Singapore’s Malay/Muslim women have made marked progress in many fields including education, work and politics, yet there remain social, cultural, and structural challenges impeding our women from reaching their utmost aspirations. The local Malay/Muslim women continue to find themselves subjected to socio-cultural preconceptions of gender roles and norms; a prevalent one being that of women as the primary caregiver which only serves to restrict and hold back women’s potential and growth.
Such societal expectations persist despite evolving socio-economic conditions where dual-earner arrangements are the norm, resulting from women’s rising educational attainment and labour force participation. The economics of marriage are changing, but women are still expected to take on more of the unpaid labour role and responsibilities.
This is reiterated in a study on local Malay dual-income households which reported that despite the small shifts in practices of sharing household and childcaring duties, perceptions pertaining to notions of ‘different’ or ‘complementary’ women’s and men’s work continue to define marital relations within the home. For the Malay family, the exercise of ‘maternal gatekeeping’ and conformity to an ‘Ideal Muslim’ marital couple strongly underpin the nature of gender roles within the household1.
ASPIRATIONS OF SINGAPORE MODERN MUSLIM WOMEN RESEARCH
Hence, the challenges faced by modern Malay/Muslim women in juggling their personal and professional aspirations cannot be purposefully explored without first examining the value system and cultural themes behind women’s roles.
This and the scarcity of substantive data on local Muslim women (regardless of ethnicity) or their aspirations, had prompted PPIS’ Research and Engagement Department (RED) to embark on its landmark research on the ‘Aspirations of Singapore Muslim Women’2. This study sought to better understand the personal, professional and family values and aspirations of Singapore Muslim women, so as to offer meaningful recommendations on the areas of support needed to help them achieve their aspirations.
TOP THREE PERSONAL ASPIRATIONS
The quantitative aspect of the research constituted a survey on 1,001 Singapore Muslim women aged 21 to 62. When probed on their personal aspirations, the top three responses were ‘to be a better Muslim woman’ (52.2%), ‘to be financially independent’3 (11.1%) and ‘to be fit and healthy through regular exercise / better eating habits’ (10.4%).
TOP THREE FAMILY ASPIRATIONS
When surveyed on their family aspirations, the three topmost responses were ‘having a more Islamic family’ (28.7%), ‘ensuring their children grow up well’ (19.7%) and ‘having good work-family balance’ (16.9%).
The top three challenges faced by these women in achieving their family aspirations were the ‘lack of time / inability to manage time well / work commitments’ (36.3%), ‘family responsibilities’ (29.8%) and ‘financial issues’ (26.0%).
The top three areas of support needed were family support (56.2%), financial support (36.9%) and government support (32.7%).
All of the respondents had also indicated that parents were key to their family life, and nearly all had indicated that their siblings (99.3%), children (98.3%), spouse (96.8%) and extended family (91.9%) were important components of family life. The emphasis and prominence accorded to the extended family (beyond immediate family members) seems to be distinctively unique to the Muslim community. An equally substantial proportion i.e. around 9 in 10, had also concurred that adult children have the duty to provide long-term care for their parents.
These are indeed revealing of the family values embodied by our local Muslim women and by extrapolation, the general Muslim community, and even offer a sense of their dispositions towards caregiving responsibilities.
TOP THREE WORK ASPIRATIONS
When queried on their career aspirations, the respondents cited ‘attaining work-life balance / flexible work arrangement’ (18.1%), as their top aspiration; which the women had associated with being able to juggle between working and caring for the household, and at the same time, having the flexibility or freedom of choice on where and when to work. This was followed by ‘having higher salary / promotion / climbing up career ladder’ (9.4%) and ‘finding a full-time job / new job’ (8.1%).
Conversely, these women cited the top three challenges to achieving their work aspirations as ‘family responsibilities’ (29.5%), ‘difficulty finding a job / the right job’ (22.2%) and having ‘no work-life balance / job flexibility’ (21.5%).
The top three areas of support needed were employer support (47.6%), government support (36.9%) and family support (36%).
The women were also asked about their priorities in job seeking, and specified that the three most important job-related factors were ‘being able to take time off for family or childcare needs’, ‘having job security’ and ‘having a job that offers good benefits’.
Other interesting statistics related to duties as providers or caregivers include:
• 84% opined ‘both the man and woman should contribute to the household income’
• 78% felt ‘a working mother can establish just as warm and secure a relationship with her children as a mother who does not work’
• 64.2% agreed that ‘being a housewife is just as fulfilling as working for pay’
• 37.7% agreed ‘a man’s job is to earn money; a woman’s job is to look after the home’
In attempting to strike a balance between work and family, 91.5% of respondents agreed they want to put in effort to build a nice family. On the other hand, 79.3% highlighted they would like to continue working while managing family life. 66.9% also agreed they desired to continue working even if there was no pressing financial need to do so.
HARMONISING BETWEEN PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL SPHERES
From these research insights, there appears to be a strong correlation between work and family aspirations for our local Muslim women, and as a result, the considerations and motivating factors are interlinked. The findings also reflect the values and priorities of our local Muslim women as they attempt to balance their personal and professional roles.
The root of women’s struggles appears to stem from women attempting to separate their private and public/professional spheres (be it consciously or not). When in reality, both domains are intertwined. Viewing them as mutually exclusive categories ignores the fluid nature of the multiple roles played by women at work and at home. In tackling gender issues impacting the local Muslim women community, it is thus important to address the dichotomy between their public and private spheres and harmonise the two spheres to facilitate women’s advancements.
Women’s development itself is never linear and will move in multiple directions as women take diverse pathways and go through various phases in life. There may also be progress as well as regression. We need to take into account that women’s issues are complex and multi-faceted and there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
FOUR ARCHETYPES OF SINGAPORE MUSLIM WOMEN
Insights from the qualitative focus group discussions (FGDs) revealed how Muslim women value their physical well-being, financial independence, self-reliance, children’s upbringing, community service and discipline in religious practice. From the FGDs, four typologies were identified based on the respondents’ different life stages, level of education and social exposure, as well as family upbringing.
The first archetype is the Traditional Conformist, who is well beyond her 50s and follows closely traditional Muslim values and practice. She is inclined to refocus time on herself by picking up new hobbies and skills, as her children have all grown up and left home. Her aspiration is to enjoy a happy life while abiding by Muslim values and principles. Her key challenge is keeping up with society, and she tries her best to avoid being left behind.
The second archetype is the Balanced Striver, who sees herself first and foremost as a mother since her children are still young and depend heavily on her. Her family’s needs and interests often come before her own, and she often attempts to juggle family and work responsibilities. Her aspiration is to become a super mom by performing well in all aspects of life, be it work, family, social life or religion. Her key challenge is the lack of time and space to focus on her own individual needs.
Third is the Driven Achiever who still has some time before reaching middle age and is currently at her peak professionally. She has received higher education and exposure beyond the local Malay/Muslim community. Being focused on her career with clear personal goals and milestones, she usually engages help (e.g. domestic helpers) to take care of domestic duties. Her aspiration is to improve quality of life for herself, her family and the Muslim community. Her key challenge is straddling between differing Muslim principles and the modern business world.
The final archetype is the Purpose Seeker, who is in her 20s-30s, educated and focused on pursuing personal goals whilst family remains important. She has a tendency not to follow rules and principles blindly, without first contemplating their significance and relevance to her own life. Her aspiration is to seek a meaningful connection between Muslim knowledge and personal growth. Her key challenge is to gain a more adequate understanding of Islamic knowledge.
From these typologies, we could potentially explore identifying women’s needs and challenges at various career stages or life phases and adopt a life-course approach to systematically create high impact, holistic solutions to address underlying needs or concerns.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
In summary, it is evident that helping Muslim women advance their family, work, and personal aspirations requires a multi-pronged approach. An ecosystem of support is fundamental to catalyse women’s development and ultimately, acquire a more equitable and inclusive society. Galvanising resources, deepening trust and expanding strategic partnerships will go a long way in addressing needs and resource gaps within the community, and in offering more targeted and comprehensive interventions.
Another key recommendation from the research insights is to expand the narratives of success of local Muslim women, as well as to cultivate a stronger and more cohesive community spirit by encouraging peer-to-peer support. Celebrating local women achievers and offering role models will enable the future pipeline of women to unlock and discover their potential and strengths, as well as better visualise and navigate opportunities.
There is also a need to shift the needle and facilitate positive mindset change by challenging stereotypical narratives and reframing perceptions that are barriers to women’s progress. This will involve a whole-of-society effort involving multiple stakeholders, as well as continuous and consistent promotion of awareness and advocacy from thought leaders within the community such as RED. Men are also important allies in this journey towards equitable access to education and opportunities for women and men to enable both to pursue their aspirations freely and to the fullest.
1 Suratman, S., and Mohamed, M. Dual-Income Households Among Singapore Malay Families: Changing Economy, Unchanging Gender Roles. In Family and Population Changes in
Singapore: A Unique Case in the Global Family Change, edited by Yeung, W. J. and Hu, S. Routledge, 2018
2 PPIS. Aspirations of Singapore Muslim Women. 2022. Available at: https://ppis.sg/amwr.pdf
3 Unmarried Muslim women define it as being able to enjoy freedom of choice when spending. Married Muslim women believe it gives them options when making decisions and enhance their power and confidence within the family. Those 50 years old and above define being financially independent as not having to rely on their husband and feeling secure to spend during retirement.
Ms Sabariah Aris is the Assistant Director of the Research and Engagement Department (RED) of Singapore Muslim Women’s Association (PPIS), which was set up in 2016 to represent Muslim Women’s voice and advance aspirations. Aside from leveraging empirical data to calibrate existing initiatives, safe and inclusive spaces for nurturing social capital and meaningful engagements are important to acquire deeper insights into lived realities. As such, RED will be launching its very own ‘Women Space’ in October as a one-stop support for women’s career, legal and wellness needs, as well as a resource platform for women to gain access to information, assistance and referrals. You can subscribe to RED’s channels on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and WhatsApp for the latest updates.
