THREE GENERATIONS OF SIKH WOMEN IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

This study aims to track the progress that Sikh women have made over three generations and uncover the changing roles, ideas and expectations that Singaporean Sikh women have had. This paper documents the accounts of Sikh women and highlights the areas in which social change has occurred among the community in Singapore. The Sikhs form a small but significant portion of the Singapore population. The focus in this dissertation is on the individual lives of the women from a particular Sikh temple in Singapore, Gurdwara Katong. This temple is frequented mainly by Arora and Khatri Sikhs. The first three chapters of the thesis provide an introduction to the study, the Sikhs in Singapore and some of the literature that has been done on them. Chapter 4 presents an account of the methods entailed in the research process. This is followed by a discussion of certain key areas in which social change has occurred in the Sikh community in Singapore.