Many challenges remain for Aware
-
Mar 8, 2011 - Straits Times
By Shivali Nayak, Multimedia Journalist
THE Association of Women for Action and Research's (Aware) call for greater women representation in parliament has made some headway in the last 10 years. The number of women in parliament doubled from 12 per cent in 2001 to 24.5 per cent today.
Singapore also saw its first female Minister, Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, sworn in in 2009. Mrs Lim is Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Finance and Transport.
However, Aware's push for 30 per cent women representation in parliament and 3 women ministers by 2005 has yet to be achieved. This is one of the challenges that remains for the 25-year-old advocacy group. First started in 1985, it has now grown into a 600-member strong organisation.
Its members met last Saturday at the 'Women's choices, women's lives: Shaping the next 25 years' conference, where they put their heads together to discuss what needs to be done in the next 25 years.
Aware hopes that paternity leave will be mandatory so fathers can be more involved in parenting, as well as the complete abolishment of marital rape acceptance. It will also find more ways to render support to working mothers as well as look into the needs of elderly women.
-
Singapore also saw its first female Minister, Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, sworn in in 2009. Mrs Lim is Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Finance and Transport.
Seet Ai Mee, Dr (b. 31 March 1943, Singapore -), became the first female cabinet minister in Singapore when she was named Acting Minister for Community Development, in a cabinet reshuffle in July 1991. However, she was also the first cabinet member to lose a parliamentary seat when she lost by a narrow margin to Ling How Doong of the Singapore Democratic Party in the 1991 general elections.
-
Gender discrimination must end for Singapore to flourish, says AWARE
By Mustafa Shafawi | Posted: 08 March 2011 1720 hrsSINGAPORE: The Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) says for all the progress made in the last 25 years, gender discrimination still exists in Singapore today.
This, it said, was the unanimous view of about 200 participants at the Women's Choices, Women's Lives: Shaping the Next 25 Years conference last Saturday.
In a statement Tuesday, AWARE said this discrimination must be eradicated and gender equity achieved if Singapore is to truly flourish in the next 25 years and if the challenges of the low fertility rate and the ageing population are to be tackled effectively.
It is pushing for a quota of 30 per cent to be set for women in Parliament as recommended by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which was ratified by Singapore in 1995.
While this has not been achieved, greater women representation in Parliament has made some headway in the last 10 years.
The number of women in parliament doubled from 12 per cent in 2001 to 24.5 per cent today.
Singapore also saw its first female Minister, Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, sworn in in 2009.
Mrs Lim is Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Finance and Transport.
AWARE is also calling for an independent body to be formed to ensure equal opportunities for both women and men.
It also wants all policies and legislation to be reviewed and all gender discriminatory laws, policies and practices to be removed or replaced with laws, policies and practices that promote an equitable and sustainable work-life balance for both women and men.
AWARE also recommends that gender studies be added to the core curriculum for all students, and in the Civil Service.
The recommendations are part of a 100 point wish list submitted by participants during the conference.
AWARE says it will submit finalised recommendations to policy makers and other stakeholders.
- CNA/cc -
AWARE is a noble organization but it must update itself with the present times and conduct deeper sociological studies to find out why certain areas lack women for example.
This does not have anything to do with discrimination.
Seriously I dont think that the present modern era still has gender discrimination.
So AWARE need to figure out if there exists a deeper sociological reason and if there is indeed gender differentiation and specialization.
For instance in a typical nursing class, there is an over-representation of women and under-representation of males. But I would never say that discrimination has anything to do with it.
I would say nursing is an example of manifestation of gender differentitation and specialization.
So AWARE need to decide if indeed there is such a case and how much should this be accepted or not accepted, or is it necessary to push and tweak this natural phenomenon.
In trying to achieve numerical targets, AWARE also need to think about how to go about promoting it. Should it push for artificial forced measures such as affirmative action and quota reserves ? Or, should it be done from the education and campaign angle. This is something AWARE need to consider and should be careful about, and not to create more harm instead of good.
I would say that today's society has evolved a lot and gender discrimination is almost totally vanished. AWARE can be said is a legacy organization. It must decide whether it can update itself to remain relevant and pertinent to today's era, or become obsolete and backward looking. Since now emancipation is already established, and it is not 1960s anymore, AWARE should not keep rehasing the battles of yesteryears. Some things such as campaign for paternity leave is more positive and constructive because it takes a holistic approach and is embracing everyone in the family and is not so focused on just the woman alone, and besides it tackles the modern contemporary issues of dual-working couples and low birth rate, etc. I believe this should be the general direction AWARE take, because fighting just for women's rights only is almost obsolete and non-relevant.
-
gender discrimination works both ways.
-
to promote more gender equality policies, u must rope in for your fellow males...not just for your own gender...
if u can't...u will not get the wholehearted support from men....
direct and simple
-
I think AWARE should be gone in 10 years time.
We have already reached gender equality, or even further than that.
Its time we have an organisation to protect men instead. Called the HELP. -
AWARE has an important role to play....but to sing the tune only for yourself without consideration of your fellow men....you are just an ambitious, power hungry and selfish complex creature without any need of empathy from our part..
We dun feel the need to celebrate for you anymore
-
too much emphasis on either side will not help.
-
Employers world. Not such thing as gender equality.
-
agendas on either sides won't help.
-
It will stay unbalance for many donkey years.