Association of Woman for Action & Research (AWARE) was registered in Singapore in November 1985 as a voluntary organisation of women with three main areas of focus - Support, Research and Advocacy.
Recently they completed this Report with the following key recommendations. My views are, of course, attached :)
- Amend the Constitution to include a provision that no one will be discriminated against on the grounds of gender and marital status.
[Since we are in the mood of amending the Constitution to eradicate discrimination, may I propose that we amend the Woman's Charter too? When Woman's Charter was initially constituted, we human were all living in another planet and in another era. Women have come along way since then. Divorced husbands too need protection!]- Set up a body that promotes gender equality.
[I am for it as it promotes equality between man and woman. Refer to my comment above.]
- Promote more flexible work arrangements to help more women.
[Nope. We should say "Promote more flexible work arrangement to help more men and women.]
- Need for legislation on sexual harassment.
[Agree. Again it should cover sexual harassment for both sexes.]
- Taskforce to oversee interest of foreign women.
[Nope. The taskforce must also oversee the interest of foreign men. Remember there are men who are exploited too. Remember the man who died in a worksite accident whose body was dumped in a carpark in Sengkang. Remember the man who was paid $20 (I think) to sleep in the middle of an expressway to look after some construction materials.]
- Strengthen laws to ensure women are not fired during pregnancy.
[I think this is fair.]
- System to prevent human trafficking.
[I think this is fair as AWARE is referrring to human and not woman trafficking.]
- CASE should play an active role in opposing the perpetuation of gender stereotypes in the media.
[I can accept this proposal.]
1 comment:
Hi,
Many professionals are of the same view that Woman's Charter should be abandoned. The society recognised that women are capable and independent now and so the women do not need to be protected and be covered financially under the Woman's Charter.
However, from a social point of view, this law does have an effect of binding an otherwise broken marriage. It holds back impulsive decisions of divorce. Many failures in marriage are held back from divorce because of this ruling, many are taking more time to think about the issues before heading for divorce. This may be one of the reason why Woman's Charter is still around despite the change in the social standing of the woman.
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