... so hear our shouts.

I’d like to think that I am a fairly discipline not-so-little Miss; generally, I manage to fit at least three, usually four 25- to 45-minute exercise sessions into my weeks, regardless of hectic schedules, and on most months of the year, I stick to my personal budget, and pay my bills on time (thank heavens for the phenomena of “autodebit” and “Online Banking”).

However, my Achilles heel is handbags. I don’t just love handbags, I crave them (to the point that I’m seriously considering counselling), so that the months that I bust the old budget are the ones during which I buy bags I have absolutely no need and that I can ill afford.

And if you’re thinking that—being my mother’s only child and daughter—I could share my guilty-sweet joy of handbag shopping and procurement with the old dear, think again. I’ve long ago taken to hiding my new handbags from my mother, Mrs. Killjoy Maximus, who often shoots poisonous glances at me and my precious pouches, only because she fears for my safety.

Can you blame the darling, given that in the last 15 years, she has been mugged of her handbags three times (once in church!) so that these days she’s taken to wearing slacks or skirts with pockets in which she carries only the essentials such as her wallet, identity cards and, of course, lipstick.

As you can imagine, my mother lives in fear, both for herself, but more so for me. She’s convinced that—God forbid!—handbags may well be the death of me what with almost daily reports on parang-wielding snatch thieves taking the lives of their victims with vicious attacks.

As such, this issue’s focus on women’s safety was inspired by my mother’s chronic, therefore tragic fear that most women in Malaysia, I’m certain, feel to some extent. As much as I pooh-pooh her dire scenarios, I find myself saying a prayer every time I park my car, in the basement of a building or otherwise, or even just walking either in the streets or the mall.

Beyond praying, women should also arm themselves with as much information as possible on ways to avert danger and gender-directed violence. Which is why you shouldn’t miss pages 96 through 115, which feature our comprehensive Safety & Self-Defense Guide (Stop the Violence, page 96; Don’t Be A Victim!, page 100; and Must- Know Self-Defense Moves, page 108). After all, being safe is the very bedrock of fitness and health!

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