ZafigoX, a travel convention specially catering for the woman traveller is coming to Penang.

Slated for Aug 29-31 and held in conjunction with the Georgetown Festival, the convention will host speaker events, workshops, and a photography walk, all happening alongside a handicraft bazaar at the Royale Chulan hotel.

The first event of its kind in Asia, it is the brainchild of longtime social activist and writer Marina Mahathir.

“All the talks at ZafigoX were carefully curated, our speakers will share inspiring stories of how travelling has helped them break barriers," Marina said at the ZafigoX launch in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

“The latter theme will be about women who have gone on epic journeys, sharing their motivations, challenges and what they have learned along the way,” she added. 

The speakers' lineup includes Manal al-Sharif, who led a right-to-drive campaign in Saudi Arabia; South Korean cyclist Jin Jeong who is on an ongoing mission to cycle around the world and mountaineer Hazleen Panayiotou who runs a women-only mountaineering group and a travel agency.

Current iPhone photographer of the year, Brenden O Se, who has had his work used on Apple iPhone 6 billboards, and Malaysian Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Ann “Athena” Osman will be leading the workshops.

Tickets for the three-day event start from RM149 (individual) and from RM516 for groups of four. These early bird prices are available till Aug 10.

The convention is a spinoff from Zafigo.com, a website Marina started in 2014 after realising there was a gap in the market for travel websites tailored to helping women travel safer, savvier and more widely, especially to destinations in Asia and the Middle East.

The website publishes listicle-type articles on tips for women travelling to conservative Muslim countries, women-centric guides to cities around the world, travelling guides for mothers, personal safety tips and solo travelling guides. It also features stories by individual women who have travelled off-the-beaten-track and profiles on prominent women working in the travel industry.

“Zafigo has become a platform for women to share their travel experiences with each other, a community of women travellers from all over the world,” said Marina.

The name “Zafigo” is a play on the phrase “safe I go”, she added.