As part of our Leadership in Action series, we speak with inspiring girls and women from the WAGGGS network who are creating change in their communities and beyond. Through their leadership journeys, they demonstrate that advocacy takes many forms, from influencing policy to reshaping narratives through creativity.
In this edition, we feature Amirah, a member of the Girl Guides Association Malaysia and 2025 Global Advocacy Champion (GAC), writer, and award-winning filmmaker. Through her leadership journey in Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting, she has combined advocacy and storytelling to raise awareness of child marriage in her award-winning short film, Kapal Kertas. The film shines a light on the realities of child marriage through the eyes of a young girl, using storytelling to spark empathy, dialogue, and action.
We spoke to her about the inspiration behind the film, the connection between advocacy and creativity, and why every young person has the power to make a difference.
What inspired you to create Kapal Kertas?
Kapal Kertas tells the story of a young girl in Malaysia who is pushed into marriage at a very early age due to the circumstances around her and the expectations of her community. Through her journey, the film explores how child marriage can quietly take away a child’s dreams, choices, and future.
The inspiration for this story came from my work in advocacy and the efforts of organisations including the Girl Guides Association Malaysia in addressing child marriage. Over the years, I have seen the conversations around raising the legal minimum age of marriage in Malaysia, and I wanted to contribute to that dialogue in a way that felt relatable. Rather than focusing on statistics alone, I wanted to tell the story through the eyes of a child and highlight the emotional impact behind the issue.
What do you hope audiences take away from the film?
I hope audiences leave the film understanding that child marriage is not just an issue that exists in remote communities or developing regions but a global issue that continues to affect countless girls around the world.
More importantly, I hope viewers reflect on what is lost when a child is forced to grow up too soon. Every child deserves the opportunity to dream, learn, and determine their own future. If Kapal Kertas can spark conversations about protecting those opportunities and encouraging greater awareness around child marriage, then it has achieved what I set out to do.
How did your experience as a Global Advocacy Champion influence your work?
As a 2025 Global Advocacy Champion, I had the opportunity to engage in discussions with the United Nations and other stakeholders around the Beijing+30 agenda. One of the key issues championed by WAGGGS was child marriage, and through these conversations, I gained a deeper understanding of how this issue manifests differently across countries and communities.
While advocacy spaces often focus on data, policies, and statistics, I realised that real change also requires stories that people can connect with on an emotional level. Storytelling has the power to make complex issues feel personal and relatable.
As a writer by profession, I wanted to use the skills and platforms available to me to bring this issue to a wider audience. That motivation led me to enter the Kancil Young Director Challenge, where Kapal Kertas was born. The film became my way of translating an important advocacy issue into a story that audiences could engage with emotionally and remember long after watching.
How has being part of Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting, and your experience as a WAGGGS Global Advocacy Champion, shaped the leader and advocate you are today?
One of the biggest lessons Girl Guiding taught me is that advocacy isn't only about the issues we experience ourselves. As an advocate, I don't personally experience child marriage first-hand, but I believe leadership is about using your voice and platform to stand up for those whose stories are often unheard.
Through Girl Guiding and my experience as a WAGGGS Global Advocacy Champion, I had the opportunity to advocate for issues affecting girls and young women around the world. Those experiences inspired me to use my own skills as a writer and filmmaker to contribute in a meaningful way. That's how Kapal Kertas came to life, a story created to spark empathy, start conversations, and encourage action on an issue that continues to affect girls globally.
What has this journey taught you?
Being shortlisted for the Young Director Award was incredibly meaningful because it meant the story had reached an international audience. More than the recognition itself, knowing that people from different parts of the world watched, connected with, and discussed the film was deeply rewarding.
Kapal Kertas has been fortunate to receive recognition, including Best Film and Best Director, Best Editing, and Best Audio at the Kancil Awards, as well as the Grande for New Director Lotus and Gold for Film Craft: Script at ADFEST. While I am grateful for these achievements, the true purpose of the film has always been to start conversations about child marriage.
What I learned from this experience is that creativity can be a powerful form of advocacy. Film has the ability to cross borders, cultures, and languages, making it an effective tool for bringing social issues into public conversation and inspiring greater awareness.
What’s next for you?
I hope to continue telling stories that spark meaningful conversations and encourage people to see familiar issues from new perspectives. I believe storytelling can create empathy, challenge assumptions, and inspire action in ways that facts alone sometimes cannot.
I also hope to empower more young people, especially girls, to explore storytelling and content creation as tools for self-expression and advocacy. Giving young voices a platform to share their experiences is one of the most powerful ways to create lasting change.
What message would you share with other Girl Guides and Girl Scouts who want to use their voices to create change?
There is no single way to create change. Advocacy can take many forms, and today we have more tools than ever before to bring our ideas to life. Whether through film, writing, social media, technology, or community initiatives, every effort has the potential to make a difference.
My advice is to start small and start where you are. You do not need to have all the answers before taking action. Often, change begins with one conversation, one idea, or one step forward. Be confident in your voice, stay curious, and remember that even the smallest action can create a ripple effect far beyond what you imagine.