BETWEEN WOMEN'S ISSUES AND THE RISE OF THE MODERN NATION STATE IN SINGAPORE 1950-1983 :THE CASE STUDY OF THE SINGAPORE COUNCIL OF WOMEN

Abstract

This thesis is an attempt to explore the complex interactions between gender and the modern nation-state's formation in Singapore through the case study of the SCW. It argues that the SCW's relentless pursuit of its anti-polygamy cause despite the British colonial authorities' ambivalence and seemingly insurmountable opposition from local society allowed it to play a key role in the 1950s anti-polygamy women's movement. It asserts that the anti-polygamy women's movement in the 1950s intersected with the era's wider politics of nationalism and that the SCW's instrumental role in the anti-polygamy movement allowed it to play a key role in the institution of the Women's Charter which was key in modern Singapore's formation through its role in articulating the state's ideal of a modern marriage which the modern family and modern nation-state are structured upon, and concentrating power in the hands of the state. It also argues that external factors like the changing social landscape and modern nation-state's formation in Singapore contributed to the SCW's decline in the post-1961 era aside from the commonly invoked internal explanations. Lastly, it advances that the local women's movement's vibrancy persisted despite perceptions of decline and the changed socio-political circumstances.