SINGAPORE - A United Nations committee has repeated its recommendation that Singapore include in its Constitution or laws a definition and prohibition of all forms of discrimination against women.
This was part of a set of recommendations the UN Cedaw Committee issued on Tuesday (Nov 21), after last month's discussions in Geneva with a delegation from the Singapore Government.
The recommendations will guide Singapore in fulfilling its obligations under the women's human rights treaty, Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw).
A key call is for legislation to define and prohibit discrimination against women.
In the previous Cedaw review in 2011, the committee had called for the same change, citing the 2014 Court of Appeal case of Lim Meng Suang, which ruled that the Constitution currently forbids discrimination on grounds of only "religion, race, descent or place of birth".
Other recommendations include reviewing the Administration of Muslim Law Act to give women equal rights as men in marriage, divorce and inheritance, including prohibiting polygamy; ensuring all employers implement the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Workplace Harassment; and allowing all foreign wives of citizens to have the Long-Term Visit Pass Plus, ensuring their right to work and access to healthcare subsidies.
The committee made its recommendations after taking into account information from reports by the state, other UN agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as well as oral statements by NGOs in Geneva on Oct 23.
During a day-long dialogue in Geneva on Oct 25, the committee posed questions to and heard answers from the Singapore delegation.
Particular attention was also paid to ending gender-based violence against women. The committee highlighted the provision of gender-sensitivity training at all levels of the criminal justice system and the systematic collection of disaggregated data on such violence as some key areas for the state's immediate follow-up.
Ms Malathi Das, chairman of the coalition of 13 Singapore NGOs which submitted a joint shadow report on gender inequalities to the UN Cedaw Committee in October, said: "The coalition is delighted that our report was thoroughly considered during the Singapore state review process, and that the committee regarded our findings valuable."
She added: "Until the next review, the coalition intends to work closely with our fellow NGOs to follow up on the recommendations, and invite the state to engage with us during this process. We hope that with more knowledge of the purpose and process of Cedaw, more NGOs will understand the need to work together to realise the promise of Cedaw for women in Singapore."
Some of the recommendations:
- Singapore is urged to eliminate the concept of "head of household" in all policy- and decision-making, and to promote equal sharing of family responsibilities.
- Domestic workers should receive the same labour protections as other workers, including under the Employment Act, and restrictions on their changes of employer should be revised.
- Marital immunity for rape should be abolished, as was also recommended in the 2011 Concluding Observations.
- The Administration of Muslim Law Act should be reviewed to provide women with equal rights as men in marriage, divorce and inheritance, including through prohibiting polygamy.
- Gender stereotypes, including in media coverage of politics, need to be combated.
- To tackle workplace harassment, the Government should ensure that all employers implement the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Workplace Harassment.
- Disaggregated data on older women, including those belonging to vulnerable groups, should be collected and used to formulate policies and programmes which take into account their specific needs.
- Lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women should be protected against all forms of discrimination in law and in practice. Discriminatory stereotypes about them should be combated through public education and in the media.
- All foreign wives of citizens should have the Long-Term Visit Pass Plus, ensuring their right to work and access to healthcare subsidies. Criteria to obtain permanent residency should be transparent, and granted automatically to all qualified foreign spouses.
- A concrete action plan to implement Cedaw and its recommendations should be adopted, in collaboration with civil society.
This was part of a set of recommendations the UN Cedaw Committee issued on Tuesday (Nov 21), after last month's discussions in Geneva with a delegation from the Singapore Government.
The recommendations will guide Singapore in fulfilling its obligations under the women's human rights treaty, Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw).
A key call is for legislation to define and prohibit discrimination against women.
In the previous Cedaw review in 2011, the committee had called for the same change, citing the 2014 Court of Appeal case of Lim Meng Suang, which ruled that the Constitution currently forbids discrimination on grounds of only "religion, race, descent or place of birth".
Other recommendations include reviewing the Administration of Muslim Law Act to give women equal rights as men in marriage, divorce and inheritance, including prohibiting polygamy; ensuring all employers implement the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Workplace Harassment; and allowing all foreign wives of citizens to have the Long-Term Visit Pass Plus, ensuring their right to work and access to healthcare subsidies.
The committee made its recommendations after taking into account information from reports by the state, other UN agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as well as oral statements by NGOs in Geneva on Oct 23.
During a day-long dialogue in Geneva on Oct 25, the committee posed questions to and heard answers from the Singapore delegation.
Particular attention was also paid to ending gender-based violence against women. The committee highlighted the provision of gender-sensitivity training at all levels of the criminal justice system and the systematic collection of disaggregated data on such violence as some key areas for the state's immediate follow-up.
Ms Malathi Das, chairman of the coalition of 13 Singapore NGOs which submitted a joint shadow report on gender inequalities to the UN Cedaw Committee in October, said: "The coalition is delighted that our report was thoroughly considered during the Singapore state review process, and that the committee regarded our findings valuable."
She added: "Until the next review, the coalition intends to work closely with our fellow NGOs to follow up on the recommendations, and invite the state to engage with us during this process. We hope that with more knowledge of the purpose and process of Cedaw, more NGOs will understand the need to work together to realise the promise of Cedaw for women in Singapore."
Some of the recommendations:
- Singapore is urged to eliminate the concept of "head of household" in all policy- and decision-making, and to promote equal sharing of family responsibilities.
- Domestic workers should receive the same labour protections as other workers, including under the Employment Act, and restrictions on their changes of employer should be revised.
- Marital immunity for rape should be abolished, as was also recommended in the 2011 Concluding Observations.
- The Administration of Muslim Law Act should be reviewed to provide women with equal rights as men in marriage, divorce and inheritance, including through prohibiting polygamy.
- Gender stereotypes, including in media coverage of politics, need to be combated.
- To tackle workplace harassment, the Government should ensure that all employers implement the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Workplace Harassment.
- Disaggregated data on older women, including those belonging to vulnerable groups, should be collected and used to formulate policies and programmes which take into account their specific needs.
- Lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women should be protected against all forms of discrimination in law and in practice. Discriminatory stereotypes about them should be combated through public education and in the media.
- All foreign wives of citizens should have the Long-Term Visit Pass Plus, ensuring their right to work and access to healthcare subsidies. Criteria to obtain permanent residency should be transparent, and granted automatically to all qualified foreign spouses.
- A concrete action plan to implement Cedaw and its recommendations should be adopted, in collaboration with civil society.
