Amid SG50’s stories of national progress, one major facet of Singapore’s achievements – the struggle for women’s rights and gender equality – will soon be brought under a spotlight.

Last week, AWARE released an exciting video preview of Women’s Action, a richly immersive website telling the story of the women’s movement in Singapore – its landmark achievements, its champions, its past and ongoing struggles, and the deep impact of its work on the daily lives of ordinary people.

The visually sumptuous website, which goes live on 7 November, presents this history with:

• Up-close video interviews with figures as diverse as MP Tin Pei Ling and the ‘Founding Mother of Social Work’, Ann Wee.
• Beautiful photo-essays exploring a wide range of experiences, from the personal dimensions of civil society work to the challenges of navigating a transnational family.
• Meticulously researched articles across nine key themes, featuring striking archival photographs and interviews with over 60 individuals who have been part of the women’s movement.
• An informative timeline capturing key milestones in the last 50 years of the women’s movement.

Last week’s video preview, ‘The Origins of AWARE’, features an interview with AWARE’s founding members Lena Lim and Margaret Thomas, about the events leading to the formation of AWARE in 1985.

Material under each theme will be released in stages over the course of the next five months, beginning with Civil Society and Education on 7 November. All videos featured can also be found in AWARE’s YouTube channel.

“This website is a much-needed permanent and easily accessible record of Singapore women’s struggle for equality,” said Margaret Thomas, founding member of AWARE and current board member. “It’s so easy for details of history to be forgotten.”

“Many have heard of the Women’s Charter, but how did it get passed? What is the backstory behind the legal recognition of family violence?” said Jolene Tan, Programmes and Communications Senior Manager of AWARE. “This website showcases these and other struggles for greater gender equality.”

The first three themes, two videos and a photo essay will be released on 7 November at womensaction.sg and AWARE’s Facebook and Twitter sites. Follow them for the latest release of this initiative.

Coordinated by AWARE and put together by a team of writers, researchers, photographers and videographers, with website development by Minitheory, this project is supported under the Singapore Memory Project’s irememberSG Fund, as part of the SG50 celebrations.

This post was originally released on 4 November as a press release.