News and Opinions

Sign the petition: Say No To Rape

Written by sayoni on . Posted in Announcements

 

 

The No To Rape campaign advocates one simple idea: sexual violence by any person, against any person, is criminal violence. Consequently, non-consensual sexual penetration, regardless of whether the victim and perpetrator are married to each other, should be treated as rape.

The online petition is coordinated by a team of concerned Singaporeans who have come together for the single purpose of promoting change on this issue. The team is not a formal organisation and its members have no shared agenda beyond addressing sexual violence.

Sayoni on New Media

Written by sayoni on . Posted in Announcements

Yes, at Sayoni, we do move with the times and the all the newfangled technology on the interwebs (it is a system of tubes after all).

Find us on Twitter, at www.twitter.com/_sayoni, and on Facebook, at www.facebook.com/fbSAYONI. There might be other people named “sayoni” or� a derivative thereof, on these social networking sites, but please note that we are not connected to them. Only these two accounts are our authenticated accounts on Twitter and Facebook respectively. If you come across a named account on another website which you are not sure is connected to us, feel free to drop us an email for verification, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Breaking News: AWARE EOGM Results – Old Guard Returned (Singapore)

Written by sayoni on . Posted in Announcements

Today was a day to be marked down in history, as the day that Singaporeans realised they are indeed in control of their destiny, as the day they decided to take ownership in NGOs, as the day they stood up against the tide of intolerance and stood up for equal rights and inclusiveness. After a much-prolonged, 7-hour extraordinary general meeting (not counting waiting time), the old guard of Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) were returned to power, ousting the new exco who had all but taken AWARE’s leadership by force.

The meeting was stormy, emotional and inspiring. Many women and men stood up to speak up for the old aware and against the injustices perpetrated in the short term of the “new” exco. Many shocking things were revealed – such as the exco spending about S$90k since they took office (when only authorised to spend S$20k). The depth of their ignorance about what AWARE really did and stood for was revealed, as well as their inability to effectively lead. At the end of the long meeting, the no-confidence motion was passed by a margin of 2-1 – 1414 votes for yes, and 716 for no, and after an extended discussion, the exco finally decided to step down. The general meeting then proceeded to elect back the old guard into power – starting with Dana Lam as the president and Chew I-Jin as the Vice-President.

What was the most touching to us was the number of people – men, women, fathers, mothers,� teachers, students, christians, muslims… who all stood up and spoke up for inclusiveness, the importance of having a queer-neutral sexuality education program, and why AWARE should help queer women in need.

Sayoni would like to join in congratulating AWARE on its historic victory. This is not just a victory for womenm or even queer women, but for civil society in years to come. For extended reports on the events and commentary, stay tuned!

One Cause For All Women

Written by snorkeem on . Posted in Announcements

 

Help save AWARE.� Vote out the new exco.

Dana Lam’s interview to save AWARE

Update : New Venue for the EGM
Suntec Exhibition Hall 402!

Don’t go to the wrong place!�� The venue in the video clips are outdated.

Save AWARE! Gender equality for all! – Petition

Written by sayoni on . Posted in Announcements

Save AWARE! Gender equality for all! – Petition

As Singaporeans overseas we are very concerned about the take-over of the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) on 28 March 2009 by a group of people, whose values are opposed to what AWARE stands for. For nearly 25 years, AWARE has worked to advance gender equality for all women in Singapore, regardless of race, religion, or sexuality. Through its many contributions, AWARE has significantly enhanced women�s capacity to make informed choices over their bodies and their lives.

We support the Save AWARE Campaign (http://www.we-are-aware.sg) on the following grounds:

1. Media reports indicate that the newcomers, now on AWARE�s new Executive Committee, are, at best, ignorant of AWARE�s mission and, at worst, ideologically opposed to this.

2. There are clear indications from media reports that the take-over was by a group with affiliations to known fundamentalist organisations � notably, Church of Our Saviour and Focus on the Family (as well as possibly Liberty League and Exodus International). As reported in the Straits Times (18 April 2009), six of the eleven current Ex-Co members attend the Church of Our Saviour, which has publicly stated its position on women�s role and status. In the document �God�s Order for the Family�, posted as a resource on the Church�s website , it is openly stated that �the wife is in subjection to her husband� and �women [are] to continually deny themselves and yield the rule to men�. This document states: �feminist movements�are not according to God’s order�. Rather, �His will for a young women is to do four things: (1) marry, (2) bear children, (3) guide the house, (4) not be a reproach to her husband.� It is highly unlikely, to say the least, that members of a church promoting such values would champion gender equality for all women in all spheres of life. Rather, it is more likely that this fundamentalist group would engage in an exercise of defining who qualifies as a �woman� and who does not. If so, this would be diametrically opposed to AWARE�s inclusion of all women as having the right to gender equality, be they gay or straight, married or unmarried, mothers or not, employed or not, Christian or not.

3. Various blog writers have pointed out that this hostile take-over is a warning sign of fundamentalist ambitions that may extend far beyond AWARE. The question has been raised several times why fundamentalists have been motivated to take over a secular organisation like AWARE. Is it to �confuse others into believing that these agendas are supported by an organisation which is concerned with women�s best interests from a feminist and humanist point of view, rather than a Christian fundamentalist point of view�? (http://www.glass-castle.org) Is this the thin end of a wedge that may subsequently affect other secular civic organizations and perhaps even beyond?

4. The new Ex-Co has not communicated with the rank and file membership of AWARE, despite the public controversy that has broken out, leaving members to learn about AWARE from media reports. It has sacked all the current heads of the AWARE sub-committees, including the summary dismissal of Braema Mathi, Chairperson of AWARE�s CEDAW Committee. (CEDAW is the UN Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women.) It has refused to disclose specific plans, despite repeated questioning by journalists. The recently elected President, Claire Nazar, resigned after 11 days, because of what she described as the new Ex-Co�s �Stormtrooper tactics� (The Straits Times, 19 April 2009). All these acts and omissions are symptomatic of the duplicity and disingenuousness that underlie this take-over by stealth.

5. This was confirmed in the recent letter to AWARE members written by the Immediate Past President, Constance Singam, who noted that �although the team [the new Ex-Co] had publicly said that they would honour Aware�s founders and build on the good work of past members, their private behaviour suggested otherwise.� �In private meetings, the exco showed a complete lack of respect for me, ignoring my advice and keeping me out of an exco meeting when I had the right to be there, as stated in the Constitution,� she wrote (The Straits Times 19 April 2009).

We, the undersigned, support the Save AWARE Campaign as a collective endeavour to reclaim AWARE as a vehicle to advance women�s rights to gender equality and individual choices.

We call on the fundamentalist group who have taken over to respect AWARE�s vision of �gender equality for all� and its mission �to identify areas for improvement in gender equality, encourage positive change; and support women in realizing their highest potential.� As reported by The Straits Times (10 April 2009), when this new group was asked at the recent Annual General Meeting if they believe in equality, �they kept repeating they were there to support women and to make sure they got ahead and got all the opportunities given to them.� We call on this group to quit AWARE as soon as possible, if they cannot uphold its foundational vision and mission.

We call on all Singaporeans and permanent residents concerned with the continuing existence of a secular civil society in Singapore to support the Save AWARE Campaign.

(Note: Signatories should be Singaporean citizens and permanent residents, of any gender. Please provide your name as stated in your NRIC with your NRIC number and your current country of residence.)

Save AWARE! Gender equality for all! – Petition

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