Singapore — As part of its 35th anniversary, the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) is organising a panel discussion on the topic: “Women In Politics: The Personal Is Political”.
As part of the event, Aware has invited four women politicians — one each from the People’s Action Party (PAP), the Workers’ Party (WP), the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) and Red Dot United (RDU) — for a discussion on the changing national political landscape.
The four women are: Ms Carrie Tan (PAP), Ms He Ting Ru (WP), Ms Hazel Poa (PSP) and Ms Liyana Dhamirah (RDU). The event will be moderated by emcee and host Anita Kapoor.
The panel discussion will be held via Zoom on Friday (Nov 27), from 8 pm to 10 pm.
In a post on its website, Aware wrote: “GE 2020 saw a record level of elected female representation in Singapore’s Parliament, at 29%. This is the closest we have come to 30%, widely regarded as the ‘magic number’ for meaningful female political participation in a country.”
However, it asked: “But will this translate to a perceptible difference in Parliament — in the quality of debates, the types of issues and questions raised — and beyond? Does 2020 truly mark the end of male domination in local politics, or are we making too much of a percentage that is, after all, a long way from equal?”
The participants will touch on what it was like to campaign during Covid-19, what the MPs have learned in their first 100 days in office, and how to work together towards true gender equality in government.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday (Nov 24), the PSP’s Ms Hazel Poa (NCMP) said she was honoured to be part of Aware’s celebrations and invited those reading the post to join in the discussion.
Tickets at S$10 can be bought here. The Aware statement has more information on the four speakers and on the moderator of the event /TISG