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White Paper 'important marker'; S'pore's respectful treatment of women sets it apart from some nations: Shanmugam

SINGAPORE — The work Singapore has put in to treat women with respect has set it apart from some other countries where, in some cases, women are even mistreated in Parliament, Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam said.

Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam pointed out that the work Singapore has put in to treat women with respect has set it apart from some other countries, where, in some cases, women are even mistreated in Parliament.

Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam pointed out that the work Singapore has put in to treat women with respect has set it apart from some other countries, where, in some cases, women are even mistreated in Parliament.

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  • Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam said the White Paper on women’s development for Singapore is an "important marker" in the road to equality for women
  • The work Singapore has put in to treat women with respect has set it apart from other countries
  • It is worth considering how the nation should continue strengthening the respect and the idea of equality for women, he added
  • Other ministers spoke about the need to promote equal partnership between women and men

SINGAPORE — The work Singapore has put in to treat women with respect has set it apart from some other countries where, in some cases, women are even mistreated in Parliament, Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam said.

He added that the Government's White Paper on women’s development for Singapore is an "important marker" in the road to equality for women, and although the country has yet to arrive at its destination, it knows the road to travel.

“Where we are in Singapore… is not preordained. It is because of the choices we made (over the years), and the work we have put in to treat women properly with respect.”

In Parliament on Tuesday (April 5), Mr Shanmugan was one of nine political office-holders who spoke during a marathon debate that lasted close to 10 hours on a motion on women’s development for Singapore, to move towards “a fairer and more inclusive society” for men and women in workplaces and at home.

Joining the debate were 27 Members of Parliament (MPs) from both sides of the aisle, three Nominated MPs and one Non-Constituency MP.

The White Paper, which was endorsed by Parliament at the end of the day, maps out 25 action plans to take place over the next decade.

Among other things, it recommends the legalisation of elective egg freezing for women aged 21 to 35 regardless of their marital status, reducing the financial strain on caregivers by enhancing the Home Caregiving Grant and normalising flexible workplace arrangements.

In Singapore, let me tell you, if you beat your wives, or vice versa, the police will come looking for you.
Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam

During his speech, Mr Shanmugam cited several countries as examples where women are either put at a disadvantage or have their worth diminished.

In the United States, for example, he said that there are many instances where women have to travel outside of their state to get an abortion owing to tighter rules on the procedure.

“The issue of a woman's right to medical procedure; the autonomy of her body versus her life — this is subject to laws in many countries, including Singapore, but it gets difficult when the issue becomes politicised and if you tilt too far away from giving autonomy to a woman over her own body.” 

In Singapore, a woman's autonomy is given considerable weight, he added.

In Australia, he highlighted several allegations about how women were mistreated in the country’s Parliament.

In a report, not only had one MP grabbed a victim and stuck his tongue down her throat, another parliamentarian was completely naked when a worker walked into his office and he addressed the worker as if nothing was untoward.

Mr Shanmugan said that Singapore’s law would never have allowed such acts to have taken place, and the consequences of breaching them would be “quite severe”.

Closer to home, he spoke of how Malaysia’s Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, in an attempt to give advice on how to maintain harmony within households, told women in 2020 to mimic the voice of Japanese cartoon character Doraemon when speaking to their husbands.

"As I understand it, Doraemon is a male robot cat. So (I'm) not quite sure why women should speak like a male robot cat."

The Malaysian ministry also told women that they should “giggle coyly” and avoid wearing clothes for home-wear and to put on make-up, as well as to use humorous words and avoid nagging, Mr Shanmugam recounted.

He added that last year, a female Malaysian minister told men, among other things, to strike their wives gently and to “discipline them if they do not stop unruly behaviour”.

“In Singapore, let me tell you, if you beat your wives, or vice versa, the police will come looking for you,” the law minister said.

He reminded the House that up until 1965, modern-day Singapore and Malaysia were the same country with largely similar cultures.

“The roads we took diverged after 1965. These were deliberate choices and they led to very different results. And that is worth reflecting on to consider carefully what part we should continue on, and what we can do to strengthen the respect and the idea of equality for women.” 

EQUAL PARTNERSHIP

Other speakers gave their takes on how Singapore should progress as a society — in particular, how an equal partnership between women and men can be promoted.

In her opening speech, Mrs Josephine Teo, Minister of Communications and Information, touched on her struggles as a young working mother and recalled that she not only feared failing in her duties as a mother but had doubts about her career opportunities and how to care for her ageing parents.

“Questions like these trouble women all the time. I am in no way unique.” 

Mrs Teo said that while legislation can solve problems related to caregiving or workplace fairness, no law can dictate the norms in a family or detailed practices of workplaces.

Were it not for her husband who stepped up as an involved father, or brothers who helped to take up caregiving duties for their mother, she would not have been able to work with relative peace of mind.

She added that she was fortunate her former bosses had given her room to accommodate both personal passions and circumstances.

“This is why I firmly believe men’s support for equal partnership with women is so important.”

Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for Social and Family Development, and Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, among others, agreed with those sentiments in their respective speeches.

In a similar vein, both Ms Rahayu Mahzam, Parliamentary Secretary for Health, and Ms Low Yen Ling, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth, spoke about the need to move caregiving responsibilities away from one that is predominately borne by women to one that is shared by men equally.

To that end, Ms Gan Siow Huang, Minister of State for Manpower, said that the greater availability of flexible work arrangements can make a big difference as to how caregiving arrangements can be sorted out.

RETHINKING STATUS QUO

Mr Ong said that there are biases, which are deeply embedded in Singapore's social practices and constructs that cannot be undone in one generation.

“But no matter how entrenched, that past is challenged by the present. There are at least three driving forces. Number one: Education. Number two: Technology. They combine in a powerful way to force a rethink of the status quo.” 

The health minister also said that education has led to equal opportunities for women, and technological advancements have allowed them to enter professions that would typically require physical strength as a prerequisite.

The third driving force, he added, is society’s willingness to change the status quo, and this will require everyone to realise that treating both women and men equally is better for the welfare of their families and loved ones.

“This will take time, and the Government will have a key role by enacting policies such as universal access to education, the Women's Charter, and all the various recommendations in the White Paper.”

CLOSING DIGITAL SAFETY GAP

Aside from urging men to step up and do more to support women, other ministers made suggestions on how to improve women’s safety in cyber space.

Ms Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State for National Development, said for example, that although Singapore’s streets are safe, an “exploitative and backward mindset” towards women has found new means of expression in the internet age.

Such harm, she said, may also be weaponised in a malicious and cynical manner to threaten and inflict trauma on individual women, so much so that more women than men feel unsafe from gender-based online harms.

If left unchecked, online harms that promote exploitative and disrespectful attitudes towards women and girls may discourage women from being active online.

Ms Sim said that this is more than just making fewer posts or comments on social media.

Rather, it could mean avoiding important and meaningful undertakings — such as leadership roles or advocacy in real life — that might increase one’s chances of encountering haters who wield online harms as a weapon.

“Reduced participation means reduced opportunities. Why should women accept this?” she asked.

“The digital safety gap must be closed. Our women and girls must feel as safe and confident online as they do in real life.”

Related topics

Parliament White Paper women K Shanmugam caregivers Doraemon online harm cyber bullying

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