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Youth@AWARE
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Today's Woman: Evolving Roles & Responsibilities

The Forum was jointly organsied by Young Sikh Association (Singapore) and Youth @AWARE; supported by National Youth Council. View pictures of the forum held on 15th October at RELC.

View Photos of Today's Woman Forum : Click Here

Read about the forum in an article that was published in The New Paper : View Article

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Today’s Woman: Evolving Roles and Responsibilities Forum was initiated by the Young Sikh Association in the spirit of ‘mutual understanding’ and ‘fostering friendships’ and supported by Youth@AWARE to provide a platform to young women and men to voice their thoughts on issues that affect them. One of the considerable challenges facing any discussion on today’s woman is finding the means to address (to borrow a phrase from Gayle Rubin 1975: 160) the ‘oppression of women in its endless variety and monotonous similarity’. The speakers and ensuing lively debate successfully addressed the endlessly varied tapestry of what it means to be a woman in today’s society.

Dr Chitra Sankaran’s presentation addressed the issue of stereotypes and (mis)perceptions of the modern woman. Dr Chitra adopted the familiar adage of ‘behind every great man is a good woman’ to illustrate how society inculcates gender identity and inequality. She also offered some more humorous alternatives to think about - ‘behind every great man is a surprised woman’ and ‘behind every great woman is a disgruntled man’. Humor aside though, the single vision that permeates our society – that of man as the ultimate representative of the species standing out against the mere background of woman must continually be examined and deconstructed in all its guises.

The second speaker Ms. Dana Lam (writer and artist) and past President of AWARE, urged women to move beyond pointing the finger at men. Today’s women should stand less in opposition to man and more in solidarity with woman. Together, today’s women can help ensure that social challenges such as child care, social security and labour are nuanced enough to embrace their diversity of needs and experiences.

The presentations concluded with Dr Berinderjeet Kaur (Associate Professor in the Mathematics Education Academic Group at the National Institute of Education, NTU). In her presentation Dr Berinderjeet spoke positively about the advancements of the female gender in education, particularly mathematics where Singaporean ladies are excelling. The role of today’s woman is constantly evolving as we each strive to find our unique equilibrium within the home, work, relationships and family. Establishing and maintaining equilibrium requires a clear vision and constant tinkering with our evolving roles and responsibilities.

Following the presentations, the forum chair Dr.Tan sparked off some lively debate by asking whether there are any societies around the world where women enjoy equal or dominant rights without damaging home / family life (emphasis added). Whether wittingly (as later claimed) or unwittingly made, this comment on women’s power and the assumption that it is illegitimate, disruptive and without authority was a humorous but stark reminder of why such forums, and many many more of them, are needed to help today’s woman and today’s man understand and support her evolving roles and responsibilities.

--Mairead Furlong

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