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

Original post at Sayoni – Breaking News: AWARE EOGM Results – Old Guard Returned (Singapore)

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!

AWARE EGM Notice – Change of Venue

They have changed the venue from Expo to Suntec.

29^th April 2009

To: AWARE Members

EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING

TO BE HELD ON 2^ND MAY 2009

Notice is hereby given that:

1. The venue of the Extraordinary General Meeting (“EGM”) of the Association of Women for

Action & Research (“AWARE”) to be held on Saturday, 2^nd May 2009 , from 2.00 p.m. to

5.00 p.m. is hereby changed as follows:

Exhibition Hall 402

Suntec Singapore

International Convention & Exhibition Centre

1 Raffles Boulevard, Suntec City ,

Singapore 039593

This notification supercedes all previous notifications.

2.    Admission and registration would be from 12.00 noon to 2.00 p.m. on Saturday, 2^nd

May 2009 .

Registration for new members will close once the EGM starts at 2.00 p.m.

Existing members may be admitted.

It is mandatory to show your NRIC for admission and registration.

3. Messrs Rajah & Tann have been appointed to act as AWARE’s legal advisors to attend the

EGM to be convened on 2^nd May 2009 to address legal queries relating to, and raised

during, the EGM including the matters intended to be transacted, AWARE’s constitution and

meeting law and procedure.

By Order Of The Executive Committee

Jenica Chua

Honorary Secretary

Association of Women for Action & Research

One Cause For All Women

One Cause For All Women

AWARE EGM Notice – Change of Venue

AWARE EGM Notice – Change of Venue

27^th April 2009

To: AWARE Members

EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING

TO BE HELD ON 2^ND MAY 2009

Notice is hereby given that:

1. The venue of the Extraordinary General Meeting (“EGM”) of the Association of Women for

Action & Research (“AWARE”) to be held on Saturday, 2^nd May 2009 , from 2.00 p.m. to

5.00 p.m. is hereby changed as follows:

Singapore EXPO Hall 2

1 Expo Drive, #01-01

Singapore 486150

Admission and registration would be from 12.00 noon to 2.00 p.m. on Saturday, 2^nd

May 2009 .

It is mandatory to show your NRIC for admission and registration.

2. Messrs Rajah & Tann have been appointed to act as AWARE’s legal advisors to attend the

EGM to be convened on 2^nd May 2009 to address legal queries relating to, and raised

during, the EGM including the matters intended to be transacted, AWARE’s constitution and

meeting law and procedure.

By Order Of The Executive Committee

Jenica Chua

Honorary Secretary

Association of Women for Action & Research

Civil Engagement in a Civil Society

A lot has happened over the AWARE saga, and because of exams, I have not been able to do a commentary on it. Not that there would be a lot for me to say, every possible angle has been thoroughly canvassed by the bloggosphere and media. It is really quite clear that I do not support the new exco after them using such shady methods and knowing their background. I do not find my confidence in them bolstered after the revelation that Dr Thio Su-Mien is behind it. I have already had a run-in with her daughter, Dr Thio Li-Ann before, as some people would remember – and while I disagreed with her and found her remarks in parliament insulting, I was one of the first ones to stand up and say that she should not be fired or receive death threats because of what she said. My principles, or stance, have not changed. I believe, and still believe, in civil, dignified debate, not name-calling or personal attacks.

So, whoever send that death threat to the new exco – cut it out. You are making us look bad. While I have strong doubts about the veracity of the said death threat, or even any real intention, I am going to treat it as real for the purposes of this discussion, and repeat, once again, that no one, NO ONE, should be doing anything remotely despicable. Having said that (and this is directed at you, new exco) receiving death threats does not make your cause a noble one (Harvey Milk got death threats on a regular basis, and I doubt you are going to agree his cause is noble).

Secondly, as to Josie Lau’s job. I have absolutely no idea what DBS is doing to her position, and frankly, I don’t care. While the revelation that she is the one who led DBS-FOTF linkup is infuriating but not surprising, I believe that issue has already been dealt with and buried. DBS has learned its lesson. But this new saga really has nothing to do with them. I know some of us already cancelled our DBS accounts after the FOTF saga – and now there is a new call from Mr Wang to cancel our DBS cards so that Josie can get fired.

I have to say, this is not a strategy I am comfortable with, or will ever endorse. Boycotting a business that might support an anti-gay cause is one thing, but trying to target it at a person is not acceptable unless she’s a mass murderer/fraudster etc.

Josie is as much as human being as the rest of us, and she has a family to support too – two kids, in fact. She has the full right to have a career and do things outside this career, and express her own views. As do any of us. How would any of you like to be fired because you supported a gay cause? What if all the fundies called in and boycotted the business/company you worked for, just to get you fired? Her job performance has nothing to do with her beliefs – DBS can decide whether to keep her on or not.

I will not, and cannot, endorse such a blunt tool tactic. That’s going too far. Not to mention it will only backfire on us, because we are going to look petty and undignified. Let’s try to do justice to YawningBread’s assertion that we are a mature bunch on this issue.

Not to mention I do not want to hear the new exco play the victim again. It is kind of getting tiring, really. Morever, when they play the victim, they avoid the real issues and hard questions. They are already good at that, lets not give them more opportunities.

Save AWARE! Gender equality for all!

Save AWARE! Gender equality for all!

Please sign this petition, especially if you are unable to attend and vote at the EOGM.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

SAVE AWARE

SAVE AWARE

The foundation of AWARE as a secular organisation that embraces diversity in race, religion, culture and sexuality has been challenged.

At the AGM on 28th March 2009, a group of women who were mostly entirely new to AWARE (generally, 2 – 5 months experience) orchestrated a takeover of AWARE to further their own agenda. Click here for more details of the AGM and the events that followed.

We, concerned members of AWARE, are working with former AWARE Committee Members and Founder Members to petition for an EGM to consider a vote of no confidence in the New Exco.

OUR GROUNDS INCLUDE:

1. Lack of Transparency
The group has to-date not once communicated to its membership despite intense scrutiny and questions raised by the media on its intentions. The secrecy of the group is disturbing and gives rise to greater suspicion.

2. Lack of Experience
8 of the 9 new members have been in AWARE for less than 5 months; none of them has served in AWARE committees nor participated in AWARE initiatives as volunteers.

3. Unjustified Termination and Disregard of Experienced Volunteers
The New Exco has terminated all the current heads of the AWARE sub-committees, including the summary dismissal of Braema Mathi, Chairperson of AWARE’s CEDAW Committee (CEDAW stands for Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women). Ms Mathi is Singapore’s leading NGO expert on CEDAW.

4. Presidents
The new Exco have kept ex-President, Constance Singham out of Exco meetings, which is unconstitutional. Constance Singham and Claire Nazar have resigned from the new Exco on the grounds that their advice and direction have been totally disregarded by members of the new Exco.

5. Conflict of Interest
We have reasons to believe that given the religious and anti-gay beliefs of the New Exco, the new Exco will not support AWARE’s fundamental principles of inclusiveness and empowerment of ALL women regardless of religion and sexuality.

If you would like to support this cause, please read our CALL TO ACTION

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Sayoni Events: Anniversary Party and Summer Camp

It is an exciting time to be around Sayoni – we have two events to present to you: Sayoni Third Anniversary Party and the Sayoni Summer Camp ‘09.

The Anniversary Party is the highlight of our year, for sure, as we let down our hair and party like it has yet been another successful eventful year for us. Each year, we have grown and changed. Each year, we have gained new family members and gotten to more milestones, and each year, we honour the women that make it all possible. Ladies and gentlemen, you are invited to the Sayoni Third Anniversary Party: Homecoming.

Sayoni Summer Camp is a 3-day/2-nights camp specifically for queer women in or around Singapore. We will be having our first run on 1st – 3rd May 2009.

We aim to provide a fun-filled and meaningful experience for all campers. Our goal is to promote self-development and growth, with a focus on encouraging campers’ self-exploration and understanding of their relationship with the world around them.

At SSC ‘09, expect to be transported to a beautiful beachside resort in Indonesia. Away from the bustle of city life, enjoy indoor and outdoor activities including workshops and water games. Challenge your body and engage your mind with a series of activities – surrounded by a great bunch of queer women and Sayonites committed to your well-being.

Sayoni Survey Report 2008

Originally published on Sayoni Speak

Sayoni proudly presents Sayoni Queer Women Survey 2008 Report (Singapore).

Abstract

Objectives:

1.To gain some perspective on the actual needs of queer women, and what we can do about them

2.To provide free and accessible information to researchers, and act as a starting point for further research into the field

3.To ameliorate the dire lack of information on queer women in Singapore. Currently, there is no proper understanding of how the women’s queer community functions, other than biased and disjointed personal views.

The survey is broken down into five main aspects. Questions in each category are stream-lined and standardised for easy answering, by presenting most of the questions as rating questions where possible.

1. Introduction

General background.

2. Family, Friends and Work

Questions on how out the respondent is in their various social circles, how this group has reacted to the information, and the respondent’s intention to come out to that particular group.

3. Personal

Questions on a personal level relating to sexual orientation. Probes how the respondents come to realise their sexuality, different aspects of personal identity, and how their sexuality has affected them. Also includes information on relationships of respondents.

4. Financial

Questions to ascertain the financial status of queer women as a community – on income, occupation and industry, housing and car ownership.

5. Feedback on Sayoni and the community

Take note that the answers to these questions with the exception of two, are not presented in this report as they are meant for internal feedback.

This survey was not carried out with a null hypothesis in mind, and much of the information contained in this report is  processed descriptive statistics. Where possible, averages and trends have been pre-computed, and presented along with a broad analysis of the data. This  year, the data is presented in a much more visual format, as opposed to raw numbers in the
pilot run of 2006.

In the report of 2006, the data was broken down across Age, Ethnicity and Religion, as it is believed that these three different aspects affect the average queer woman in her views and social situation with respect to her sexuality. This year, due to the significant changes in methodology and presentation, we have decided to omit the comparison by Ethnicity and  Religion, as the representation for minority ethnic groups is not high enough to allow accurate comparisons.

Review: Sidung Burung

No, I do not speak Malay – but thanks to clever subtitles, I am able to at least provide a cursory review of this production, staged by Teatre Ekamatra at the Esplanade. The english title of the play is “Conference of the Birds“, adapted from the original Persian text of the same name.