Legislating the Women’s “Bill of Rights”: Examining Singapore’s Civil Society Through the Origins of the Women’s Charter (1961)

Abstract

Sixty years after its enactment, the Women’s Charter remains lauded as a landmark piece of legislation in Singapore. Through its provisions, this legislative Act affirmed the rights of women, protected vulnerable women and girls, outlined the rights and responsibilities of married persons, and mandated that all non-Muslim marriages were henceforth to be monogamous. This article examines the historical developments that led to the introduction of this unprecedented “women’s Bill of Rights” by the PAP (People’s Action Party) government in 1961. Whilst extant literature credits its origins to the lobbying efforts of the Singapore’s Council of Women formed in 1952, this article argues for the need to adopt a broader contextual perspective to better account for the development of this “revolutionary” Bill between 1952 and 1961. Furthermore, earlier attempts at marriage reform, such as the 1950 Age of Marriage Bill spearheaded by the Singapore Progressive Party’s John Laycock, have curiously been overlooked in the larger narrative of women’s rights and social reform in Singapore. This article thus seeks to remedy this gap in our knowledge and to provide a fuller understanding of Singapore’s civil society in the post-war era, leading up to the introduction of the Women’s Charter.