EVENTS

What was life like for women in pre-independence Singapore? What roles did women play in a society where, until well into the 20th century, there were far more males than females? Who were the women who first broke through the gender barriers in the professions? What brought about the new laws that were introduced soon after Independence and which significantly affected the lives of women?

These are some of the questions explored in an exhibition by the Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame (SWHF) at the National Museum of Singapore (NMS) that opens on 11 May and will run till the end of July.

On 24 March 2018, we celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD) with a gala dinner and the 5th Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame (SWHF) induction ceremony.

St Anthony’s Canossian Secondary School invited the Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame to set up a week long exhibition that showcased the stories of seven outstanding SWHFamers. As part of this exhibition, SWHF held an assembly talk, introducing the students to Ivy Singh Lim, who was a former Canossian girl herself.

The evening was truly a celebration for women of all ages and backgrounds and a powerful reminder of what women can achieve in Singapore today.

Did you know that one of the first women to summit Mount Everest started her journey with a fear of heights?

Classes suspended for 3 days. An Ancient Roman #OOTD (Outfit of Those Days) Fashion Parade showcasing costumes designed by students. A class performing an adaption of Les Miserables’ ‘Do You Hear The People Sing’. The air was abuzz with excitement amidst songs and dance.

18th March 2016 was the day we inducted another 14 outstanding women into the Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame (SWHF) at our International Women’s Day Celebration.

A surprise special assembly was held held at St. Margaret’s Secondary School earlier this year on the first day of school. Upset that their long December holidays have come to an end, the girls were not in the perkiest of spirits. Some of the girls even told us before the assembly that they already had exams lined up on their very first week back in school. Yikes. Little did they know what was in store for them for the upcoming week – a little something that can uplift their spirits!

At 9 years old, he could barely see over our front desk without standing on tip toes, but Justin Kong’s voice was loud and clear as he proudly announced “I’m a quiz winner”, waving his birth certificate as proof of identity (as 9 year olds do not have identity cards yet).

An exhibition at the National Museum about Singapore’s most outstanding women has been attracting much interest since it opened on Monday 9 November.

Inspiring students to help others

They faced boundaries and barriers unimaginable to us today, but they pressed on with their vision and their dreams and they helped to build the institutions and the society that is Singapore today.

When Yuying Secondary School marked Total Defence Day in February 2015, it decided to include an exhibition and talk about the Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame – with special focus on its alumna, sculptor Han Sai Por.

One of the oldest girls schools in Singapore, CHIJ Secondary School, marked its 160th anniversary in October 2014 and was glad to include in its celebrations a talk and exhibition about the Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame.