Olvah Alhamid Miss West Papua Indonesia 2015 Encourages Indonesian Women to Speak Up and Face Discrimination

Kapanlagi.com - The Independence Festival event together with KapanLagi Youniverse, which was held on Tuesday (17/8), was not only exciting but also inspiring, especially for Indonesian women. During the question and answer session with Olvah Alhamid, who is known as a beautiful model and also the Miss West Papua 2015, the discussion about discrimination was thoroughly discussed.

Discrimination cases can be felt by anyone in various aspects of life. This was also experienced by Olvah at the beginning of her career.

Olvah once wondered why the number of East Asian people shown on TV was relatively rare, until finally, the 31-year-old woman discovered the bitter fact that she did not meet the beauty standards that fit the society's stigma.

"I am very sorry to talk about this testimony. But if it's not me who talks about it, then who else?" she said.

1. Discrimination at the Beginning of a Career

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Olvah admitted to experiencing discrimination in the modeling world because of her skin color, which was considered not white enough. At one point, while auditioning for a film, Olvah was told she was too beautiful by a talent scout and ultimately failed to get the role.

"Because in Indonesia, they prefer ordinary Papuan people," she recalled.

She admitted that this bitter experience had made Olvah feel down. However, over time, Olvah finally decided to voice her thoughts and encourage many people to speak up in the face of discrimination.

In the same opportunity, Olvah also conveyed her message to Indonesian women to break the current 'beauty standards' stigma by becoming more confident together.

"Never compare ourselves to others. Never think that those with fair skin and long straight hair are the correct ones. If we validate those standards, we also validate the stigma," said Olvah.

"If we want change, make the change. If not, don't complain," she added.

2. Figure with Inspirational Story

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The life story of Olvah Alhamid can certainly be a source of inspiration for Indonesian women to become empowered women. This is in line with Fimela, which carries the tagline 'elevate women'.

"So elevate women is indeed the tagline adopted by Fimela. This is not just a tagline. Because with this tagline, we want empowered women. Especially in the midst of this pandemic. This is when Fimela is present and offers inspiration," said Ellyana Mayasari, Editor in Chief of Fimela.

'We hope that Kak Olvah becomes an example. Kak Olvah is very brave to speak up," she added.

Therefore, Fimela collaborates with Olvah in the latest volume of Famestory, which is published once a month, where readers can be more connected with a series of inspirational figures.

"Sometimes we find it difficult to relate to famous figures. Fimela wants to bridge what has been hidden so far to become inspiration for all of us," said Ellyana Mayasari.

(kpl/rsp)