Munah Bagharib on the power of speaking up with #nofilter

To me, #nofilterresponsibly means having the courage to speak up and speak out, but in an intentional and thoughtful manner. 

This year, I celebrate 15 years in the entertainment industry. Over the years, my partner in comedy Hirzi Zulkiflie and I have built a community through our Youtube channel, one that’s more like a family. For our first meet and greet at the Youtube Fanfest in Singapore in 2015, Hirzi and I sat with our fans for a chinwag. What we thought would be a casual “how’s it going” chat turned into a group therapy session. They opened up about the struggles they were facing, and we saw how they trusted us to be their “safe space”. It felt like we had a little family, with people we could turn to and vice versa.

To this day, it touches my heart when someone tells me about how they feel connected to me, and how something I’ve done gave them an outlet to commiserate. And that’s the biggest measure of success for me. These are the people who keep us inspired, and they give us a reason to stand up for so many things that we believe in.

I’ve always been a highly private person, but building this community has brought me out of my shell. It’s given me the courage to speak up about things that matter to me, and it has also shown me that I’m not alone. There will always be someone you can relate to, and can provide you with the knowledge that you need. 

I don’t speak out for the sake of it; instead, I believe in #nofilterresponsibly. Here’s why: 

To learn and to educate

It took me longer to open up about some of the more personal developments in my life, but I did so eventually because it became important to share some of these experiences with my peers. When I went through my cancer scare, it was something so new to me, and I was learning a lot about myself throughout the process. I wanted to discuss the importance of breast cancer awareness and early detection. 

Reach out for support

Theatre artist Noorlinah Mohamed, who is a very dear friend and an inspiration to me, once told me that: “It’s never a lonely journey if you speak up.” When I spoke up about my mum’s dementia diagnosis, I found strength in talking about it because this opened up a space for others to share and connect through our experiences. 

Start a Conversation

We need to make sure that we hold quality conversations. We need to be mindful that the conversation doesn’t become a fight between two sides who refuse to listen to one another. That does not achieve anything, and simply drives the two sides further apart. 

I learnt that the hard way when some of my content received very negative comments and reactions. It was scary to have a whole community up in arms against us. And it’s always scary to be under fire. But what helped us was understanding why it happened, and to hold conversations on how we can do better.  

So I say: #nofilterresponsibly. It’s such a privilege to have a voice, to be able to articulate your thoughts, and to share your experiences. But one must always remember to be responsible and respectful.