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Originally Reported by Reuters.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - An Indian court Thursday ruled gay sex was not a crime, a verdict that will bolster demands by gay and health groups that the government scrap a British colonial law which bans homosexual sex.

In a country where public hugging and kissing even among heterosexuals invites lewd remarks and sometimes beatings, gay sex has been a taboo, leaving the government unsure how conservative Indians would react if the law was repealed.

The Delhi High Court’s ruling that homosexual sex among consenting adults is not a crime is expected to boost an increasingly vocal pro-gay lobby in India that says the British-era law was a violation of human rights.

The current law bans “sex against the order of nature,” and is widely interpreted to mean homosexual sex in India.

Gay rights activists hailed the court verdict as historic and many supporters of homosexuality were seen celebrating with sweets and smearing each other with vermilion.

“We have finally entered into the 21st century,” said Anjali Gopalan, leader of Naz Foundation, a leading health and gay rights lobby.

The ruling applies to all of India, but can be appealed at the Supreme Court.

Gay rights activists also argue the law, framed in 1861, was an impediment in fighting against HIV/AIDS because many homosexuals refuse to come out in the open fearing harassment by authorities.

“Consensual sex amongst adults is legal which includes even gay sex and sex among the same sexes,” said a two-judge bench of the court. The verdict said the current law will apply in the event of sex without consent.

Petitions to change the 1861 law have so far been firmly rejected by the government but there has been some softening up on the stand in recent years, with officials saying the possibility of revoking the ban was being discussed.

Thursday’s court verdict came after nine years of legal proceedings initiated by India’s gay groups.

Under the current law, homosexual sex is punishable by up to 10 years in jail.

(Reporting by S. Venkatraman and Krittivas Mukherjee; Editing by Alistair Scrutton and Valerie Lee)

Vagina Heaven

Dinah Shore 2009 (Organised by Club Skirt) or I would rather call it Vagina Heaven was held at Palm Spring, California, USA. It’s basically 5 days full of parties, concerts and babes. To tell you the truth, it sounds to good to be true. Its in the middle of nowhere (well, palm spring is 90% desert), full of hot girls, for almost a week. And the best part is they are lesbian, so the chances are pretty high to get lucky! *wink*wink*

Well, my girlfriend and I decided to go to VH since we are going to USA/Canada for our vacation this year. We were pretty excited and looking forward to the experience, since we were very bored with the lesbian scene in Singapore.

The Vagina Heaven mainly happens everyday by the big pool where all the girls bare almost all… well some DO bare it all (some of which are Awesome but mostly are not really a pretty sight, trust me!). In Singapore, we are so use to seeing Asian queer women, 80% of whom tend to be of the slim variety. So, we were totally caught off-guard to see that at least 80% of the queer ‘ang-moh’s (Caucasians) tend to be on the fat side - to the point where it can be considered super-obese, but they still wore skimpy bikinis. God! Help us! I know Dinah shore is a vagina heaven but why does it include ugliness and fat as well.¹

They have a lot of activities around the clock to keep every vagina happy: like oil wrestling, wet T-shirt contest, LGBT vendors, Fashion Shows and even hottest lesbian contest. The main attraction was Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Indigo Girls and Uh huh her. Well, I know some of you out there might be wondering how does Lady Gaga and Katy Perry ended up in a lesbian party.² Well, neither do I but who cares when they are awesome! Both of the artists were doing their tour at that moment so their performance were top notch since it was taken directly from their concert program.

Katy Perry, who is very famous for the song “I kissed a girl” went all out for her performance. She even gave a full on kiss to one super lucky queer woman. Lady gaga was a total eye candy with her energetic and super ‘short-short’ outfits.

To those Indigo Girls fans out there, I can only assume that their performance was great as well. I’m not so sure how great they were since I’m not really a fan and we didn’t go for their performance. But we did check out, Uh huh her. I honestly recommend listening to their CD than seeing them in real life. Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge fan of them but the sound system was bad, since they were not the main highlight.

The organizer invited Margaret Cho and many other great comedians to perform as well. Overall, the other comedians perform way better than Cho since Cho only perform for 10 minutes of comedy and the rest of the night she decided to sing for all of us. Most of the audience were very disappointed cause her singing vocal ability is only 2 out of 10 and yet she sang 6-8 songs for the entire night. Imagine the disappointment, total bummer!

Despite all the ugliness and disappointment, I will still highly recommend singles and especially those just who wants to experience a great lesbian escapade to experience Dinah Shore personally. It is definitely an eye opener because you can see lesbians from different parts of the world. It caters to every category of lesbians that you desire, be it super hot (Sarah Shahi or PCD lookalike) or date-able and of course, the bunch that shouldn’t even be there in the first place.

Overall, it was definitely an unforgettable trip. One of the most memorable and interesting highlights was not even part of the event planned, when we decided to hitchhike with a bunch random ‘super high’ Latino lesbian whom we just happen to bum into at the car park. Oh well, I guess the next time when you girls decided to visit vagina heaven my advice is to always keep an open mind and please don’t hesitate to go all out to experience it all. Afterall, it is Vagina Heaven!

1. Note: This is the author’s personal viewpoint [back]
2. Note: Lady Gaga is actually out as a bisexual woman [back]

It took wagonloads of faith to know nothing about the camp and yet sign up for it. I had no idea where we were headed to (friends asked, ‘how would we know where to extradite your body from then, be it if you drown during water activities or if you collapse from being at a lesbian camp.’ My friends equate lesbian camp to sex orgy thingy.), what was the exact itinerary (gawd, please don’t let them make us play school-ish telematch games nor do the ‘oh this is how much potential you have in you, however please do feel real bad about yourself so you’d move your lazy ass’ seminars), or who are the other 45 campers (45?! I barely want to get to know one new person per year in my personal life).

So why did I do it? Because it is the first ever camp for queer women after all. The advert did say ‘series of meaningful and exciting activities, and make connections with others in an ideal exclusive location’. Which queer woman wouldn’t want to make connections with others…in a series (!), in a meaningful and exciting manner (!), and at an ideal exclusive location (!!). No wonder places filled up quickly….

The campers came from all walks of life, across an age range of 18-40s (Editor’s note: oldest person present was close to 50). There were bankers, students, engineers, bummers, researchers, test-tube washers (me), consultants and etc. Some previously knew about Sayoni, others didn’t. Several came from beyond Singapore, a few came from way beyond. It was truly a diverse group, but very quickly that didn’t matter. Like in the wild waterpolo matches, all that mattered was ‘we are team, let’s play!’. This spirit of ‘team’ spilled over to the workshops, late-night symposiums¹ and stolen-moment gatherings.

The workshops were about self-development and growth, with a focus on encouraging self-exploration and understanding of our relationship with the world around us. In other words, the workshops were about ‘who am I’, ‘who am I in relationships’ and ‘who am I in the community’. Messages from the workshops were delivered in various ways – in detailed textual descriptions on screen, in patient comprehensive explanations by the speakers, in visually stunning pictures, videos and demonstrations, in lively open discussions from the audience, and in personal sharing of stories and opinions in small group discussions. Contrary to my expectation of the 2 to 3 hour-long workshops, I was never bored. Furthermore, I surprised myself that from each workshop, there was stuff for me to bring home to think a little more about. Even the more mature ones among us mentioned that they benefited from the workshops. Seems like it was ‘milk’ enough for the young ‘uns and ‘meat’ enough for the toughies.

As quickly as ‘team’ surfaced from the diversity, the spirit of ‘family’ soon emerged by the 2^nd day of the camp. You could say we played our way into each other’s hearts. Waterpolo matches, meal times, BBQ dinner, late-night symposiums and even on the ferry back, these were all dear moments of playful fun, hearty laughter, good conversations, and explicit sharings, We found ourselves to be different yet so similar in our struggles, challenges, discrimination, hopes and dreams.

Just a word here about the camp conditions. I believe I echo the sentiments of many campers when I say it was good. The rooms were big and spacious, each one had a balcony with a view, the sheets were comfy and clean, toilets were clean and functioning properly, and even had toilet paper and paper towels all the time. (Yes, I am quite the fussy traveller.) Meals were buffet-style with at least 2 types of ‘carbo’ (rice, bread, noodles, or pasta), 3 kinds of meat, vegetables, a soup, a long dessert table, and the ever-essential coffee and tea. The resort was a good choice to have the camp. It had a big beautiful pool, a private dining area for all of us, a private beach, and an outdoor bar & grill place by the beach with a good sound system and even a place to dance. Schedule-wise, we had enough time for fun and workshops. There was also free time where we could choose to laze at the hotel or go down to town for shopping and a 2-hour massage. The organisers were also flexible in accommodating our request for more pool time in the sun. I was also impressed that it was relatively fast and painless from the point of meet-up and registration, getting our boarding passes, onto the ferry and 3-min bus transfer, to checking-in to our rooms.

In my business organisation, we are extremely customer-oriented. At the end of million-dollar projects, we give our clients a customer satisfaction survey to fill up and mail anonymously to our head office. On the survey form, clients can rate us on the scale of 1 to 5 where 1 is ‘disappointed’, 2 is ‘does not meet expectations’, 3 is ‘meets my expectations’, 4 is ‘beyond my expectations’ and 5 is ‘delighted’.

This camper is delighted.

Notes

1. Symposium - (in ancient Greece and Rome) a convivial meeting, usually following a dinner, for drinking and intellectual conversation.

The venue had been changed twice - at first from Toa Payoh Auditorium to Expo, then, upon the instigation of the police (who was concerned with law and order issues given a large-scale Christian seminar would be going on next door), to Suntec. The media were ready with cameras and microphones, and when Saturday dawned bright and early upon Suntec, the stage was more than set.

I arrived at 10.45 am, as the registration was set to start at 12 pm (and the meeting was set to start at 2pm). Clearly I was not the only one with the bright idea of arriving early - the 4th floor was already full of supporters on both sides: red-shirted men and women on the side of the new exco, and white-shirted volunteers on the side of the new exco. When I arrived, taking in my outlaw appearance (ie, not being a chinese christian), 3 women tried to stop me from going up the escalator to the 4th floor, saying registration didn’t start until 12, and that the white t-shirted people weren’t part of their team. I brushed them aside and went up anyway.

After waiting an extraordinarily long time in the queue (thank god for reading materials I brought along), during which the white-shirts distributed food, flowers pamphlets and advice, and passing a security check, I finally entered the hall and sat myself down for what was going to be a long wait.

Little did I know the said long wait was going to be for the next 9 hours until the end of the EGM. In between reading, I noticed that there were two police-men guarding Thio Su Mien, and that an extraordinarily old woman on canes (literally) was walking up the aisle to the VIP seats, whom I later learned was Mrs David Marshall, coming to support the old guard.

The meeting started really late, at 2.40pm, where they exco finally presented themselves. The second Josie Lau took the mic and started speaking, the previously demure congregration burst into jeers and shouts.

And that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the EOGM. If anyone ever thought Singaporeans were quiet docile lambs, all such notions would have been dispelled within seconds of being in that hall.

The drama continued for the next 7 hours - for a full transcript of proceedings, see here. The highlight of the proceedings were threefold: when the new exco admitted that they had spent 90k SGD to date, in prepping for the EGM (including the venue), when Thio Su Mien stood up and declared that she was qualified to be a feminist mentor because she was mentioned on an obscure book AWARE published, on page 73, and when the new exco was voted out 1414:761 through a no-confidence motion.

Now, having had a few days to digest this historic win and event, and having read distinguished commentaries upon it (here and here), there are a few things I would like to highlight.

Firstly, the behaviour of the exco in spending nearly 90 000 dollars since the time they took office a few weeks ago, itself makes them entirely unsuitable for running AWARE. There were so many ways to do it for cheaper - such as employing volunteers to scrutineer (and make a buddy system to cross-check against biasness), engaging pro bono counsel instead of running to one of the most expensive law firms in Singapore and perhaps not installing CCTVs and changing the locks barely after they took over. Their attitude is one of that of a mega-church with deep pockets, or a corporate entity, not of a voluntary organisation. Whatever else one can say about their stealthy maneavours and less-than-noble intentions, if one is to judge them by their performance in office for a no-confidence motion, this would have been the clincher.

Secondly - just because you are legally in power, does not mean you have the authority to lead, especially when you have had no experience, the only reason you are voted in is because you rallied people to sign up and vote for you, and your means were underhanded and shady. Please show us some respect, and do not keep insisting that this was not planned - it most obviously was, and the longer you repeat that story, the more credibility you lose. I asked a question at the EGM which was not answered: what if I decided that Focus on the Family (FOTF) was losing its pro-family focus and becoming overly concerned with promoting homphobia? What if I decided that, because of this, I was going to appoint myself a Family Values mentor, email my friends and family and simply take over FOTF one day? It might be entirely legitimate, but does this new exco have any moral or even practical authority to lead FOTF? More importantly, is what I did right?

Thirdly, I was there, and I can testify that the crowd was indeed loud and sometimes overpowering. But contrary to what the other side has said about the old guard supporters being bullies and hooligans, I feel this was a result of passion and deep belief.  Voices were raised, but no one was harmed, or even threatened to be harmed. Emotions spilled over, but that is approximate response to what happens when one takes over an organisation by stealth and under-handed means. No one stopped the other side from speaking up - they were entirely free to make their opinions, and when they did, I observed that they made no sense (even to an objective listener). The other side had all the opportunities to speak, but they did not.  I personally feel many of the supporters of the new exco were only there to vote, not speak - by the very fact that the most of the new exco supporters left shortly after the voting process. Even I cannot help preserve the freedom of speech for someone who does not want to make their opinions known.

Fourthly, the opposition camp has painted this as a pro-gay vs anti-gay issue. It is anything but - it is the new guard who declared their motivating factor to take over AWARE was because they felt AWARE was too pro-gay. It still is NOT a pro-gay vs anti-gay issue - it is an issue of mutual respect, of living in harmony with different points of view and faiths. It is an issue of protecting the secular principles this country is built upon, by making sure one religious group does not overstep its boundaries or amass so much power as to intimidate minorities.

Fifthly, going into the hall, knowing this is not a pro-gay vs anti-gay issue, I was pleasantly surprised that there were plenty of people who spoke up for the acceptance and inclusion of queer people - women and men of all ages, backgrounds, religions and races. The message the majority sent out is that inclusiveness is not an empty word, and it means what it means. And really, for a bunch of educated women, especially Thio Su Mien - they seemed unable to tell the linguistic difference between tolerance, acceptance and promotion. The dictionary is there, use it. When you do learn the meaning, come back and tell me with a straight face that being accepting gay people for who they are, is exactly the same as telling people to be gay.

It must be said in conclusion that this EOGM was a reaffirmation, and a heart-warming sign that there is progress being made on the forefront of inclusiveness. It however, sadly highlights the existence of certain fundamentalist conservative groups who do not understand this concept and will do anything, anything to stop it from happening, even though it really has nothing to do with them.

Christians are not the enemy, neither do we consider them to be. We are not your enemy either. I take this opportunity to make a plea not to let things go that way, to not go the way America has gone in terms of the culture war - there are far far more important things in the world to think about, to work on. There are literally starving children in Africa, and I think your money, your effort, all the passion you have towards changing the world, can be redirected to causes much much bigger than trying to stop two consenting adults from loving each other.

And on that note, this is me hoping the best for the future!

The meeting was stormy, emotional and inspiring. Many women and men stood up to speak up for the old aware and against the injustices perpetrated in the short term of the “new” exco. Many shocking things were revealed - such as the exco spending about S$90k since they took office (when only authorised to spend S$20k). The depth of their ignorance about what AWARE really did and stood for was revealed, as well as their inability to effectively lead. At the end of the long meeting, the no-confidence motion was passed by a margin of 2-1 - 1414 votes for yes, and 716 for no, and after an extended discussion, the exco finally decided to step down. The general meeting then proceeded to elect back the old guard into power - starting with Dana Lam as the president and Chew I-Jin as the Vice-President.

What was the most touching to us was the number of people - men, women, fathers, mothers,  teachers, students, christians, muslims… who all stood up and spoke up for inclusiveness, the importance of having a queer-neutral sexuality education program, and why AWARE should help queer women in need.

Sayoni would like to join in congratulating AWARE on its historic victory. This is not just a victory for womenm or even queer women, but for civil society in years to come. For extended reports on the events and commentary, stay tuned!

Each time I talked to my friends and colleagues about the ongoing AWARE issue, they are puzzled why I have spoken with so much anger. There are a lot of women who are indifferent about the issues, and men who think this is a women’s problem. Some said that a new organisation can easily replace AWARE so why should we be so bothered by the new Exco and their non inclusive stand.

Being a gay person, I am sure many of my friends though that I am feeling so frustrated because the new Exco is anti gay and I felt threatened. Yes, the matter of fact is, I do. But let me explain why I am with the old guard. I should also clarify that I only joined as an associate member of AWARE recently but I have been very aware of what old AWARE represents. And it all started when I was 14 years old.

One night when I was 14 years old, I found myself sitting in the old New Bridge Road police station, waiting for my mother to complete her police statement. My mother has just been beaten by my father after months of verbal abuses. It was about 1am. There were no visible bruises and the policeman on duty told my mother that he could not do much to my father than to bring him down to the station and give him a verbal warning. Unless, in his own words, someone is visibly injured or dead. I was sitting next to my mother and listening to all these. My mother decided against the police going to our place to bring my father to the station. She feared that things would be worsened. For the rest of the night, my mother and myself sat outside the station. I was so worried that my mother would get a chill so I bought a cup of hot milo for her from the vending machine. That was the only thing this small built boy could do. I remember that cold night till today, that overwhelming helplessness of being a 14 years old boy who could not do anything to help his abused mother.

That was not the only time I felt that way. When I was 7 years old, after my father’s repeated beating, my mother left home without a single penny. Later she told me that she had to beg for a 10 cent from a stranger to call her sister for help. She was standing on the street with nothing except her clothes. In another occasion, I accompanied her to look for a place to stay when the abuse increased. We walked through the entire Joo Chiat area but nothing was affordable or safe enough for her to stay in. Hopeless and helpless, we went back home, which was increasingly more like a battlefield than a sanctuary. From that very young age, I learnt to be present at home whenever possible so that in case of a dangerous situation, I could shield her or do anything to protect her. Most of the time, I was disappointed that no one seemed to be able to render any assistance. I have to clarify here that my mother was not the soft asian woman you can imagine. However, she has gotten into a wrong marriage because she wanted to break away from my grandfather’s control. Unfortunately, in those days, you could walk away from your father but it was not so easy for you to walk away from your abusive husband. No one, apart from those who walked this journey before, will understand how vulnerable we felt.

The first sign of hope came when NMP Dr Kanwaljit Soin pushed for the amendment of Women Charter in 1997. I was so excited that I borrowed a copy of the Women Charter publication from the National Library and read it to my mother. We finally knew and got our rights. I watched the debate in the Parliament when NMP Soin spoke and I swear to the god that she is the only female MP whose face and name I could remember till now.

Finally, with the new Women Charter in place and the family court more empowered to do more for domestic violences, my mother decided to end the marriage when my father hit her for the last time and a Personal Protection Order was issued. Despite of the PPO, my mother’s lawyer, Ms Ellen Lee, now MP for Sembawang GRC tried so hard to ensure our safety during the divorce proceeding. She even allowed us to use her office address in Beach Road as a correspondence address so that our actual place of residence would not be exposed.

After a long legal battle, we got our lives back, leaving the years of living in constant fear and abuses behind. I regained my trust that there is justice in this world and women and children should be protected against any wrongful acts by their male family members. What Dr Soin and AWARE probably would not know is that their fight for women rights have changed the life of a boy who they never know.

I cannot tolerate the new Exco’s attempt to deny the good works by these women and AWARE. And I cannot trust them when the church they belonged to, openly stated that ‘the wife is in subjection to her husband’ and ‘women [are] to continually deny themselves and yield the rule to men’. This statement alone makes me feel so sick, the same sick feeling I had when the policeman told me that he could not do anything.

In Singapore we are so used to take a neutral stand on everything, until it affects you. I know exactly how that feels. For you who has the right to cast your vote and decide not to do anything at all, you might regret it when you need it.

Editor’s Note: Please visit www.we-are-aware.sg for news and updates, and information on how you can help.

Dana Lam’s interview to save AWARE

Update : New Venue for the EGM
Suntec Exhibition Hall 402!

Don’t go to the wrong place!   The venue in the video clips are outdated.

But first, we would like to remind all AWARE members that the EOGM on 2nd May will be held at SINGAPORE EXPO HALL 2. Official notices from AWARE states that Registration will begin at 12noon, EGM at 2p.m. Bring your NRIC for admission. Please check SAVE AWARE for the latest news.

Press Conference by the Old Guard

24th April 2009

We are glad that the truth is finally out. What happened at AWARE AGM on 28 March was a planned takeover by a group of women, guided by their “feminist mentor” Dr Thio Su Mien, who have taken it upon themselves to, as they put it, “bring AWARE back to its original, very noble, objective”.

The issue is not whether AWARE has indeed strayed from its original aims. What is really at stake is the space for a diversity of views in our cosmopolitan and pluralistic society. Singapore is a multiracial, mulitreligious and multicultural society. As we progress, the diversity will grow. We have to be able to co-exist, to live with differing views on many issues.

What has happened at AWARE is a threat to Singapore’s pluralistic society. A “feminist mentor” takes exception to some of AWARE’s programmes, decides to monitor the organisation’s activities, and then encourages women she knows to challenge AWARE; they could have invited AWARE to a seminar to discuss the programmes; they could have written to the media.

Instead, these women joined AWARE in the few months before the AGM and then voted their representatives onto the Executive Committee – without giving any indication that they were acting together. They continued with this stance until Thursday when they finally told the truth.

The cannot be the way forward for Singapore. We cannot have people acting like moral vigilantes running around and taking over established organisations. If Dr Thio and her mentees feel that AWARE has strayed from its original aims, or that some of the programmes are unsuitable, then go ahead and criticize AWARE, but do so openly.

Better still, form their own organization to offer parallel programmes with what they see as the right messages, and let the public choose which they prefer. Their motives and actions will then be visible to all. There will be transparency and accountability.

Video of press conference

===================

Personal Statement by Tan Joo Hymn, a former president of AWARE

As news reports get more sensationalised every day, I thought it would be helpful if you heard from directly from someone on the “inside”.

I joined AWARE in 1999 and have been on the Exco from 2000 to 2008. I was still active over the last year even though I’m no longer on the Exco, helping out in ad hoc projects etc.

To me, there are 2 separate issues here:

1. The way they took over the Exco
2. The allegations made by the new Exco about the old AWARE

1. From March 28 to 23 April, they claimed not to know each other before the AGM, and to have no agenda taking over AWARE. But what they said are full of contradictions. Please see www.we-are-aware.sg for more details, and I include some choice ones below.

Yes, I agree that the Old AWARE had many areas for improvement, just like many other NGOs, but that does not mean that we deserve to be taken over. This matter is all the more sensitive because it appears that it was engineered by members of the same church. Not talking about religion here is a bit like not talking about the great big elephant standing in the room. Let me give you 2 hypothetical situations:

- A group of atheists decided that they have had enough of people worshipping what they think is a non-existent God. So, on Sundays, a large group of them go to a church and occupy most of the seats in the church, denying regular church goers the space to sit and listen to the sermon, and receive communion.

- A coalition of butchers think that Buddhists and Hindus are the reason that the sale of beef has gone down, so they carry entire carcasses of cows to Buddhists and Hindu temples demanding that the followers be now allowed to eat beef.

Far-fetched? But not really that different from what’s happened here:
A group of (Christian) women believe that homosexuality is a sin to be condemned and engineer a take over of AWARE to ensure that AWARE now sends a message that homosexuality, pre-marital sex and anal sex are now classified as negative (and presumably to say that abortion should be outlawed).

We live in a multi-religious, multi-cultural pluralistic society. It is very dangerous when a vocal minority is allowed to take over another group to silence them and to subvert their mission.

2. The allegations made.

The Comprehensive Sexuality Education is but one programme out of many that AWARE does. Homosexuality takes up all of 2 sentences (and less than 5 minutes) in a workshop that lasts 3 hours, 6 if you include the advanced module.

The 2 sentences that have so many people up in arms are: Homosexuality is normal - true. (discusses as a variant like left-handedness). Homosexuality as a word is neutral (not positive or negative).

Taken in the scientific context, these 2 sentences are accurate. We believe in providing as accurate and up to date information as possible for young people to make up their own minds. For eg. Christians believe in the Creation. But evolution is taught in schools. Are schools then teaching children not to believe in the Creation?!

We also tell the students that some religions have their own views about homosexuality and sex, and that they should respect their own religious and cultural norms, but not to impose it on others. Ie. We believe that it is up to parents and families to provide moral and spiritual guidance to students, while we give information.

In any case, this completely detracts from the 24 years of work done by AWARE. See http://www.we-are-aware.sg/achievements

=====================

Response by the Ministry of Education with regard to the Comprehensive Sexuality Education:

Reply to Recent Comments and Claims About AWARE’s Sexuality Education Programme in Schools

The new AWARE Exco have completely lost the plot. Two events they organised last night are of note. First, they had the locks on AWARE’s office changed, summarily firing staff and disrupting the use of the centre as a space for counselling abused women (emphases mine):

Dana Lam, former AWARE president, said: “I walked in and there were three burly men sitting at the counter. It’s not something we encounter at AWARE because it’s a women’s centre and we are giving counselling sessions to women who have been abused.

“The men have apparently been instructed by the president to change the lock in the centre. There is a vote of no-confidence going on here. By right, they have no right to make any changes. I am worried for my materials – 25 years of research material, including confidential material.”

Did the new Exco make any alternative provision for abused women who might have been seeking, or relying on the services, provided at AWARE? Who knows? Did they even care?

Other things were probably on their mind, as they also spoke at a news conference, the second event of note. On the same evening that services to abused women were being disrupted on their order, you see, they spoke of restoring AWARE to “its original noble cause” (emphases mine):

The new exco said AWARE had become a single purpose organisation overly concerned with promoting lesbianism.

They repeatedly raised examples, like how the old guard had backed a lesbian film screening in 2007 and organised a lesbian-friendly Mother’s Day event in 2006. And they wanted to bring the association back to what they say is its original noble cause.

Let me get this straight (being straight is important, you see). A few days ago, Josie Lau told us on television that the reason she wanted to take control of AWARE was because it had become too “diversified” and needs more “focus”. But now the problem, the reason justifying the takeover, is that AWARE should be stopped from becoming a “single-purpose organisation”. Just taking both their statements at face value is making my brain hurt.

The headache gets worse when you introduce the minor question of reality - that is, AWARE’s actual track record to date. Confusingly for a “single-purpose organisation” devoted to lesbians, it includes a Befrienders programme for abused women (those pesky people again), work on body image and self esteem, comprehensive sex education programmes (because lesbians really need to know how to avoid pregnancy by using a condom), and research into workplace sexual harassment (Claire Nazar should be able to tell them about this, since she worked on it). I could go on, but you get the point. AWARE has obviously turned itself over solely to recruiting more female flesh to satisfy the craven sapphic desires of a twisted lesbian mob. It’s not very good at it, but that’s what it’s doing.

Poppycock. The real gripe here isn’t that AWARE was devoted solely to “promoting lesbianism”, because AWARE was doing nothing of the sort. The only meaningful way to understand the new Exco’s statement is that any inclusion of lesbian and bisexual women was too much. Not content with their own homophobic activities and programmes, the new Exco members wanted to prevent another organisation from recognising - in however limited a way - that lesbian and bisexual women’s issues are part of women’s issues. They couldn’t stand that there was a group which non-judgmentally acknowledged the reality of lesbian and bisexual women, which was supportive - in however limited a way - rather than condemnatory. And they were willing to disrupt work on women’s welfare to prevent it. Good job, “feminists”.

Joining the new Exco at the conference was a new figure, or at least a new figure in the public view: Dr Thio Su Mien. Her connections to some of the new Exco’s faction and her homophobia have both been documented before. Apparently, she is the shared “feminist mentor” of the new Exco members:

During the one-and-a-half hour event, the group introduced well-known corporate lawyer Dr Thio Su Mien, as their so-called “feminist mentor”.

Dr Thio is the Senior Executive Director of TSMP Law Corporation and mother of Nominated MP, Dr Thio Li Ann. [...]

Dr Thio Su Mien also revealed that she had emailed several groups with her concerns about the direction the association was taking, which prompted reporters to ask if the takeover was orchestrated.

“It depends on what you mean by organising. It is kind of flattering in a way. I’m frustrated, I talk to people, I collect info, I send to different people. You want to join, (then) join. I will help you. We discover that networking helps,” said Dr Thio, adviser to the new AWARE exco.

Leaving aside for a moment my horror at the idea that my feminism has anything to do with Dr Thio’s bizarre gender politics, my headache is returning. A few days ago, weren’t we told that the new Exco members hadn’t previously known each other? Didn’t some people tell us that “speculation” over an “anti-gay conspiracy” was unhelpful? Now it turns out that not only did many of the Exco member attend the same church, they have a shared “feminist mentor”, who “[discovered] that networking helps” when you are “frustrated” with something, namely the rise of a “single-purpose organisation” which is “promoting lesbianism”. Of what did this networking consist, if not putting people with similar interests in touch? I do not know - can Dr Thio tell us?

It remains a possibility that the takeover was not a coordinated effort. It is possible that what really happened was, the constellations came into a perfect alignment seen only once every ten thousand years, and all these women - who go to the same church and are inspired by the same individual woman in relation to a cause around which this woman “networks”, but who have never met and discussed the beliefs they hold so dear - spontaneously arose and attended the AWARE AGM. That must be it.

Pull the other one now.

These people have lost the plot. For the sake of all that is sweet and fluffy in this benighted world, I beg you, please click here to join AWARE, attend the EGM on 2 May and get rid of this Exco.

**

The new Exco members also claim some of them have been receiving death threats. I cannot comment on the plausibility of these claims, but if indeed such threats are being sent, that is wholly reprehensible. Yes, the new Exco have a horrid obsession with homosexuality, are willing to disrupt vital work on women’s welfare to advance their bizarre agenda, do not value accountability and pluralism at all, and are giving me a headache. But you don’t threaten people with violence: that is just as bad for pluralism as anything these people have done. So stop threatening them right now, or I’ll… well, I can’t kick your butt, because I’m committed to non-violence and pathetically small, but I’ll be very sarcastic at you. So stop it. You’re deeply nasty and you’re not helping anyone.