This article caught my attention because of the progressive thinking that was displayed. As mentioned in the article, the idea for women to seek maintenance evolved out of the 1961 Women's Charter that was passed to protect women when many were housewives supported by their husbands. However, through all these years, women have been fighting for their own rights, for gender equality, and their efforts are largely successful. Women are now as powerful as men in a society, and they are earning some good money too. Since most of the women are now independent and self-sufficient financially, why do women still feel that they entitled to get maintenance from their divorced husband, like shown in this case?
Women had been fighting for gender equality for years; they even have an association for that known as Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE). Let's take a look at their vision and mission.
Vision
A society where there is true gender equality – where women and men are valued as individuals free to make informed and responsible choices about their lives.
Mission
To remove all gender-based barriers so as to allow individuals in Singapore to develop their potential to the fullest and realise their personal visions and hopes.
Both their vision and mission speak of helping both gender. However, from all the actions that I had heard about AWARE, they seem to be pro-female, which I am totally fine. They are the Association of Women for Action and Research after all.
In the past, women were treated unfairly. Most of them are made to stay at home to be housewives; they did not have equal chances at education and job. Now that this unfair treatment is long gone, women are standing toe-to-toe with men in terms of education and job opportunities. Women had proven themselves to be as capable as men, and should not be looked down upon. Their fight for equality over the years is successful. However, the fight for equality stops just here.
Women have already gotten those that lack of in the past, but have not relinquish those that they have over men since the past. What do I mean by that? Women are still expecting themselves to be treated like how they were treated in the past. They expect men to help them with physical work. They expect men to be the one paying for bills and fees. They expect men to be the one paying for dates. They expect to be given priority over men first, aka "ladies first". So how is this gender equality?
In Singapore, we have the National Service, where all physically-able males have to get enlisted into the nation's defence service. The enlistees undergo physically and mentally tough training for a span of 2 years. What about women? Why are they not part of the conscript? Why are they not fighting to be part of the conscript?
So let's have a summary.
Some advantages of females over males:
1. A one-way entitlement to apply for spousal maintenance upon divorce
2. Not expected to do physically-demanding work
3. Not expected to pay
4. Gets priority treatment
5. Do not have the spend 2 years serving the nation
Some advantages of males over females:
1. Not that I can think of.
Gender equality? Doesn't seem so to me. Gender equality will not be fully established until females give up on expectations and rights that they are enjoying over males. Don't get me wrong. I am not trying to establish sexism. I am just trying to point out how far are we from true gender equality.
-The god has spoken
