BEING PEREMPUAN IN SINGAPORE TODAY: EXPLORING THE DYNAMICS OF IDENTITY AND SELFHOOD AMONGST SINGAPOREAN MALAY WOMEN

Abstract

The notion of the Malay woman in Singapore is often undergirded by stereotypes such as wearing the hijab, handling multiple children and many more. Sociological studies conducted about the Perempuan (translated from Malay: woman) in Singapore is limited, many of them focusing on the centrality of the Muslim identity upon these individuals. In this essay, I aim to problematise what it means to be a Malay woman in relation to the weight of these stereotypes and social expectations upon the Malay woman. Through conducting interviews of a range of Malay women and their “figures of authority”, I plan to unpack the diverging social standards that restrict these individuals. Most importantly, I aim to portray the varying tactics of selves adopted by Malay women in their everyday lives that they use, beyond that of the religion. It is in these tactics one may reveal how the Malay woman exercises her agency in negotiating around different social structures. At the end of this project, I aim to challenge the dominant discourse that a Malay woman is docile and voiceless by sharing their stories and expanding the literature about the Perempuan in Singapore.