Marina Mahathir, Eliza Thomas (Right) (Courtesy of Zafigo.com)

Unlike other travel websites, zafigo.com specifically caters to women travelers who have distinctive needs that are different from those of men.

The site’s founder, Marina Mahathir, and editor Eliza Thomas discussed their world views with The Jakarta Post in an online interview.

Malaysian sociopolitical activist Marina Mahathir has always included women’s rights — including the freedom of mobility — as a prominent element in her activism.

An avid traveler who loves to visit destinations that are off the beaten track, Marina is aware that women travelers face more challenges on the road than their male counterparts. One very big issue is that of security and local norms related to dress code.

“Every time I packed for my travels I had to think about what clothes to bring to those places, what precautions I should take and many more. It occurred to me one day that these were specifically gendered questions. Women have to ask themselves these questions while men don’t,” said Marina, 62, the eldest child of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

In one of her articles, she said that one pivotal point that made her think more seriously about these issues was when she was about to travel to Islamabad, Pakistan, a few years ago and did not know how to dress properly to adhere to the local norms.

“Women are seen as more vulnerable to abuse, theft and sexual violence so we need to think about these issues, along with cultural issues. You have to dress very conservatively in some places and in some places men don’t shake hands with women. So then I started looking around for this sort of information and couldn’t find anything.”

She started asking around for travel tips but her fellow female travelers did not know how to get a women-friendly travelers’ guide as many male travel guide writers often have a blind spot when it comes to safety for women.

“I realized there was a gap that needed to be filled. Enter zafiqo.com," she said, referring to the travel website she founded in 2014 that is tailored specifically to women.

Tourism highlights: Zafigo.com cooperates with a number of experienced travel writers to publish guides highlighting tourist attractions in many different places, such as Northeast India. The articles also focus on safety precautions that women should take while traveling to these places. (Courtesy of Zafigo.com)

Zafigo is dedicated to women travelers in Asia, publishing English-language articles that offer guides, ideas, tips and insights written by experienced women travelers to help make their peers’ journeys better, easier, safer and more interesting, whether they travel for leisure or business.

One of the site’s more recent articles, “The Ugly Side of Traveling” by Nafisa Dahodwala, addresses the issue of racism and verbal abuse, which can happen to female travelers anywhere.

In general, the website’s articles discuss safety in transportation and lodging, what to wear, whom they can and cannot speak to, locals’ attitudes toward women, curfews, rates of crime against women, access and women’s freedom, among other things.

The website’s editor, Eliza Thomas, graduated from a movie school but has a passion for journalism; she has cut her teeth as a writer and editor at various print lifestyle publications across Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong since 2012.

Thomas said she accepted the job out of her love for traveling and concern about women’s safety.

“More and more women, especially young ones, are traveling these days; a lot of them even travel solo. Therefore, there needs to be an uncensored, honest and open platform for these women to learn, explore and share stories.

“I make sure the stories we publish on the website are able to educate, inspire and empower women travelers,” said Thomas, who loves Indonesia and Thailand for their culinary arts and Germany and its neighboring countries for its World War II history.

The website seeks to empower its readers while debunking certain myths, such as the popular belief that developed countries are safer than developing ones. Violence against women happens in developing and developed countries alike.

Personal accounts: Distinguishing itself from other travel guide websites, zafigo.com relies heavily on contributors who describe their personal experiences while traveling to certain places, in order to help fellow women travelers achieve self-discovery and empowerment through their travels. (Courtesy of Zafigo.com)

“We have a story of one woman who was nearly abducted in Jordan and another of a woman who was sexually assaulted in a museum in Belgium,” Thomas said.

Marina mentioned the case of Claire McFarlane, an Australian who was raped in Paris at the age of 21 in 1999. McFarlane has since become an activist who travels around the world with the mission of combating sexual violence against women.

To cultivate the website’s brand identity, over the past two years it has organized independent travel events for women called ZafigoX, helping its partners and sponsors to reach out to the growing market of independent women travelers in Asia.

Among key speakers were MacFarlane; Hermandari, a 74-year-old female traveler who enjoys scuba diving; Anita Yusof, who traveled the world on motorbike; and Jin Je-ong, a South Korean woman who bicycled solo across the globe.

Famega Syavira Putri is an Indonesian traveler and writer who uses Zafigo.com as a reference platform when she goes on a trip overseas.

“I enjoy the features section of the website the most because it contains highly relatable stories from female travelers — such as their experiences with racism, as well as what it feels like to travel wearing a hijab,” said Famega, who just launched her debut travelogue Kelana: Perjalanan Darat dari Indonesia ke Afrika (The Adventure: A Journey from Indonesia to Africa by Land, 2018).

“I also enjoy the packing and booking tips section because I am so obsessed with making a checklist of things to pack. The section elaborates its stories in a detailed and unique manner, tailored to specific needs; for instance, the packing checklist for yoga teachers or packing checklist for traveling families.”