Over the course of the past 50 years, Singapore has seen a progressive restructuring of the traditional gender norms in our society, especially in the field of sports. Recently, female athletes have made significant strides in attaining equal representation and media coverage, and have begun to participate in formerly male-dominated sports. Compared to how it was in the past, it is clear that female athletes in Singapore are beginning to establish themselves in sports that are not considered mainstream for women. Their ability to challenge gender barriers and restrictive perceptions of their athletic capability and participation in sports is a positive development for the sporting culture in Singapore.
One of the first notable cases for Malay/ Muslim women in sports was in 2013 when Saiyidah Aisyah Mohamed Rafa’ee, a Professional Athlete of the Singapore Rowing Association, secured Singapore’s first- ever individual Gold for Rowing at the 27th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games held in Myanmar. Aisyah made history for the nation by clocking the winning time in the Women’s 2000m Lightweight Single Sculls race. She was also the only competitive female rower and sole representative for Singapore at the 2013 Games. In the recent 28th SEA Games 2015 held in Singapore, the 27-year-old female athlete did the nation proud again by making it to a podium finish with two Bronze medals.
EARLY YEARS
Born and raised in Singapore, Aisyah was a student of Anglo-Chinese Junior College and later graduated from National University of Singapore (NUS) with a Bachelor in Psychology. Aisyah had always been active in physical activities since at a young age and played numerous sports including netball, Silat and even street soccer, but later realised her calling in rowing. She started the water sport in 2004 when she was talent-scouted by an ex-national rower at an indoor rowing competition held in her school.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Being one of the few successful Malay/ Muslim female athletes in Singapore, Aisyah has made headlines and won many awards. In addition to her collection of medals bagged from both local and international competitions, Aisyah was awarded with the Inspiring Young Achiever Award by Berita Harian in 2014. The award serves to motivate young Malay/Muslims like Aisyah, who exhibits the potential to achieve extraordinary heights, and at the same time, spur other individuals to continue to endeavour and pursue their dreams. Aisyah was also a recipient of several prestigious awards such as The Straits Times Athlete of the Month in December 2013 and the Women’s Weekly great Women of Our Time Nominee in Health, Sports and Wellness in 2014.
OVERCOMING OBSTACLES
While it’s easy to watch the fame and fanfare that come with being a successful sportswoman, each moment on the water amounts to a lifetime of hard work and sacrifice for Aisyah. She had to plough through extensive hours of training and even put her career temporarily on hold to undergo a 3-month intensive training in Sydney to prepare for the games. Her packed training schedule also meant that she had less time to spend time with her family and friends.
In addition, the support system and infrastructure for rowing was also limited in Singapore. In fact, rowing was initially excluded from the 2015 SEA Games due to the lack of a 2,000m course in Singapore but Aisyah, along with a few others, managed to convince the Singapore Sports Council to include the sport in the Games.
LOOKING AHEAD
The question of how well our youths will turn out partly depends on how success is defined and encouraged in the future. Singapore parents are typically inclined to encourage their children in the academics field as academic success is perceived to be the path to greater success. However, there have been recent moves both at the national level as well as at the community level to broaden the definition of youth success by taking it beyond academic results. We are seeing more flexibility in the educational and career pathways, as well as more opportunities for allowing individuals like Aisyah to pursue their passion and maximise their potential in these other non-mainstream routes towards personal achievement.
In many ways, Aisyah has contributed into shaping Singapore’s sporting culture and identity. The dreams she brought to Singapore, her fighting spirit, and her commitment, continues to capture the hearts and minds of the nation. Aisyah’s achievement is truly a momentous event for the country.
Moving forward, Aisyah already has her eyes set on flying the Singapore flag at the Olympics one day. She is currently training to qualify for a spot in the 2016 Rio Olympics – a feat no other Singaporean rower has ever attained.
In a recent interview with The Karyawan, Aisyah shared some of her thoughts on the sport and the advice she has for budding athletes.
Q: For most of its history, rowing has typically been a male-dominated sport due to its physical demands. What advice would you give to other Malay female youths getting into a male-dominated sport such as rowing?
A: For me, growing up with 4 brothers has taught me that whatever a guy can do, a girl can do it better. I believe that if Malay girls are interested in a sport, gender, race or status shouldn’t get in their way. You love the sport for what it is and not for whom it is dominated by. I used to play soccer / futsal and participated in several competitions. Soccer is a good example of a male-dominated sport but it didn’t bother me that there is a gender bias in that sport. Most importantly, you must enjoy what you do.
Q: What is the biggest misconception about being a female Malay athlete and why?
A: People often think female Malay athletes have no future, but I doubt it. I am going to show the world that we do. Athletes in Singapore generally don’t earn much; in fact, we don’t even get an income. People often comment that I am being selfish for chasing my dreams as I can’t contribute to my family. Of course, I am not the typical Malay daughter who cooks, sews and does the household chores and unfortunately due to the nature of my career, I am unable to contribute financially to the household. But I am grateful my brothers are all working and they watch over my mum when I’m not around. But I often pray that all this hard work that I’ve put in all these years will bring about success in the future and Insha’Allah one day I am able to lift the burden off my mum’s shoulders.
Q:What would you say most motivates you to do what you do?
A: The people who don’t believe in me. I love proving people wrong.
Q:Parents in Singapore are more willing to encourage their children in academics rather than sports because of the perceived path to greater success in society. What is your view on this?
A: It is true that academics are still important, especially in the Singapore context, because eventually, to get a good job, companies still look at paper qualifications. I am lucky that I am naturally self-motivated and was hardworking in both my academics and in sports. My parents allowed me to be involved in sports because I did well in school. However, I understand that not everyone is like that. I believe that parents should allow their children to discover their talent in their fields of interest whether it is in sports or the arts. Being involved in other activities besides school may actually help their children in their studies and even help earn scholarships to get into their university of choice in the future. You’ll never know what opportunities lie ahead for your children. Most importantly, they shouldn’t be pressured into doing something. It takes away the enjoyment of it and this will eventually lead to them burning out and not being interested any more. ⬛
IMAGES SOURCE: BERITA HARIAN © SINGAPORE PRESS HOLDINGS LIMITED. PERMISSION REQUIRED FOR REPRODUCTION
Nabilah Mohammad is a Research Analyst for the Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay Affairs (RIMA). She was previously a Research Coordinator for the Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory (Sleep Team) at DUKE-NUS Graduate Medical School.
