Advancing Feminist Conversations
Growing Up Indian
Growing Up Indian, a project dedicated to spotlighting Indian women’s narratives, delivered AWARE some of our major triumphs in 2022.
In July we published What We Inherit: Growing Up Indian, an anthology of 39 personal essays and poems by mostly Indian women (and some men). What We Inherit was edited by AWARE’s Shailey Hingorani and Varsha Sivaram, and distributed by Ethos Books, who had also distributed our previous anthologies Perempuan and Growing Up Perempuan.
What We Inherit was a smash hit even before publication, with a robust pre-sale performance (due in part to our successful 2021 Kickstarter campaign, as well as some generous private donors). By the end of 2022, the book had sold an incredible 1,800 copies and was about to enter its third print run. It garnered rave reviews from critics in a range of local media outlets, and from members of the public on social media and platforms such as Goodreads. Many readers praised the unprecedented honesty with which the book approached race and identity, as well as the unusual agency and dignity the anthology afforded Indian voices.
We celebrated the official launch of What We Inherit at 10 Square in Orchard Central on 16 July. Seventy guests—among them Kickstarter backers, private donors and contributors—gathered for a stirring panel discussion with co-editor Shailey Hingorani and essayists Sarah Begum, Shobha Avadhani and Pooja Nansi (who moderated). The panellists talked about finding solidarity and joy in others’ life writing, navigating multiple identities as Indian women in Singapore and harnessing the emotional power of the personal essay. Following the discussion, guests also had the opportunity to converse intimately with three other contributors—Matilda Gabrielpillai, Jaryl George Solomon and Sofia Begum—in “human library”-style sessions, curated around various themes.
Photographs by Yee Hui @okaypotato
After the launch, other events allowed us to extend the reach of What We Inherit to new demographics. On 2 October, 32 guests gathered at City Book Room for an invigorating discussion with three contributors: panellists ila and Saraniyah D/O Saravanan, and moderator Jeyda Simren Sekhon Ataç. With City Book Room typically catering to a Chinese-reading audience, the panellists naturally spoke at length about their own relationships with languages, both Indian and otherwise.
We also collaborated with The Necessary Stage on their Devising Platform showcase on 2 December 2022, during which seven artists—Haresh Sharma, Sindhura Kalidas, Ruby Jayaseelan, Nina Chabra, Pramila Pam, Ajuntha Anwari and Aditi Gopinathan—used What We Inherit as a springboard to explore new interdisciplinary performance styles.
Response to the White Paper
The historic “White Paper on Singapore Women’s Development” sparked a flurry of discussion in March 2022 about various gender issues in Singapore, from social egg freezing to comprehensive sexuality education. Apart from our formal response, AWARE also held an informal virtual town hall on 14 April to allow partner organisations, members, donors and volunteers a space to celebrate and commiserate together. Titled Thank You, Next?, the event was attended by representatives from Disabled People’s Association, Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics, Sayoni, Project X, Daughters of Tomorrow, Talk Your Heart Out and more, with a total of 60 people in attendance.
During the robust two-hour conversation, speakers named different aspects of the White Paper they found hopeful or disappointing, and weighed in on how the government might achieve the targets set out in the paper. Participants then reflected on Singapore’s journey for gender equality post-White Paper, which—all agreed—must involve the continued collaboration of civil society actors.
Saga at the Anthem Awards
In February, we received the thrilling news that Saga, our 2020-2021 limited-series narrative podcast, had won Silver in the Human & Civil Rights (Awareness – Not for Profit) category at the inaugural Anthem Awards. The Anthem Awards are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences and shine a spotlight on social good and philanthropic endeavours across the globe. We were honoured to be amongst the 40 finalists in our category, which included such industry leaders as World Vision International, UN Foundation, the It Gets Better Project and NAACP. The virtual awards ceremony took place on 28 February and featured speeches from Dr. Jane Goodall, Naomi Osaka, Adam McKay, Megan Rapinoe, Trevor Noah and others. That same month, Saga also crossed over the 100,000 mark in all-time plays.
AWARE in the News and on Social Media
In 2022, AWARE’s media presence again surpassed pre-pandemic figures. The organisation was mentioned in the media—inclusive of print, television, radio and digital media—367 times in total over the course of the year.
Our social media following across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn remained stable, growing to a community of nearly 49,000 in all. Although the year saw a dip in reach for Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (after a high in 2020 and 2021, likely fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic and Singapore’s General Elections), LinkedIn came in as AWARE’s fastest-growing platform with a 150% increase in reach over 2021. All in all, AWARE enjoyed a social media reach of 3.6 million, heralding another year of bringing feminist discourse to diverse audiences.
