Shamsiah Fakeh

Shamsiah Fakeh is a Malaysian nationalist and feminist. Born in 1924, she was the leader of Angkatan Wanita Sedar (AWAS), Malaysia's first nationalist women organization. Her political awakening started when she was a student in Kuala Pilah. She often attended meetings sponsored by UMNO and this started her nationalist fervor. She was a fiery orator and this led her to be scouted by both UMNO and Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya. However, she chose to join PKKM because she believed it was more dedicated to the struggle for Malaya's independence, compared to UMNO which in her view was the puppet of the British. In 1946, she was asked to lead PKKM's women wing, AWAS.