Singapore women have done well in achieving parity with men
but in other parts of the world, the struggle continues
Women's rights are human rights. The struggle by women for
justice and equality is one of the longest in the history of human rights. Although
much progress has been made, the struggle is not over in some parts of the
world. Boys and girls are born equal. Inequality sets in as they grow up. The
causes are many, with history, religion and culture all playing a part.
In the ancient world, women were treated as chattel. They
could be bought or sold. Women had to marry the men chosen for them. They had
no legal personality. They could not own property. They had no freedom of
movement. Men's oppression of women is therefore an evil which has ancient
roots.
Religion has generally reinforced gender inequality with
precepts and doctrines that subordinate women to men. Some Christian
denominations bar women from the priesthood or leadership positions. In Islam,
women face restrictions on leading public prayers. According to some Buddhist
texts, women can attain Buddhahood only by first being reborn as men. In Hindu
literature, women are sometimes depicted as being weak, sinful and
irresponsible. The two religions which treat men and women equally are Sikhism
and Baha'ism.
Confucius taught that a daughter should obey her father, a
wife her husband and a widow her son. Confucianism has had a pernicious
influence on the status of women in Asia as it continues to influence the
behaviour of men towards women in North-east and South-east Asia. The male
chauvinist teachings of Confucius may be the reason why societies in these
parts of Asia have such low fertility rates.
COLONIAL SINGAPORE
What was the situation in colonial Singapore? The British
rulers of Singapore were all men. Reflecting the attitude back home, their
attitude towards women was unenlightened. Professor Aline Wong, in her book
Women In Modern Singapore, described the situation in colonial Singapore in the
following way: "The cultural traditions of the major ethnic communities in
Singapore place a greater premium on the male compared with the female. Whether
born as a Chinese, an Indian or a Malay, a woman is subjected to sociocultural
and religious pressures to conform to the roles of wife and mother and to lead
a secluded life." Although several women's leaders such as Shirin Fozdar,
Seow Peck Leng and May Wong had petitioned the British Governor and the British
Parliament to abolish polygamy, their petition was rejected. Chinese men were
free to have as many wives and concubines as they wished. Women occupied an
inferior status during British rule. In 1877, the British Government
established the Chinese Protectorate. Its objective was to look after the needs
of the Chinese community. To its credit, the protectorate did try to tackle the
problem of the trafficking of women and girls for prostitution. They also tried
to ensure that the sale of young girls to rich families as mui tsai was not a
form of slavery.
WOMEN'S CHARTER OF 1961
In its early days, the People's Action Party (PAP) was a
revolutionary party. In 1959, it campaigned for the policy of one man, one
wife. In 1961, the Singapore Government enacted the Women's Charter. It was
nothing less than the Magna Carta for women in Singapore.
What are the most important provisions of the Women's
Charter?
• First, it abolished polygamy for all non-Muslim men and
required that all future marriages be registered.
• Second, a married woman could continue to use her own
name.
•Third, husband and wife were treated as equal partners in a
marriage.
• Fourth, women had the right to own, buy and sell property.
• Fifth, the Charter safeguards the rights of women in
matters relating to marriage and divorce.
• Sixth, the Charter also protects the right of the wife to
matrimonial assets, maintenance and the custody of children.
THE PAP AND WOMEN
In the 1950s and 1960s, the PAP had several women leaders
such as Chan Choy Siong. It was a pro-woman party. However, by the 1970s and
1980s, the PAP no longer had any women in its leadership. The party drifted
away from its origin and became anti-women. Let me cite three examples to
support my point.
Quota for women in medical school
In 1979, the Minister for Health, Dr Toh Chin Chye,
announced that women would be restricted to one-third of the intake for medical
school. This unreasonable discrimination against women was abolished only in
2003.
Lower admission requirements for male students
In 1983, the National University of Singapore modified its
entry requirements for male students. Why? In order to prevent any imbalance in
the sex ratio in favour of women. Speaking in justification of this
discrimination, the NUS vice-chancellor, Professor Lim Pin, said that a gender
imbalance in the university would only aggravate the "problem of having
unmarried graduate women".
Home economics not for boys
In 1984, the Ministry of Education stopped all Secondary 1
and Secondary 2 girls from taking technical studies. Henceforth, all girls had
to study home economics and the boys had to take technical studies.
THE UNITED NATIONS' POSITIVE INFLUENCE
Some foolish people think the world would be better off
without the United Nations. Without the UN, we would not have the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and,
most importantly, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw). Cedaw was adopted in 1979 and came into
force in 1981. Singapore became a party to the Convention in 1995. Article 16
of Cedaw requires all state parties to eliminate discrimination against women
in all matters relating to marriage and family matters.
What are the rights of women protected by Cedaw? First, the
right to freely and consensually choose her spouse. Second, to have personal
rights to her children even in the event of divorce. Third, the right of a
married woman to choose a profession or occupation. Fourth, to have property
rights within marriage.
Before leaving the subject of the UN, I would like to
acknowledge the important contributions which a Singaporean, Dr Noeleen Heyzer,
the former executive director of the UN Development Fund for Women, has made. In
2000, Dr Heyzer succeeded in persuading the UN Security Council to adopt
Resolution 1325. The resolution calls on states to safeguard the rights of
women and girls in armed conflict.
Judge Navanethem Pillay of the International Criminal
Tribunal for Rwanda said: "From time immemorial, rape has been regarded as
one of the spoils of war. Now it is a war crime. We want to send out a strong
message that rape is no longer a trophy of war."
STATUS OF WOMEN IN SINGAPORE
Have Singapore women succeeded in achieving justice and
equality with men? I think it would be fair to say that in most important
respects, women have achieved equality with men. Our women have achieved parity
with men in education at all levels. Women's participation in our workforce is
at about 60 per cent but there is still a wage gap between men and women. Women
outlive men. Most glass ceilings impeding the rise of women in Singapore have
been broken. We have a woman as our President. We have several very capable
woman ministers, permanent secretaries, judges of the Supreme Court, CEOs of
statutory boards and leading corporations.
The only two areas which need improvement are the number of
women in Parliament and the under-representation of women on corporate boards
and in senior decision-making positions.
The world has recognised the tremendous progress which women
in Singapore have achieved in the past 50 years. In 2016, the UN Human
Development Report ranked Singapore No. 11 out of 159 countries on its Gender
Inequality Index. In 2017, the US News and World Report published a list of the
23 best countries in the world for a woman to live in. Singapore was ranked No.
22.
CONCLUSION
Women's quest for justice and equality has made tremendous
progress in the past few decades.
In Singapore, women have largely achieved parity with men.
The Singapore Council of Women's Organisations and the Association of Women for
Action and Research should be acknowledged for their pivotal role in fighting
for equal rights. Singapore has become one of the world's most women-friendly
countries.
However, women in some other parts of the world are not so
fortunate. They are still treated as second-class citizens and continue to live
under the oppression of men. The struggle is not over.
• Professor Tommy Koh, a veteran diplomat, is chairman of
the Centre for International Law and rector of Tembusu College, both at the
National University of Singapore.
No comments:
Post a Comment