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The Fight for Women's Rights in Singapore

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The Fight for Women's Rights in Singapore BIBLIOASIA OCT – DEC 2018 Vol. 14 / Issue 03 / Feature of Peace. They volunteered at feeding (Facing page) In the 1959 Legislative Assembly general election, the People’s Action Party was the only centres set up by the colonial government political party to campaign openly on the “one man one wife” slogan. As voting had become compulsory by for thousands of impoverished children then, women came out in full force on polling day. Ministry of Information and the Arts Collection, courtesy who were denied food and basic nutrition. of National Archives of Singapore. Others banded together to establish the (Below) War heroine Elizabeth Choy (in cheongsam) was the president of the Singapore Council of Women’s first family planning association in Sin- Protem Committee (1951–1952). As president, she helped to unite the diverse women groups in Singapore. Image reproduced from Lam, J.L., & Chew, P.G.L. (1993). Voices & Choices: The Women’s Movement in gapore, convinced that families should Singapore (p. 116). Singapore Council of Women’s Organisation and Singapore Baha’i Women’s Committee. have no more children than they could (Call no.: RSING 305.42095957 VOI). feed, clothe and educate. Women recreated an identity for themselves by setting up alumni associa- tions (such as Nanyang Girls’ Alumni), recreational groups (Girls’ Sports Club) race-based groups (Kamala Club), reli- gious groups (Malay Women’s Welfare Association), housewives’ groups (Inner Wheel of the Rotary Club), professional groups (Singapore Nurses’ Association), national groups (Indonesian Ladies Club) and mutual help groups (Cantonese Women’s Mutual Help Association). One association, however, stood out amidst the post-war euphoria – the Singapore Council of Women (SCW). This was a group energised by its vision of unit- ing Singapore’s diverse women’s groups BLAZING across race, language, nationality and religion in its fight for female enfranchise- ment. Looking back at the history of the women’s rights movement in Singapore, it would not be an overstatement to claim and engaging the media, government Origins of the Singapore Council of Women that the SCW marked the awakening of and the international community, the Singapore women to a new and heightened SCW showed how Singaporean women, The seeds of the SCW were sown on 12 A TRAIL consciousness of what they could achieve. hitherto overshadowed and relegated to November 1951 when a small group of By defining clear goals, organising the fringes of society, would lead the way women under the leadership of Shirin THE FIGHT FOR WOMEN’S working groups, enlisting public support, in changing their status quo. Fozdar (see text box below) called a public SHIRIN FOZDAR: Her involvement in the women’s RIGHTS IN SINGAPORE FEMINIST EXTRAORDINAIRE movement in India culminated in her The Singapore Council of Women was the city’s first female civil nomination in 1934 as the country’s Shirin Fozdar was born in 1905 in Bom- representative at the All Asian Women’s rights group that took bold steps to champion laws affecting bay (now Mumbai), India, to Persian Conference on women’s rights at the parents. She studied at a Parsi school League of Nations in Geneva. In 1941, women. Phyllis Chew documents its hard-won victories. in Bombay and then at St Joseph’s Fozdar delivered peace lectures to the Convent in Panchgani, Maharashtra. riot-torn Indian city of Ahmedabad on After graduating from Elphinstone the instructions of Mahatma Gandhi, College, she enrolled at the Royal leader of the Indian independence After the Japanese Occupation ended in was incarcerated and tortured by the Institute of Science (both in Mumbai) movement against British rule, who 1945, Singapore women – emboldened by Japanese military police, gender-related to study dentistry, where she met her called her “his daughter”. a political awareness brought about by the inhibitions were slowly cast away. Women husband, Khodadad Muncherjee Foz- Fozdar passed away from cancer events of World War II – emerged with a began contributing to the war rehabilita- dar, a doctor. When the couple arrived on 2 February 1992 in Singapore, leaving “Forget for a time the rights and agreater confidence in their abilities. They tion effort – for the first time two women in Singapore in 1950, polygamy was a behind three sons and two daughters; privileges which a dying custom and a had witnessed the humiliating defeat of were elected to the Municipal Commis- common and accepted practice. her husband had died in 1958. Her faulty judgment bestows upon a selfish British forces by Japanese military might, sion2 – and started reaching out to less As Secretary-General of the personal collection comprising news- husband, and learn to think in terms and with it a shattering of the myth of fortunate segments of society. Singapore Council of Women between paper clippings, letters, correspondences, Shirin Fozdar was the Secretary-General of of your duties as fathers. The destiny white colonialist supremacy. Emerging from the confines of their 1952 and 1961, Fozdar was the “brains” minutes of meetings, receipts and the Singapore Council of Women between 1952 of millions of Chinese girls is in your Taking inspiration from women such homes, women volunteered for jury ser- and public face of the women’s rights invoices are on loan to the National and 1961. Strongly believing that women are equal to men, she had begun the fight for the hands. Deal with them as you would as Elizabeth Choy, the war heroine who vices and several took office as Justices group. Inspired by the Baha’i principle Library Board for digitisation by her son emancipation of women in India when she was like your daughters to be dealt with.”1 that men and women are equal in Jamshed. These are found in the library’s just a teenager. Image reproduced from Ong, R. status, Fozdar had begun the fight for Jamshed & Parvati Fozdar Collection. (2000). Shirin Fozdar: Asia’s Foremost Feminist Dr Phyllis Ghim-Lian Chew is a professor at Nanyang Technological University. She has written Shirin Fozdar, the emancipation of women in India (cover). Singapore: Rose Ong. (Call no.: RSING many books, including Emergent Lingua Francas (Routledge, 2009) and A Sociolinguistic History 297.93092 ONG). Secretary-General, Singapore of Early Identities in Singapore (Palgrave, 2010). She is past president of AWARE (Association of when she was just a teenager. Council of Women, 23 August 1954 Women for Action and Research) and UWAS (University Women’s Association of Singapore). 32 33 BIBLIOASIA OCT – DEC 2018 Vol. 14 / Issue 03 / Feature meeting to discuss the formation of an and-file SCW membership; the majority marched to Indonesian Prime Minister The Singapore Council of Women pioneered the setting up of crèches in factories in 1952. Lee Rubber Co. was with the protection of women in the organisation that would champion women’s were Chinese, followed by Malays, Indians, Ali Sastroamidjojo’s office demanding the one of the first companies that agreed to set up such a facility for its employees’ children. Chartered Industries of colony, they were unwilling to interfere in rights in Singapore. Thirty prominent Eurasians and Europeans. abolition of polygamy and child marriages Singapore (pictured here) was one of a handful of companies that followed suit in the late 1960s. Image reproduced local customs and careful with enacting women in the community met, including in December 1953, the SCW extended its from Lam, J.L., & Chew, P.G.L. (1993). Voices & Choices: The Women’s Movement in Singapore (p. 78). Singapore legislation that would arouse religious 8 Council of Women΄s Organisation and Singapore Baha΄i Women΄s Committee. (Call no.: RSING 305.42095957 VOI). Elizabeth Choy, Vilasini Menon, and Mu- An International Sisterhood support. When Governor of Singapore controver sies. The British authorities nicipal Commissioners Mrs Robert Eu (nee Robert Black was transferred to Hong advised the SCW to first change the Phyllis Chia) and Amy Laycock (see Note 2). Influenced by two of its members – Kong in 1957, the SCW petitioned him to opinions of the men sitting on the Muslim The women agreed that despite the Winnifred Holmes, the overseas rep- assist the Hong Kong Council of Women Advisory Board (MAB) with regard to the fine work done by the Young Women’s resentative of the Women’s Council of in its efforts to change marriage laws in rampant prac tice of polygamy, the high Christian Association, the Social Welfare the United Kingdom in Singapore and the British colony.9 divorce rate and the many instances of Department and the Malay Women’s Wel- V.M. West, a former member of Britain’s Both Fozdar and the SCW’s second girls under 16 years of age who had been fare Association, their “admirable work National Council of Women – one of the president Mrs George Lee (nee Tan Cheng divorced multiple times in the community. could not ameliorate the legal disabilities first things the SCW did was to affiliate Hsiang) liaised with women’s groups in Following this advice, the SCW began under which women have been suffering itself with leading overseas women’s rights Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, China and to petition the MAB for reforms. Thus and which were the root causes of many groups, such as the International Council Britain and undertook lecture tours.10 At the began in 1953 a series of correspondences of the social evils”.3 of Women (ICW), the National Council 1958 Afro-Asian Conference in Colombo, between the SCW and the MAB, the local Accordingly, Fozdar called for the
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