Events

CSEAS Gender Seminars 2024: Seminar on Gender Issues in Academia

Speaker: Humairah Binte Zainal (Research Fellow, Singapore General Hospital; Associate Lecturer, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)

Title: Negotiating Gender Equality: The Singapore Malay-Muslim Women’s Struggle for Empowerment and Social Justice

Moderator:  Chika Obiya (CSEAS)

Abstract: This presentation focuses on public debates on gender equality and gender-related issues within Singapore’s Malay-Muslim community. It discusses the progress made in gender equality and empowerment in the last decade, highlighting areas of improvement, as well as aspects that remain unchanged in the pursuit of gender parity. The presentation also sheds light on the barriers to advancing women’s rights and empowerment in both the public and private spheres, including cultural norms, religious interpretations, and systemic inequalities. Additionally, it explores how global trends and phenomena, such as ‘woke’ culture, influence the Malay-Muslim community’s attitudes towards gender roles, feminism, and social justice, and how these attitudes are negotiated within the local socio-religious context. The presentation also offers recommendations on how the Muslim community can help women reconcile their faith and identity in a ‘feminist’ struggle for gender equality and in a world divided by dichotomies.

About the Speaker: Dr. Humairah is a Research Fellow at Singapore General Hospital and an Associate Lecturer at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from NTU, where she won the School of Social Sciences’ Alumni Star of Social Impact Award. This award recognizes her exceptional post-graduation achievements and her dedication to transformative change within her community and beyond.
Dr. Humairah has published extensively in the fields of gender, Islam, Malay culture, and medical education, focusing on the impact of digital health on clinical practice. She is the author of The Primordial Modernity of Malay Nationality: Contemporary Identity in Malaysia and Singapore, published by Routledge in 2022.
For five years, Dr. Humairah served asan Executive Committee Member of the research arm of the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP) in Singapore. She was also a member of the Steering Committee spearheading AMP’s Fourth National Convention. Beyond academia, Dr. Humairah has been an active voice in public discourse, addressing critical issues such as youth leadership in community organisations, majority-minority relations, and the rights and empowerment of women. In 2022, Dr. Humairah was recognised as one of the Successful People in Singapore by the British Publishing House, a testament to her contributions and impact on society.

Contact: obiya [at] cseas.kyoto-u.ac.jp

*The Seminar is organized by Gender Equality Promotion Committee, CSEAS, Kyoto University.
**For participants who have small children, we can set up a temporary nursery room for children with a professional sitter during the seminars. If you are interested, please email to danjokyodo [at] cseas.kyoto-u.ac.jp by February 7th, 2025.

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