On International Women’s Day 2022, three Hong Kong trailblazers for sustainability, social justice and gender equality

Fancy turning an old phone into a locket or repairing a gadget instead of throwing it away to spew toxins on a third-world rubbish heap? Mashiat Lamisa can help

Marites Palma, meanwhile, has given oppressed migrant workers in Hong Kong a voice, while Cecilia Chan has helped improve social care and champions equality

Reading Time:4 minutes

A young girl disassembles computer CD players in Guiyu, China. Bangladesh-born Mashiat Lamisa works with Projekt, a social enterprise that teaches Hong Kong people how to repair gadgets so they don’t end up as trash for poor children to disassemble, and to turn old ones into jewellery. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 7:15am, 8 Mar 2022Updated: 8:27am, 8 Mar 2022

International Women’s Day on March 8 is a time to celebrate the achievements – social, economic, cultural, and political – of women worldwide.

The Post spoke to three women in Hong Kong making changes for the better.

Mashiat Lamisa

Mashiat Lamisa arrived in Hong Kong almost five years ago from Bangladesh. But images from her home country of children rummaging through toxic rubbish, some of it imported electronic waste (e-waste), have not left her.

“Electronic goods – whether it’s an iPhone or a laptop – are designed to break, and a lot of these devices are discarded as e-waste and end up in landfills in Hong Kong – or third world places like my home country, causing heavy pollution and toxicity,” says the 23-year-old.

In 2021, the World Health Organization released a report on the impact of e-waste on human health and found that those working to recover valuable materials such as copper and gold from the growing global tide of e-waste are at risk of exposure to more than 1,000 harmful substances, including lead, mercury and nickel.

Passionate about global health and sustainability, Lamisa got busy with Projekt, a social enterprise that teaches people how to fix their devices instead of throwing them out.