April 19 – Published ST Forum letter by Sabina-Leah Fernandez: Aware shake-up won’t cancel out 20 years of sterling work
As Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) members and volunteers, we were shocked by the planning and coordination behind the recent ‘knock-out’ executive committee election. Having 100 people join and one month later vote in a new committee from their ranks is an interesting way to become part of the campaign for gender equality.
It is always good to bring balance to any form of advocacy and any volunteer group – and we look forward to hearing new voices and new opinions, and debating issues in meetings to come, as Aware has always done.
But while we are thrilled that so many people are getting passionate and involved, we cannot help but ask: Why the secrecy? How long had this been in the works? And – the million-dollar question – what is the agenda?
Aware has done great work in its 20 or so years. Former Nominated MP Kanwaljit Soin rallied in Parliament to change laws on domestic violence. Aware presented the 2008 Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw) shadow report to the United Nations. It runs programmes that educate women on financial independence, provides free legal advice and counselling to people in need, and actively campaigns against domestic abuse and marital rape.
And it is not a women-only club either; male members of Aware are involved in many areas, most notably the White Ribbon Campaign – men rallying against violence against women.
The implication that more than 20 years of work to remove discrimination against any gender or orientation has gone up in smoke is unfounded.
This executive committee takeover may have been a surprise, but it is hardly the end.
Ms Saleemah Ismail, president of the UN Development Fund for Women (Unifem) Singapore, said: ‘Women today are standing on the shoulders of giants who came before us and waged wars in their time to make things better.’
In Singapore’s case, our giants are early parliamentarians like Madam Sahora Ahmat, Madam Chan Choy Siong and Mrs Seow Peck Leng, whose work in the Legislative Assembly led to the 1961 Women’s Charter. Or founding members of Aware like Mrs Hedwig Anwar, Mrs Constance Singam, Dr Kanwaljit Soin and Mrs Lena Lim. Nothing and no one can cancel out what these giants have done for women in Singapore.
(This letter carries three other names)
The link is here.
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