06/07/2026
[UPDATE]: Please note that today's session has been canceled due to unforeseeable circumstances. We will share the rescheduled dates shortly.
In light of the escalating hate speech campaign against Rohingya in Malaysia, we will discuss the underlying causes of these campaigns, their effects on Malaysian society, as well as on Rohingya and other refugees in Malaysia and the measures required to de-escalate the situation. Join me today as I welcome our special guest, Mahi Ramakrishnan.
Here is her brief biography.
Mahi Ramakrishnan is a public policy specialist whose work sits at the intersection of forced migration, gender, human rights, and security in Southeast Asia. Over three decades, she has engaged parliamentarians, government stakeholders, and regional institutions on issues ranging from refugee protection and human trafficking to migration governance and violent-extremism.
Over the past three years, Mahi has focused extensively on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) in Myanmar, working with lawmakers and civil society actors to advocate for ASEAN recognition of CRSV as a regional policy priority. Her efforts have included promoting monitoring and accountability mechanisms within Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs), strengthening survivor-centred reporting pathways, and advancing policy dialogue on protection and redress.
As an investigative filmmaker, she has produced documentaries on trafficking, people smuggling, and the commercial sexual exploitation of children in Malaysia. Mahi is also a poet and the author of a body of work that reimagine the Hindu goddess Kali as a political and feral figure through which she explores power, resistance, displacement, and justice.