Ten influential female figures from across the continent have their underappreciated tales highlighted in the book (All photos: Shera Fadzlin)
Chien-Shiung Wu was a Chinese-American particle physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project and penned authoritative texts on beta decay. In 1957, she was denied a Nobel Prize on sexist grounds. Yamamoto Yae defied the norms of 19th-century Japan by becoming a skilled gunner, while serving as a nurse and scholar during the warring periods. Society criticised her as a bad wife. Yu Gwan-Sun fought relentlessly for Korean independence and resisted Japanese rule. She suffered brutal torture at the hands of the occupying force, resulting in her death.
These names, as well as those of countless others, are uttered just slightly quieter in the canon of history, their impact indelible and yet all too easily glossed over by the broader strokes of male dominated, Eurocentric retellings of the past. It is a fate Malaysian-born author Shera Fadzlin decided to fight against by co-authoring Gutsy Asian: Tales of Extraordinary Asian Women with her youngest daughter Safiyya Suhaimi. Published late last year, the children’s collection tells the stories of 10 influential female figures from across the continent whose tales have gone underappreciated in the popular mind. Illustrated by Fatini Mohamad, the book was created to empower the youths of today, particularly to defy submissive female stereotypes and help children find pride in their Asian heritage.
Born and raised in a multi-ethnic family, Shera lived in various parts of Asia, including the Middle East, and London before returning to Kuala Lumpur, where she currently resides. Her experience of writing, teaching and doing charity work offered her a contemporary and cosmopolitan perspective, one she channelled into raising her two daughters in different sociocultural contexts.
When the Covid-19 pandemic struck and she found nothing but time on her hands, the mother of two began reflecting on not only her experiences as an Asian woman but the many undervalued heroines across history. “I had grown up with more traditional expectations around how women should behave, and later began questioning which values still served and which could be rethought,” she explains. “Where are the stories that reflect who we are as Asian women, especially for children growing up between cultures, like my daughters had done?”
From teaching Malaysian cooking classes and hunkering down to research the stories of forgotten queens, rebels, astronauts and actresses, she recalls that her kitchen table was constantly covered with papers and spices. Once the project took on a more solid form, Safiyya became involved in the editing, writing, coordinating with the publisher and formulating the final manuscript. The process became not only about doing justice to history’s neglected women, but deepening their own familial bonds and intergenerational legacies. “This collaboration allowed for new perspectives on identity, culture and storytelling — something that feels increasingly relevant in families who define themselves as having been shaped by movement and migration,” says Shera.
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Asked how she curated the narratives that would appear in Gutsy Asian, she expresses, “The aim was to find stories that showed strength in different forms — not always loud or obvious, but steady and lasting.” The mother-daughter duo sought out individuals who were not often featured in children’s literature and had to strike a balance between using language that was easier for younger readers to understand while grounding each account in truth. “The women in the book often sit at the intersection between tradition and change. Those themes felt familiar and naturally shaped how the narratives were selected and told,” she says.
Gutsy Asian was launched locally in February, but has already garnered interest in Australia and Malaysia, having been featured at the Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair 2025. The authors note that their work has helped families open up and have more comprehensive conversations on courage and identity, while educators have endeavoured to bring it into the classroom in an effort to teach leadership and inclusivity.
A second volume is in consideration, now with a focus on contemporary changemakers, including those from Asia and the diaspora who are innovating, resisting, leading and transforming communities. Shera is setting her sights on something even bigger still — the consolidation of a larger social movement. “[This book] has opened the door to something much larger — a space where stories, heritage and identity come together to empower the next generation,” she says.
The pair has also been exploring workshops, storytelling sessions, events and exhibitions to more deeply engage and interact with children and families.
'Gutsy Asian: Tales of Extraordinary Asian Women' (RM45) can be found online and in local bookstores.
This article first appeared on July 28, 2025 in The Edge Malaysia.
