Humanist Society at the 2023 Exemplary Interfaith Award presentation ceremony by Jamiyah Singapore

30 October 2023 by

The society was honored to be invited to and I had the privilege of attending the Exemplary Interfaith Award presentation ceremony on 29 July 2023, organized by the Muslim non-profit organization, Jamiyah Singapore. It was an event that not only celebrated the harmonious coexistence of different faiths but also highlighted the significant contributions of individuals and organizations dedicated to fostering interfaith understanding and cooperation in Singapore.

One of the standout moments of the event was when Darren Mak, the moderator (an excellent one by the way) of the panel of speakers, while on the topic of growing irreligiousity in developed economies such as Singapore, gave a shoutout to the Humanist Society Singapore. (Darren Mak is a Chinese Muslim convert and runs great content at Plan B)

After the panel session, I had the pleasure of catching up with Faheema, the founder of Hash.peace, and fellow committee members. Hash.peace is a remarkable organization that works tirelessly to bridge the gap between different faith communities, fostering understanding, and promoting harmony.

Instagram story sharing Faheema’s post after the event

The most anticipated part of the evening was, of course, the presentation of the Exemplary Interfaith Awards. The Guest of Honor was none other than the then Presidential candidate, and now President, Mr Tharman. It was a moment of pride and celebration as we learned about the exceptional individuals and organizations making a difference in the interfaith landscape of Singapore. Among the award winners were representatives from various faith communities, all of whom have worked tirelessly to promote interfaith understanding and cooperation. Their dedication to fostering dialogue, peace, and harmony in Singapore is truly commendable.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/interfaith-harmony-is-a-concerted-practice-in-singapore-and-part-of-national-identity-tharman

The event was a powerful reminder of the significance of interfaith dialogue and cooperation in our increasingly diverse society. It showcased the importance of recognizing and celebrating the efforts of those who work tirelessly to bridge gaps, build bridges, and foster understanding among different faiths and worldviews. These individuals and organizations serve as beacons of hope and inspiration for a harmonious, inclusive, and accepting society.

As a member of the Humanist Society Singapore, it was heartwarming to witness the enthusiasm and commitment of the attendees, award recipients, and organizers, all united in their dedication to interfaith harmony. We left the Sands Expo and Convention Centre with a renewed sense of purpose and a strengthened commitment to our mission of promoting humanism and secularism in Singapore.

In conclusion, the 2023 Exemplary Interfaith Award presentation ceremony organized by Jamiyah Singapore was a resounding success. It brought together people of different faiths and worldviews, highlighting the common ground we share and the positive impact we can make when we collaborate. As we move forward, we look forward to further strengthening our ties with the interfaith community, working hand in hand to build a more inclusive and harmonious Singapore.

Uncategorized

2018 LGBT community letter to PMO

12 June 2022 by

https://oogachaga.com/s/LGBTQ-community-letter-to-PM_1-August-2018-PDF.pdf

Uncategorized Tags: ,

Qualitative data (Research)

13 March 2022 by

(Click here to return to Research Portal)

Sources

Highlights 

Please contact us (info@humanist.org.sg) if you are looking to read any of these papers for research purposes.

[Peer reviewed paper 2022] – The issues of social inclusion of ex-Muslims

  • This paper by Ichioka Takashi analyses the difficulties which are experienced by ex-Muslims in Singapore with regards to their social relationship. The authors’ interviews with ex-Muslims in Singapore revealed that they experience serious difficulties in terms of their relationship with their family as well as the members of the Muslim community.
  • Some ex-Muslims cannot avoid stigmatisation and exclusion by some members of the community because of their appearance of Malays, most of whom are Muslims. The paper concludes that the difficulties experienced by ex-Muslims stem from not only religious belief of Muslims but also Singapore society’s belief that all the Malays should be Muslims.

[RSIS paper 2022] The Construction of Nonreligious Identities among Chinese Millennials

  • This paper by Oliver Zikai Lim investigates the lived experiences of Singaporean Chinese millennials who adopt a nonreligious identity following the recent increase in the percentage of people who identify as having no religious affiliation in the country.

[Student paper 2021] Religious Disaffiliation in Singapore: Evaluating the Influence of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors For Youths Leaving Christianity

  • Reasons for leaving Christianity: Questioning of faith, lack of spiritual experience, lack of sense of community, emotional conflicts, unsatisfactory responses from leaders

[Student paper 2021] Diversity and Community of the Non-Religious in Singapore

  • The non-religious are diverse in their makeup, with a spectrum of values, openness to expressing their non-religiousness and opinions on issues. The non-religious disagree on the 1) extent to which they practice traditions, what is worth preserving 2) expectations of the non-religious community to be more outspoken or to be more conciliary.

[Student paper 2017] Rites of Passage of Ex-Muslims in Singapore

  • The deconversion process undergoes 3 stages, rites of separation (still operating within religious framework), rites of transition (where avenues of leaving the faith is opened up) and finally incorporation (forming new identity).

[Student paper 2012] The rise of humanist interest groups

  • The humanist groups represent a growing non-religious population that strongly affirms and defends their position of non-belief. Their desire to seek legitimacy and for teh active ones, representation, is part of a larger attempt to renegotiate the strict boundaries of the religious and secular, public and private discourses in the public sphere.

The most popular FB posts in the HSS Facebook page tend to be about:

  • Personal stories with good narratives on overcoming adversity and leaving religion
  • Psychology of persuasion, happiness and bias.
  • Evolved morality, on how we can be good without religion. This can include studies on brain activity and predispositions towards superstition and morality
  • Useful tips to cope with stress, toxic social media, thoughts of death
  • Matters of life and death – Eg. disease outbreaks and terrorism.
  • Defending secularism in the country
  • Defending the morality of the non-religious.
  • New statistics about the non-religious in Singapore and their characteristics
  • Funny topics, eg. jokes and parody, pastafarianism
  • Birthdays and famous quotes of famous thinkers

Source: https://humanist.org.sg/humanistsg-most-viewed-facebook-posts/

Uncategorized

Quantitative Data (Research)

13 March 2022 by

(Click here to return to Research Portal)

Sources:

Highlighted findings

In Singapore resident population (2020)

  • Number of non-religious individuals: 692,528
  • Gender ratio: 51.41% male, 48.58% female 
  • Proportion of resident population: 20.0% 

(Click here to access Singstats table generator)

% of non-religious per age group 

  • 15-19 — 23.8
  • 20-24 — 24.5
  • 25-29 — 26.0
  • 30-34 — 26.3
  • 35-39 — 23.4
  • 40-44 — 21.3
  • 45-49 — 19.2
  • 50-54 — 17.5
  • 55-59 — 15.6
  • 60-64 — 14.9
  • 65-69 — 15.7
  • 70-74 — 15.7
  • 75-79 — 16.1
  • 80-84 — 13.7
  • 85<    –11.2

Country of origin 

  • Singapore 499,331
  • Mainland China 96,481
  • Malaysia 61,291
  • Europe 5,611
  • Indonesia 4,912
  • India 1,957
  • USA and Canada 1,782
  • Australia and New Zealand 1,333
  • Other Asian Countries / Regions 19,354
  • Others 476

Humanist Society (Singapore) in numbers 

  • Organized 238 events, both online and in-person
  • Engaged about 7,000 participants [1]
  • Secured 57 mentions in the media 
  • Built a combined online following of 10,718 [2]
  • Attracted 161,000 views for our humanism YouTube video 
  • Attended about 30 major interfaith events [3]
  • Documented 38 personal stories
  • Published 307 articles on various topics 
  • Sent 240 newsletters to our members 
  • Shot 3600 photos of the humanist movement

(Last updated Dec 2021 / Next update is Dec 2022)

Key figures inside IPS Working Papers 

[IPS] – The non-religious on religion in the public sphere

  • Pg 25, on the religiousity of the non-religious

16.8% — Very non-religious
23.9% — Somewhat non-religious
19.3% — Neither religious or non-religious
30.1% — Somewhat religious
8.4% — Very religious
1.6% –Extremely religious

  • Pg 26, spirituality

65% — I don’t follow a religion, I am not a spiritual person
27.1% — I don’t follow a religion, I am a spiritual person
6.6% — I follow a religion, I am not a spiritual person
1.3% — I follow a religion, I am not a spiritual person

  • Pg 34, the non-religious and belief in God

49.6% — I don’t believe in God now and I never have
18.5% — I don’t believe in God now, but I used to
12.5% — I believe in God now, but I didn’t use to
19.5% — I believe in God now and I always have

Pg 36, Non-religious and belief in afterlife

24.1% — No, definitely not
23.8% — No, probably not
35.9% — Yes, probably
16.1% — Yes, definitely

[IPS] – The non-religious and religiosity

  • Pg 21, on reasons for people to switch religion. Friends/family persuasion and greater meaning in life are the top two factors.

[IPS] – The non-religious and attitudes towards moral issues]

  • Pg 91, on adapting religion and religious customs to changing secular realities (A) vs keeping religion as pure/traditional as possible (B). About 20% of non-religious prefer to keep B.
  • Pg 76, attitudes towards speaking about sensitive topics
  • Pg 84, on govt leading change in society

[IPS] – Faultlines in Singapore: Public Opinion and their realities]

Pg. 20, perceived threats of religious groups. 95% of Singaporeans do not see atheists as somewhat/very threatening. There is a small fringe who will find atheists threatening, but this must be balanced with the fact that every religion will experience a small fringe that find them threatening.

Old 2015 statistics (from April 2015)

chart 1

Total Resident population

3,105,748

Total religious: 2,578,196, or 83%

Total non-religious: 527,553, or 17%

Source: Department of Statistics, Singapore

NOTE:

The non-religious form a significant minority in Singapore. From 1980 to 2010, their proportion of the total population has increased from 13 to 17 per cent. Singapore’s non-religious tend to be atheists, agnostics, humanists, theists and skeptics. Some of them are culturally religious as well. There are also some residents who are not affiliated with any religion, but still choose to practice traditional rituals such as ancestor worship.

gender

Total non-religious population:

527,553

Male: 278,683, or 52.8% (National average: 48.9%)
Female: 248,870, or 47.2% (National average: 51.1%)

Source: Department of Statistics, Singapore

NOTE:

Among non-religious residents, there are slightly more men than women. However, this difference is negligable. In general, men are more willing to express their humanist and atheist thoughts, and are more likely to join humanist organisations.

Citizens and PRs

Citizens: 441,453, or 83.7% (National average: 85.5%)

PRs: 86,100, or 16.3% (National average: 14.5%)

Source: Department of Statistics, Singapore

NOTE:

The proportion of citizens and permanent residents (PRs) within Singapore’s non-religious resident population roughly mirrors the situation across the whole country. Permanent residents form a slightly higher proportion within the non-religious segment, relative to the rest of the resident population. Our Humanist Society itself, however, is much more cosmopolitan. Our gatherings attract participants not from ASEAN countries, but also countries as far as Pakistan, Iran, South Africa and Australia. We have also hosted reowned authors and speakers when they drop by in Singapore.

dwelling freethinkers

Where the non-religious stay in Singapore:

HDB: 397,724 or 75.4% (National average: 82.5%)

Condominiums and Private Flats: 787,49 or 14.9% (National average: 10.1%)

Landed: 47,223 or 9.0 % (National average: 6.7%)

Others 3,857 or 0.7% (National average: 0.7%)

Source: Department of Statistics, Singapore

NOTE:

The non-religious population in Singapore, on average, is slightly better off than the average citizen. While a clear majority – about three in four non-religious residents – reside in the government subsidised private housing, the proportion of non-religious residents living in condomiums, private flats and landed propertities are higher than the national average.

uni grads

Total number of graduates: 

634,098

Non-religious: 153,275, or 24.2% of graduates

Religious: 480822, 75.8% of graduates

Source: Department of Statistics, Singapore

NOTE:

The non-religious residents, in general, are slightly better educated than the average resident. Although non-religious residents comprise 17% of the total population, they make up 24.2% of all graduates. However, the non-religious is not the largest group within the graduate and undergraduate population. Statistics from the 2010 census show that Christianity and Buddhism are among the most popular religions for university graduates and undergraduates. For more information on this, please refer to the Department of Statistics website.

ed2

Highest qualfication attained by non-religious residents

No qualification: 36,318, or 8% (National average: 15.3%)

Primary: 17,810, or 3.9% (National average: 7.0%)

Lower Secondary: 35,309, or 7.8% (National average: 10.2%)

Secondary: 77,852, or 17.1% (National average: 18.9%)

Post-Secondary (Non-tertiary): 50,730, or 11.1% (National average: 11.1%)

Polytechnic: 53,657, or 11.8% (National average: 9%)

Professional Qualification and Other Diploma 30,146, or 6.6% (National average: 5.8%)

University 153,275, or 33.7% (National average: 22.8%)

Source: Department of Statistics, Singapore

NOTE:

The varying educational levels attained by non-religious residents show that freethinkers here come from all walks of life and academic backgrounds. About one in three non-religious residents are college graduates. The number of polytechnic graduates and those with professional qualifications or other diplomas, are also higher than the national average. At the same time, a significant number of non-religious residents (8%) do not have any qualifications.  Close to one in four non-religious residents attained up to secondary or lower secondary education.

Uncategorized

Notes from how to hack a humanist

12 October 2021 by

Hi everyone! 2 weeks ago, I conducted a short workshop/talk for humanists on privacy and cyber security. The audience expressed via a poll that they are reasonably confident in their privacy and security posture – it’s either foolish or expensive to be extremely confident!

A short walk-through of how hackers can overcome protection from firewalls by “getting inside from inside” through phishing emails and malicious attachments or documents. The barrier of conducting such activities has been lowered thanks to the Malware-as-a-service or Ransomware-as-a-service industry in the hacker forums.

An example of a malicious document

It’s emphasized that unless you’re rich or famous, you are very unlikely to be specifically targeted. Instead, these cyber attacks are mass-market, opportunistic, and aims to profit from the small percentage of the population who just happen to fall for the phish.

To reduce the likelihood, one needs to have a simplified understanding of the information lifecycle, information classification, and their risk appetite for their information and security.

Thereafter, apply the 3Rs (amongst many other privacy and security best practices)

  1. Reduce digital footprint
  2. Do not Reuse passwords
  3. Recycle carefully

For further information or consultation, reach me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/danthio/

Uncategorized

Patrons

26 May 2021 by

Our Patrons sponsor groundbreaking projects within the Humanist Society. These projects can include, but not limited to, establishing a permanent venue for the Society, establishing a national repository of non-religious stories, or new IT solutions that scale up the Society’s ability to build supporting communities.

Below are current projects open to patrons’ sponsorship:

1. A Place in the Singapore Story

Over the years, hundreds or even thousands of non-religious people have attended Humanist Society events. At our community gatherings, many stories have been shared, some of them heart-wrenching, several inspiring.

The Humanist Society is now hiring freelance journalists to document stories of non-religious individuals across Singapore.

We are looking for Patrons who can sponsor $200 per story. In turn, the Humanist Society will match the Patron’s donation, making it $400 per story.

By documenting more stories, we can better dispel harmful misconceptions faced by humanists, atheists, agnostics and other freethinkers. By bringing out the rich diverse voices of this demographic, we can secure for the non-religious a respected place in the Singapore Story.

If you wish to contribute as a Patron, write in to infoAThumanist.org.sg to find out more.

2. Home for Humanism

The Humanist Society has long-term plans to rent a permanent office that will serve as a venue for meetings, public lectures, social events and even a permanent exhibit on the non-religious. More plans will be revealed after the Covid-19 pandemic ends.

Uncategorized

Minutes of Humanist Society (Singapore) Annual General Meeting 2021

14 April 2021 by

Date : 20 March 2021, 1400 – 1630 Hrs

Venue : Zoom

Attendance:

The Humanist Society (Singapore) (‘HSS’) Annual General Meeting (‘AGM’) was attended by 25 people, 21 of whom were members with voting rights. The voting membership for the year is 82, so the quorum was reached, with one constitutional amendment tabled.

Annual Report

The meeting began officially at 2:10pm with the President’s address. A summary of the past year’s events, programmes, and involvements was presented.

  1. 2020 events including
  • During Circuit Breaker:
    • Skype Parties 1- 4
    • World Humanist Week + Pink Dot
    • Ear-saver distribution
  • Phase 2:
    • ECP Beach cleaning
    • Southern Ridges Hike
    • National Day HumanistSG merchandise Sale and Delivery Run
    • Remembering James Randi
    • Humanism Ask Us Anything
  • Phase 3:
    • New Year Party
    • Virtual Workshop: Applying Humanism to Daily Lives
    • Darwin Day 2021
  1. Groundbreakers
  • A Good Space
  • Interfaith
  • Engaging Students
  • HSS Internship 
  • Formation of Palliative Care Working Group
  1. Press and social outreach

A summary of mentions, letters and engagement with the press and media.

  • Response to posts linking holy texts to toilet paper 
  • Response to Archbishop 1
  • Response to Archbishop 2
  • Interviews with a scientist and a non-scientist (DJ)
  • Interview with Mathia (JY) 
  • DJ’s interview with a A Magazine
  • HSS video cited in Australian religious studies textbook 
  • HSS interviews: Christian Humanist, two scientist on pseudoscience and anti-vaccine sentiments regarding Covid-19
  1. Celebrant services in 2020 under Covid-19  by Tan Tatt Si.
  1. Reorganisation and Expansion of HSS programmes:

Society is planning to restructure services into: Secretariat, Alliances, Peer Support and End-of-life Care. A calendar of events for 2021 was shown, and volunteers called for.

  1. HSS membership report and public reach

Secretary outlined the growth of membership in 2020 despite Covid-19 restrictions, and our current social media outreach channels that promote our organisation and activities.

Date Retiree StandardStudentTotal members 
31 Dec 201714655102
31 Dec 20182533590
31 Dec 20196452071
31 Dec 20208731697 

  1. Financials 2020

Financials were reported by the Treasurer. On 31st Dec 2020, the HSS net current assets was S$ 23,663.26, with a surplus of S$ 208.58 for FY2020. The bulk of income came from Membership Subscription, Members’ Contribution, and Merchandise Sales. The bulk of expenditure comes from Merchandise Costs, Event Costs and Miscellaneous costs inclusive of AGS annual membership fee and HSS internship. More details can be found in our annual financial statements, available to HSS members upon request. 

  1. Minutes of 2020 AGM minutes

Reviewed and approved.

  1. Proposed Constitutional Changes

● Raising the spending limit in clause 9.7

9.7     The Committee has power to authorise the expenditure of a sum not exceeding $1,000 per month from the Society’s funds for the Society’s purposes.

Proposed new spending limit on constitution 

9.7    The Committee has power to authorise the expenditure of a sum not exceeding $2,000 per month from the Society’s funds for the Society’s purposes. Prior approval from a general meeting of members must be sought for any budget plans deviating from this.

  1. Raising money for a permanent venue 

Exco seeks Members’ opinion and official vote to raise funds for the special purpose of funding a permanent home for HSS.

Questions and objections were raised regarding this proposed raising of the monthly spending limit. Several members expressed concern about a possible recurring financial commitment (eg employee or office lease) depleting the Society coffers. Suggestions of annual spending caps, yearly budget reviews and sunset clauses as a check on spending.

The exco explained that raising the monthly cap in the constitution was not a carte blanche for the Exco to spend, but to give it discretionary power to use funds more flexibly. An example was a recent one-time expenditure of $1000 membership fee, which effectively froze all expenses for the month. It was also explained that there were adequate rules and safeguards in place to keep a rogue exco from irresponsible spending.

It was also raised that the early voting ballot appeared to rush members into voting for issues that had not been explained. Exco explained that this was not its intention. The 3pm deadline was for AGM registration and not voting, which could be done up until the end of balloting during the AGM. Exco will improve on refining the procedures for future online AGMs.

The amendments were eventually passed.

  1. Election of 2021 – 2023 executive committee members

Vice President: Tan Ding Jie

Secretary: Norhaiyah Madasamy

Treasurer: Nic Jude Das (The position was brought forward one year to realign with the Society’s schedule of elections with ROS, which were disrupted in earlier years.)

Ordinary Committee Member: Cheng Chee Hoew

All candidates were voted in unopposed.

  1. President’s words of appreciation for outgoing Secretary and Treasurer.
  1. Appointment of honorary auditors Ms Dian Marissa and Mr. Muhamad Alif Bin Ibrahim for FY2021.

Any other business

No other business was raised. HSS AGM 2021 ended at 1630h SGT.

Uncategorized Tags: ,

HSS Vault Series

7 March 2021 by

Over the past 10 years, the Humanist Society (Singapore) has been active as a voice of reason and community building. To mark our 10th anniversary during 2020, we recap 20 of our most impactful articles and events.

Notable

  1. https://humanist.org.sg/dialogue-with-chris-johnson-presenting-a-meaningful-alternative-to-religion/
  2. https://humanist.org.sg/our-charity-book-sales/
  3. https://humanist.org.sg/humanistsg-interfaith-work-in-nus/
  4. https://humanist.org.sg/asian-humanism-conference/
  5. https://humanist.org.sg/jerrycoyne/
  6. https://humanist.org.sg/humanists-at-the-unconference-in-nygh/
  7. https://humanist.org.sg/world-humanist-day-2018-inter-belief-panels-a-summary/
  8. https://humanist.org.sg/darwin-day-2019-raffles-as-a-naturalist/
  9. https://humanist.org.sg/a-summary-of-human-worth-and-dignity-talk/
  10. https://humanist.org.sg/qas-from-in-conversation-with-ac-grayling/
  11. https://humanist.org.sg/six-lessons-we-learnt-from-peter-singer-over-skype/
  12. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/group-serving-non-religious-folk-here-more-actively
  13. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/youth-in-singapore-shunning-religion
  14. https://humanist.org.sg/media-coverage-for-pastafarian-strainer-interview/
  15. https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/vitriol-from-offended-individuals-a-concern 
  16. https://humanist.org.sg/speech-protecting-vulnerable-groups-against-religious-intolerance-overreach-of-ministers-powers-and-inclusion-of-non-religious-persons/ 
  17. https://humanist.org.sg/being-human-humane-humanist-the-whole-shebang/ 
  18. https://humanist.org.sg/speech-for-humanist-of-the-year-2012/
  19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P74SNn2f4eE&t=19s 
  20. https://humanist.org.sg/?s=celebrant+services
Uncategorized

Celebrating Life’s Moments

12 March 2020 by

Like people with religion, humanists go through the trials and tribulations of life. We laugh together, we cry together, and mostly revel at the precious time, in the one life we have. To be able to share these moments with our loved ones, through rituals, is second nature – it’s human nature.

Humanists celebrate birth, baby naming, confirmation, marriage, god parenting, vow renewals, and death. Yes, death, for the life well lived.

The following are some of the past humanist celebrant-led ceremonies :

____________________________________________________________________________

Nanthini & Rangarajan (Marriage)

(15th Feb 2020) Nanthini (Singaporean) and Rangarajan (UK) were married by JP PY Tan, and ritually by Tan Tatt Si, on 15 Feb 2020. Their photos will be uploaded only after 24 May, when they’ve had their traditional wedding ceremonies in Chennai.

Lily & Theo (Baby naming)

(19th Jan 2020) What would a five year-old sister, and a one year-old brother, have in common besides their families and village of friends ? That both Lily & Theo had names for a while, and yet a Baby Naming ceremony was still relevant for them, and for today’s society.

Chiara & Andrew (Marriage)

An Italian wedding is very tearful despite the tropical heat.

(3rd Jan 2020) Chiara (Italy) & Andrew (Australia) flew to each others’ continents , met at a work meeting in Melbourne six years ago, and decided to marry on Sentosa, Singapore. Together, they have a ‘son’ – a rabbit called ciaro – who joined them in their family unit.

Sandy & Nick (Marriage)

Sonny in the Gazebo looked on , and broke into a blissful smile. (*Cite photographer)

(10th July 2019) Sandy (Singapore) & Nick (UK) tied the knot after the Raffles Hotel reopening. Nick’s 30yo son – Sonny – welcomes Sandy to the family, and shows that love does not count the years or number of times.

Alicia & Ryan (Marriage)

Kilts and dress, walking down an aisle together, isn’t an every day sight in Singapore.

(9th June 2019) Alicia (Singapore) & Ryan (UK) got hitched at Labrador Park. The most memorable parts are how different cultures have very similar ritual manifestations : the Quaich two-handled cup of welcome, and the Chinese tea ceremony.

Aparna & Darroch (Marriage)

Warming of the Rings , where family and friends can bestow the wedding bands with best wishes for the marrying couple.

(30th Mar 2019) Aparna (Singaporean) & Darroch (UK, Ireland) , in Sofitel Sentosa. This was the first joint Solemniser/Celebrant ceremony.

Narumon & Peter (Marriage)

A contingent of Narumon’s brides maids flew from Thailand for the ceremony.

(Sept 2018) Narumon (Thailand) & Peter (Singapore) got married on the evening seaside of Changi, witnessed by many friends who flew in from Thailand. They chose handfasting , to depict tying the knot, to seal their new relationship.

Carissa & Brad (Marriage)

(11th Nov 2017) Carissa (Singapore) & Brad (Australia) got married in Swiss Club.

Bev & Richard (Marriage)

Unity Candles on Tanjong Beach, Sentosa.

(20th Sept 2016) Bev (UK) & Richard (UK) had their families flown in from UK and Australia, for their wedding rituals here (to coincide with F1 race), before both moving to Australia to start a family. The happy couple, today, has a son – Harry (below).

Little Julian (Godparent)

A child’s village, is made up of family and friends with different race, religion, and creed.

(28th Aug 2016) Andrew & Cameron (Australians), wanted their baby Julian to have godparents, a practice common in many societies. They got a better deal – the whole village showed up.

A little holy water from Lourdes won’t hurt (referring to the humanist celebrant).
Uncategorized

AHC 2019: Four Daughters

19 July 2019 by

(Narration done by Ms Shamima Rafi.)

It is not easy being a girl. It doesn’t get easier when we are called a woman in our later years. As one of 4 daughters, I’ve heard people telling my parents how unlucky they are to be burdened with so many daughters. That they should keep trying till they get a son. Because a son will take care of the family. What can daughters do? They will get married and become their husband’s property. They can’t support you in your old age. You can’t depend on them. 

Well my parents got divorced. Guess who started supporting the family?

As we girls get older and at different stages of our lives – we get questioned. Interrogated even. So when are you planning to get married? Why do you need to study so much/high for? Just settle down and get married. You can’t keep delaying your marriage. It’s a sin. God doesn’t like it.

And then we get married and now we are barged with when we will have kids. For a lot of women, the society they live and grew up in, has decided that a woman’s place is at home where she cleans the house and takes care of her children. And God forbids if she is a working mum and her marriage is failing or her kids are not doing well in school because she will be blamed.

If she stayed at home none of this would have happened. 

If she took care of herself and did not gain so much weight maybe she could have saved her marriage. 

If she had another kid instead of stopping at one maybe, maybe, maybe.

And even if you decide to be independent and build something for the community, people will still question you. Your motives. Your intention. When I started my organisations, – you’d think people would be happy to support and join you. Nope. They would rather stand outside where they can see you and wait for you to fall. Hard. 

Funny you think we don’t know. Well we see you. Bright and clear.

It’s a “dog eat dog world.” 

But for the longest time since we can remember, it has been “tear the woman to shreds world.” 

Tear her from her dreams, her wants, her needs. 

Tear her from her self even.

From misusing religion, to the media, to society, to structures and policies and laws, – we enforce impossible expectations for our women. 

We tell them they wear too little. We tell them they wear too much. 

We tell them what to wear. What not to wear. 

We tell them they speak too much. We tell them we can’t hear their voice. 

We tell them they don’t have dreams. We punish them for dreaming.

And sometimes we women hurt our own.

We see our sisters out there and up there and we wish otherwise for them. 

We put down our sisters when when they make choices for their lives that we don’t agree with.

You know exactly what I am talking about.

We need to support our women. All of them. Our wives. Our mothers. Our sisters. Our daughters.

And it starts from celebrating them at birth itself. And as they become girls with hopes and dreams. 

Empower them. Love them. Support them.

And my sisters out there- keep at it. 

Your strength, your voice and your soul nourishes whether or not you believe that. 

Ironically, it is what confuses and scares people too. 

“Why is she so strong? Where did she get it from?”

But our Mothers have fought a long way for us and we gotta keep fighting the good fight. 

And hopefully one day all our daughters will live in the world we fought hard for.

Siti Noor Mastura. Permission was granted to use this piece, which was from the 2014 International Day of the Girl.

See also

Uncategorized
« Previous Page
Next Page »