysmal conditions in Malaysia’s immigration detention centres. After a seven-year-long trial, she was found guilty in 2003. However, the High Court overturned the verdict in 2008.
“I’m forever grateful to Irene, who passed away in 2014, for the advice she gave me on migrant issues,” she said.
She said she was also grateful to Irene’s sister Aegile Fernandez, part of the leadership team since the beginning, and to Glorene Das, now executive director.
“The hope, of course, is that someday workers will no longer need groups like Tenaganita. But it is a life saver for those in need,” she said.