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Tag: AWARE

  • BBC News Biased – Female Circumcision In Singapore Not Genital Mutilation Described By AWARE

    BBC News Biased – Female Circumcision In Singapore Not Genital Mutilation Described By AWARE

    Myself and my 3 girls have undergone female circumcision. My son was circumcised too.

    For my girls, basically the SKIN tip of the clitoris, a tiny 1mm worth was clipped by the female Muslim paediatrician in a clinic. In fact I was the one holding my babies’ legs open cos whatever medical procedures concerning my children, I insist to be present and ensure it is carried out right. All 3 girls, same doctor.

    Female circumcision in Spore is NOT genital mutilation as described by AWARE. The clitoris is NOT deformed or reduced. The labia is NOT cut NOT sewn shut. Everything looks normal and pretty down there huhu. And as a paramedic, midwife trained and also doula in Spore, I have SEEN many Sporean/foreigner private parts, circumcised and not. The difference, if any, is negligible.

    I also assure you, my libido and sexual abilities are healthy and not deficient in any manner due to circumcision. If any other person has suffered, perhaps it WAS wrongly done or that person has mental/emotional issues concerning sex/has suffered a form of sexual abuse. Which I don’t hv. Neither have my girls.

    In Islam, female circumcision is NOT mandatory. I chose to do it for the benefit of my children. So do your research and make your own decision concerning your children. AWARE is an org I neither endorse nor respect after their recent fiasco of accusing a person of promoting family violence without proper investigation.

    I urge BBC to interview midwives and doctors in KKWCH, NUH, SGH and other hospitals with gynae/obstetric facilities. Do a proper investigation of ‘female genital mutilation’ among the Malays before naming it as such. Before you produce a baseless crappy article submitted from AWARE.

    Be AWARE of these ‘Muslims’ and the ‘liberal’ ideology spread and accepted due to the lack of religious knowledge in our community. Go back to your basics and learn your religion from MUIS and PERGAS teachers. And Allah knows best.

     

    Source: Dil MY

  • AWARE: Children Of Unwed Mothers Should Not Be Penalised For Family Structure

    AWARE: Children Of Unwed Mothers Should Not Be Penalised For Family Structure

    Under a policy review by the Social and Family Development Ministry announced on Jul 28, unwed working mothers may soon get the same benefits as married ones.

    Welcoming the announcement, the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) said children of unwed mothers should not be penalised for their family structure.

    Unwed mothers currently do not benefit from housing policies and tax reliefs such as the Qualifying Child Relief, Working Mother Child Relief and Grandparent Caregiver Relief, and that makes it harder to raise a child, said a single mother.

    Susan (not her real name) is a 40-year-old who works in the events industry. She hopes the revised policy will be fairer to unwed mothers and their children.

    “What I’m requesting is very basic. These are basic necessities like housing, you need a roof over your head. I wanted to apply for a BTO flat but as a single, I can only apply for a two-room flat. But I can’t live with my child in a one-bedroom flat so I appealed to HDB to request to apply for a three-room BTO flat but it has been denied a couple of times. So I had no choice but to buy in the open market,” Susan said.

    “Why would I want to share a room with my son? I mean, when he’s younger it’s fine but when he is older, I’m sure he would want his own room,” she added.

    Under rules by the Housing and Development Board (HDB), an unwed mother and her child are not considered a family nucleus and therefore do not qualify for a new three-room flat.

    AWARE said this puts these families at a disadvantage as they are not given the same support as other families.

    Ms Jolene Tan, Programmes and Communications Senior Manager at AWARE, said: “If you can’t afford a resale flat, then you find yourself in the situation of perhaps having to seek the goodwill of other relatives or to go to interim rental housing and all of this can create instability in the family environment.”

    AWARE acknowledged that unwed mothers are not excluded from all benefits. For example, they are eligible for infant care and childcare subsidies. But the association said unwed mothers should not be excluded from any benefits at all and should receive even more support from the government.

    Nominated Member of Parliament Kuik Shiao-Yin, who has brought the issue of unfair treatment of single unwed mothers up in Parliament previously, said that the review of policies is encouraging to hear. She added that this is an equalisation of opportunities as children of single unwed mothers can now start off on the same footing as children of married mothers.

    The policy review is expected to be completed before the announcement of Budget 2016.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • AWARE Not Really Aware Of The Principle of Equality

    AWARE Not Really Aware Of The Principle of Equality

    Feminist Naomi Wolf has met her match in Singapore.

    The outspoken advocate against cosmetics and plastic surgery industries could not persuade women rights group Aware (Association of Women for Action and Research) to change their minds about adopting a more inclusive attitude towards men in their membership.

    The best-selling author of The Beauty Myth and The End of America was invited as a guest speaker at the annual Singapore Writers Festival on Nov. 1, 2014. She gave a lecture on feminism and her dialogue session was moderated by former Aware President Dana Lam.

    In Aware, ordinary membership is only open to women. Male members can be associate members of Aware with fewer participation rights.

    Below is a transcript of the full exchange between Lam and Wolf:

    Caleb, a male participant in the audience: How do you think that men can be more involved in feminism, and perhaps a remark to Dana, given what she (Naomi Wolf) said about feminism having to be more inclusive, would Aware consider including men as full members? (gasps from the crowd, followed by applause)

    Dana Lam was silent for a while.

    Constance Singam, a former Aware President: I like to answer that question…which is why it was taken over by the group of women, who took over Aware in 2009. Because we have that as part of our constitutional review. We want to include men.*

    *Singam was referring to the March 2009 takeover of AWARE by a group of conservative Christians led by Thio Su-Mien and Josie Lau.

    Lam: We were, we were considering it. (laughter in reaction to Lam’s hesitance)

    Naomi Wolf: How can you legally exclude men?

    Silence in the crowd.

    Wolf: Well, that was a weird vibe. (Laughter in the crowd)

    Lam: If you identify as a feminist, which is you believe in the equality of the rights of the individual, I think that is more important a commitment than to point finger at one organisation, which is set out specifically, for the objective of correcting the imbalance that exists in the society.

    Wolf: I did that. He (the audience) didn’t do that. I’m the one who did that. He didn’t do that. (more laughter in the crowd)

    Lam: No, no, no. Because Aware has always been taken to task for not admitting male members in the leadership especially. For some time now, we do have male members as associate members, they don’t have full membership rights. So this has been taken against us. But this is an organisation set up by women to correct the imbalance that exists in society. So until that problem is resolved, I think it’s too early for us to think of us involving men.

    Wolf gave an unconvincing laugh.

    Lam: You know, you can join in the conversation. You are invited to the roundtable discussion. You are invited to the events, and what we need is an evolution..

    Wolf: I guess I will respectfully very very much disagree with what you just said. (To applause in the crowd)

    Lam: The problem is we have a situation where what we need is to have the space for women to come together to articulate their problems.

    Wolf: I don’t think it’s an either or. I don’t see why it’s an either or. You know, look, I don’t live here, and you are doing very important work and I respect your leadership. That said, I think we are in a turning point. I don’t want to be part of any organisation anywhere that leaves people out on the basis of their gender, or their race, or their religion. (To more applause in the crowd)

    Wolf: I understand your comments that women need space on their own or men will take over. My view is a) if we are so passive that allowing men or including men means they are going to take it over, we need to work on ourselves. And b)…

    Lam interrupted: We do! That’s why we have an organisation that allows us to work on ourselves.

    Wolf: But we shouldn’t, like, keep him (the audience) out if he wants to be a feminist. (laughter in the crowd)

    Lam: He doesn’t have to be in Aware to be a feminist.

    Wolf: But again, let me circle back because this freaks people out, but I always like to go there. How can you legally exclude someone on the basis of their gender?

    Some members of the audience: There is no gender equality under the laws of Singapore.

    Wolf: There is no gender equality in Singapore? Really?

    Singam: There is (gender equality) in our constitution, which has to be approved by the Registrar of Society.

    Wolf: Okay. Is it illegal, like if he shows up and said that ‘I want to come in’?

    Lam: That we are against his constitutional right? He could…

    Wolf: He could make a lot of friends…

    Lam: The gentleman, it was a man who just told me that we have five minutes more…Time’s up. Can we just take one last question?

    Wolf: I feel that like, let’s just heal this bridge. (More laughter and applause)

    Wolf: I just want to say you know your organisation. But I don’t see any reason you couldn’t have events, spaces, discussions for women, sometimes women do need to talk about things without men being around, and also ways of including men.

    Let me give you an example. I was just down the campus in Columbia, and that was covered in the Straits Times. There was this protest that a woman is carrying around a mattress because she was assaulted. And now the whole university has shown support. And all these men are carrying around mattresses. It makes me cry. I was there and I see all these young men dragging around this mattress (laughter in the crowd) all by themselves, as a way to participate and to show support. It was absolutely organic, coherent, humane, healing. As a survivor of sexual violence myself, I found it healing to see these men carrying the stuff around and finding a role. There are so many ways of embracing men as feminists.

    Lam: No doubt about it at all. But Ms Wolf, we are an Association of Women for Action and Research. And we work in collaboration with men and other organisations all the time! But we are an Association of Women for Action and Research! So unless we change our constitution, change our names, and the time might come for that. But the time is arguably not now.

    Singham and some members of the audience: Yes!

    Lam: Erm. Do we call it a day now?

    The Straits Times report on this exchange on Nov. 3, 2014 noted that “no knockout punch was delivered” by either women, but featured a quote from an interview with a participant that was supportive of Wolf’s view.

    “From that exchange, I think she (Lam) perpetuated the idea that feminism is men-hating, which is exactly what Naomi Wolf was arguing against,” said student Thanusha Raj, 22.

    According to Wolf’s Facebook, all seems well regarding her friendship with the Aware members.

    “I met a group of inspiring activists for (delicious) Chinese food afterwards in a giant bright mall — everything here is super clean super orderly and super bright…and these women started AWARE, the women’s organization, thirty years ago. They led the fight against policies that paid uneducated women not to reproduce….brought sexual harassment into the discussion…and pioneered other firsts. Humbling.”

    Source: http://mothership.sg

  • The ‘Fundamentalists’ and the ‘Progressives’

    walid Jumblatt
    Of late, the Muslim ‘Progressives’ in Singapore have been more vocal and assertive; and I welcome this. Previously, they worked behind the scenes and used to detest being labeled as ‘liberal Muslims’ and the like. It is high time they ‘came out of the closet’ and clearly spell out their beliefs and agenda, so that the Muslim community can assess them properly.
    (note: we must exercise caution in using the ‘liberal’ or ‘progressive’ label against Muslims we disagree with. I am just appropriating the term that some of them have preferred to use to describe themselves).So the narrative being espoused now is that there are some ‘fundamentalists’ within the Muslim community, and, in my opinion quite humourously, they look to the state to ensure that these ‘fundamentalists’ do not threaten the ‘secular’ nature of the state. The #wearwhite campaign is the ‘poster boy’ for what they would term as rising Islamic religious assertiveness.

    Firstly let us not obfuscate the facts: the #wearwhite campaign was a call for the Muslim community, to return to fitrah, or the state of purity. It was a peaceful campaign, done in the spirit of compassion and love, and intended to include and not alienate any Muslim, however far from the faith they may be. The campaign was not motivated by events in neighbouring countries, it was not meant to interfere in the political or public policy realm, it was not meant to discriminate against anyone: it was a call to return to purity, i reiterate. This is quite a simple point that i think has either been genuinely misunderstood or adroitly manipulated by the ‘progressive Muslims’. Does not matter; i hope this clarifies it.

    Rather than get into a definitional debate about the problematic terms (‘fundamentalist’, ‘progressive’ etc) that have been thrown about recklessly in mainstream and social media, i have a few questions for these self-proclaimed Muslim progressives.

    1) What is your agenda or end-goal? Please spell it out properly.

    2) What is your position on issues such as homosexual acts and the hijab in Islamic jurisprudence? Please be straightforward and do not skirt the issue. Your positions seem to be ever-changing on these, so it would help to clarify.

    3) Do you believe that anyone can interpret the Quran, even those whose knowledge of the Arabic language can fit comfortably at the back of a stamp?

    4) What other laws/legal rulings do you seek to ‘reinterpret’?

    5) Do you accept the authority of the ulama’, local and foreign ones? If so to what extent? If not why and whose authority then do you accept? Who are the ulama’?

    6) What do you guys believe is the position of ‘rationality’ in Islam? Are there limits to rationality? If so where?

    7) I constantly hear you guys singing the tune ‘oh we do not reject the Quran, we just reject the interpretations of classical scholars that are not relevant.’

    What is the arbiter/criterion by which you judge what is relevant or not?

    8 ) What is your methodology in ‘re-interpreting’ the Quran?

    9) What is your methodology for accepting or rejecting the hadiths of the Prophet, if you accept them at all?

    10) Do you accept that as Muslims, we have to worship Allah the way He wants us to, and not the way we want to?

    These are just some of the questions that i believe should be answered, in order for the community to truly assess the ‘progressives’. Be open about your agenda and aspirations, and let the community decide whether they are worth the community’s time and efforts.

    And the answers to these questions are also needed if a genuine dialogue is to be started, and to avoid hollow calls for discussion.

    Authored by Walid J. Abdullah

    READ Ex-MUIS Staff Say SG Muslim Fundamentalists Felt Threatened By LGBT
    READ related Articles on PinkDot, LGBT & Islam Here
    Read on Liberal Islam/Progressive Muslims Here
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  • AWARE, Liberal Islam, The Reading Group Organise Talk During Ramadhan

    http://www.aware.org.sg/
    thereadinggroup
    http://www.thereadinggroup.sg/main.htm

    AWARE is organising a 3-Part Ramadan talk on Gender in Islam, and first session is on 4 July.

    AWARE will be holding a series of presentations and discussions about the works of prominent Islamic scholars and their views on gender in Islam.

    Dr Azhar Ibrahim Alwee, NUS and member of The Reading Group

    Session 1: Malay Ideas on Women by Dr Azhar Ibrahim (Senior Visiting Fellow, NUS)

    Throughout Malay intellectual history, there were several strands of thinking pertaining to gender and women’s role within the socio-cultural, political and religious spheres of the Malays. This presentation will highlight some of these thinking through early proponents of the modern era, such as Syed Sheikh al-Hadi, to later thinkers such as Hamka, Khadijah Sidek and the prominent Muslim feminist group, Sisters in Islam.

    Friday, 4 July 2014
    AWARE Centre
    6.30pm to 9.30pm
    Register for Session 1 here!

    Assoc Prof Noor Aisha Abdul Rahman, NUS & member of The Reading Group

    Session 2: Muslim Personal Law and Citizens’ Rights: The Case of Singapore
    by A/P Noor Aisha Abdul Rahman (Head, Dept of Malay Studies, NUS)

    Prevailing discourse on multiculturalism tend to focus on its merits in protecting the cultures and traditions of minority groups within the framework of the politics of accommodation. Less discussed are its implications on the rights and autonomy of members of the groups themselves who may be adversely affected by the arrangement. This presentation will focus on the problems arising from autonomy granted to the Muslim community of Singapore to determine its personal law, on some segments of the community, particularly in the arena of the Muslim law on marriage, divorce and inheritance.

    Friday, 11 July 2014
    AWARE Centre
    6.30pm to 9.30pm
    Register for Session 2 here!

     

    Mohamed Imran Mohamed Taib is a social activist with The Reading Group, Singapore.

    Session 3: Challenging Patriarchy: Early Reformist Responses
    by Mohamed Imran (Associate Research Fellow, NTU)

    Feminism and the struggle against patriarchy is not a new phenomenon in Muslim society. This presentation will trace some of the early ideas on feminism to the Egyptian context of Islamic reform in the late 19th and early 20th century. In particular, the ideas of seminal figures such as Rifa’ah al-Tahtawi, Muhammad ‘Abduh and Qasim Amin will be discussed.

    Friday, 18 July 2014
    AWARE Centre
    6.30pm to 9.30pm
    Register for Session 3 here!

    Individual price: $8 for 1 person/session
    Pair price: $14 for 2 persons/session
    Price includes cost of catered food.
    Prayer space is provided.

    Source: http://www.aware.org.sg/2014/06/ramadan-talks-on-gender-in-islam/

    READ MORE ON THE READING GROUP, MUIS & LIBERAL ISLAM HERE 

     

    EDITOR’S NOTE

    Liberal Islam, Progressive Muslims, and The Reading Group seems to be a popular choice among Muslims who are more ‘open-minded’.

    Growing number of academics in NUS and NTU are also joining the band of liberal Muslims. 

    What do you think of this development and trend? 

    Share your opinion with us at Rilek1Corner.

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