Fridae

It was an extraordinary general meeting in every sense of the word. A showdown at Singapore's Suntec Convention Centre attended by some 3,000 people, who wanted a say about the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) and the direction it would take as Singapore's main women's advocacy group.

The meeting, held on May 2, was the climax of a tussle that had dominated headlines and online discussions this past month, and called a pivotal moment in the history of Singapore's civil society.

On one side, supporters of president Josie Lau and her team, who had seized control of AWARE on Mar 28 under the guidance of born-again Christian lawyer and self-styled 'feminist mentor' Dr Thio Su Mien. Dr Thio is a well-known figure to the Singaporean gay community, primarily for her Christian fundamentalist, anti-gay views.

On the other side, AWARE stalwarts and their supporters who refuted the exco's claims that the group had become too 'single-focused' on gay and lesbian rights. Their stance: That it was important to maintain the secular and inclusive nature of AWARE to benefit 'all women'.

Members began gathering as early as 9 am to queue in front of the registration counters. The meeting was scheduled for 2 pm but was delayed for half an hour due to the large crowd still streaming in. Many were new to AWARE, spurred on to sign up and be counted, for whichever side they took.

A commotion began as soon as the exco (executive committee) took their places and Ms Lau, as chair, tried to call the meeting to order. A reading of the agenda and the president's address was interrupted as the AWARE veterans called for the vote of no confidence to be tabled immediately. This, they said, was their primary reason for calling the meeting.

Chaos and tension ensued during the rest of the afternoon and into the night as members of both teams interrupted to correct each other, and the microphones were intermittently turned on and off.


Civil society at risk: hijack of an activist and welfare NGO by fundamentalists

The run-up to the meeting and its proceedings was also nothing short of dramatic.

Issues of homophobia, and religion, specifically Christian fundamentalism, were raised by both reporters and bloggers shortly after AWARE's takeover by a group of virtual unknowns (See earlier article 'Anti-gay Christian fundamentalists hijack Singapore women's group'; link below)

These reports pointed out the fact that six of the newly elected members, including Ms Lau, were also members of the Anglican Church of Our Saviour (COOS), which runs 'Choices', an ex-gay ministry. In addition to being her 'feminist mentor', Dr Thio Su Mien is also the aunt of Ms Lau's husband, Dr Alan Chin; and the mother of Nominated Member of Parliament Thio Li-Ann. Both Dr Chin and the younger Thio have regularly made public their views against homosexuality. Ms Lau, as a vice-president at DBS Bank, was revealed to have led a credit card promotion scheme that benefitted Focus on the Family (See 'LGBTs protest Singapore bank's charity drive for anti-gay Focus on the Family')

In the weeks that followed the takeover, the new team systematically removed long-time volunteers or excluded them from meetings. An office manager dismissed from duty was replaced with another member of COOS. They also changed the locks of the office at AWARE Centre.

Another question that was raised repeatedly in the media, and at the meeting at Suntec: Judging by its actions, and in spite of its new 'Pro-woman, pro-family, pro-Singapore' vision, how inclusive and secular a stance would the new team take?

A week before the meeting, news of an email by a church member rallying women to vote at the meeting was also reported. This led to further speculation that COOS was involved in the takeover.

A sermon by Pastor Derek Hong of COOS, posted on the church's website urged female members to support the new AWARE. His statement: "It's not a crusade against the people but there's a line that God has drawn for us, and we don't want our nation crossing that line" drew negative responses from both moderate Christians and members of other faiths.

Apart from religion, another hot topic that was touched on was sex education. Although not a member or the exco herself, Dr Thio revealed in a press conference that she instigated its takeover after learning about AWARE's neutral stand on homosexuality. She cited AWARE's Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) programme, and a Mother's Day event that celebrated reconciliations between mothers and their lesbian daughters as examples of AWARE being hijacked by gay activists. (See 'Anti-gay lawyer comes out as instigator of takeover')

All this unfolded as petitions for and against the AWARE veterans began online.


Queries from the floor: Calls for inclusivity, secularism, neutrality, pluralism

At the meeting, longtime and new supporters of AWARE took to the floor one by one to express their views from multi-religious and multi-racial perspectives and question the sitting exco's stance on diversity and inclusivity.

"We are not here because we are gay and lesbians," said member Alexandra Serrenti. "We are here because we were deeply troubled by how this executive committee came to power. We are here because we are deeply troubled by the usurpation of civic space, and the lack of respect for the values of pluralism, democracy that this new executive committee has demonstrated," said one member of the audience.

"We need to have evidence, the spirit of inquiry to enable our ladies to make informed choices," said an associate member, a man who identified himself as a Muslim father of three teenage daughters. He added, "I would be very proud of my daughter to go through the CSE programme."

Men, as associate members, were not allowed to vote, but many turned up in support of their partners, family members and friends.

Another member who approached the open microphone said, "AWARE is about inclusiveness, AWARE is helping women, helps everybody, male and female. And whatever their sexual orientation can be, it does not matter, because they are first and foremost a person. A human being and that's what AWARE is about."

Throughout the impassioned speeches, supporters of the AWARE veterans jumped, clapped and waved cards that said 'TRUST. RESPECT. CHOICE.' The other camp stayed in their seats and applauded politely when the few who spoke up for the exco addressed the crowd.

At the end of the seven-hour meeting, the vote of no confidence was passed against the exco. The final results: 1414 to 761. The exit of the exco after their statement of resignation sparked off a thunderous round of cheers and applause amidst the diverse majority who had shown up to fight for the inclusivity and secularity of their association.


Editor's note: The AWARE extraordinary general meeting concluded with the election of a new executive committee representating a diversity of faiths, races, age and background. Former AWARE president Dana Lam will lead the committee.


Queries from the floor AWARE EOGM: May 2, 2009




Former AWARE president Constance Singam speaks up on 25 years of AWARE's active and broad-based involvement in civil society: May 2, 2009