A Defence Tinged With Regret

Today ran this story on 25 April 2009:

A defence tinged with regret
By Teo Xuanwei

TEARS welled up as she related how “saddened” she felt that it happened under her watch. Ms Constance Singam, the immediate past-president at the Association of Women for Action and Research, was visibly shaken when she said the “fundamental value of trust” in the women’s advocacy group was “gone”, following its very public leadership tussle.

And the implications for civil society arising from the dramatic events unfolding within the group, such as the death threats said to have been sent to the new leadership, were keenly felt as well.

“We are saddened and sorry. That’s not how we want civil society to operate,” said Dr Kanwaljit Soin, a founding member. “We don’t know who gave it to her and we don’t think such actions should take place in a civilised society.”

But the “Old Guard” firmly defended the way they ran Aware. In a heated 90-minute press conference on Friday, 10 members, accompanied by a legal adviser, responded to the newly-elected committee’s barbs that the feminist organisation has become pro-gay and pro-lesbian, among other things.

A press statement was issued to account for each activity listed by the current Exco to support their claims.

Responding to allegations that its comprehensive sexuality education programme promotes homosexuality, the Old Guard said information about lesbianism only constituted a “very small percentage of the whole package”.

Other elements included risks of unsafe sex and how to deal with peer pressure, for instance. Such activities were a bid to respond to the “changing needs of women”.

“Homosexuality exists. We cannot be ostriches and bury our heads and pretend it doesn’t exist. We have to address the issue,” said Dr Soin.

The common refrain from the 10 on Friday to refute claims that Aware has deviated from its original aims: It was set up as a “secular” and “inclusive” civil society. It does not seek to “impose values”, said Dr Soin.

“We are anti-discrimination. We are anti anti-anything,” Ms Singam said passionately.

The current crisis at Aware is also not about “women fighting against women”, the group noted, but should instead serve as a wake-up call for all civil society actors.

As advocates for issues that would benefit society, civil societies are “responsible for being transparent and accountable”, said Dr Soin.

The right way to go about advancing an issue was to work together within the organisation even when there were differing viewpoints, she added, and not “stealthily taking over”, as the focus eventually turned on the new Exco.

Dr Soin said: “There seems to be an ideological divide. It would have been more easily bridged if they had come in as members, gave us their viewpoints, see what they feel is objectionable and argue with us.”

The new Exco has not stated in exact terms what its agenda is and how it is going to carry it out, she added.

This demand, which had been made since the issue was reported, has now led to an online petition to opposed the new Exco at the upcoming extraordinary general meeting on May 2 — started by one of its founding members, Vivian Wee.

The Old Guard described the petition as “an expression of how civil society works”.

That more than 500 Singaporeans and foreigners have signed up is an indication they are “not happy with how things have worked out” since the elections, said Dr Soin.

Declining to speculate on whether the bid to overthrow the Exco would be successful, Ms Margaret Thomas, a founding member and past vice-president, said the Old Guard would have a slate of new candidates ready.

Ms Dana Lam, a past president, also took issue with the current Exco’s firing of staff. Noting that Aware has always been run by “dedicated” volunteers, she said: “We are not a corporation. We don’t hire and fire.”

Behind the barbs against the new Exco, however, there remained that notable a tinge of regret about the current crisis at Aware.

The Old Guard were sideswiped because it has traditionally been “too trusting” and “welcomed all new blood”, said Dr Soin.