Wednesday, November 06, 2002
i juz read the papers, that is, ST. Tan Tarn How wrote an article regarding the lack of babies in singapore. well, he (i think it's a HE) said that women shd not bear the brunt of not making babies. why? so far our dear govt has blamed women for choosing to remain single and being career minded. but Tan actually said that we shd not blame the women. if the govt wants the situation to improve, then men must plunge down to parity, that is, they must accept or rather, share the status of home-makers. here's an excerpt from the article:
['Today, fertility rates are plunging because women have decided they want to become more like men.'
That leaves little room for babies.
'To change that, men must take the plunge and start to become more like women.'
How can this be done?
First, Singapore men need to wake up to the idea of sharing the burden at home.
Secondly, the state's role is as important. Increasing childcare facilities is one area.
Another is overturning the more 'pro-traditional family' policies, the intention of which is to signal that the burden of childcare must rest principally on women.
One such rule is the HDB ban on single mothers buying subsidised flats.
If it wants the educationally-liberated women of Singapore to have more children, the state has to promote a new set of family values: that men and women are equal not just as breadwinners, but as caregivers and homemakers.]
so it's down to equality. in the constitution of singapore, it says that all men and women are equal. but how many times has the govt emphasized that this is a Patriarchial State?
making babies is not a one-man show. fancy policy-makers presenting facts and figures that shifts the blame on women, oh, i shd say, single women in their thirties. wat a joke!
where is equality? what is equality?
['Today, fertility rates are plunging because women have decided they want to become more like men.'
That leaves little room for babies.
'To change that, men must take the plunge and start to become more like women.'
How can this be done?
First, Singapore men need to wake up to the idea of sharing the burden at home.
Secondly, the state's role is as important. Increasing childcare facilities is one area.
Another is overturning the more 'pro-traditional family' policies, the intention of which is to signal that the burden of childcare must rest principally on women.
One such rule is the HDB ban on single mothers buying subsidised flats.
If it wants the educationally-liberated women of Singapore to have more children, the state has to promote a new set of family values: that men and women are equal not just as breadwinners, but as caregivers and homemakers.]
so it's down to equality. in the constitution of singapore, it says that all men and women are equal. but how many times has the govt emphasized that this is a Patriarchial State?
making babies is not a one-man show. fancy policy-makers presenting facts and figures that shifts the blame on women, oh, i shd say, single women in their thirties. wat a joke!
where is equality? what is equality?
