Eunice Olsen’s book is about the lives of courageous women; she hopes that little girls and boys will read it and be inspired about the immense potential that lies within them to be what they want to be
The most (and perhaps onlyIJ) useful consequence of panel discussions — the dreariest of formats for a public conversation — is that it is a straightforward way to listen and learn. It provides neither flexibility for creatively engaging participants, nor room for investigating the subtleties of an issue, yet an honest, well-structured, old fashioned conversation on a panel on stage can be delightfully enlightening and memorable for all present.
I was in Singapore last week for the launch of my book in the Singaporean market. The launch event was, yes, a panel discussion, organised by my fabulous publisher, Penguin. It was a chat about the social consequences of economic growth that both Indians and Singaporeans face today. We spoke about education, equality (and the lack of it), ‘freedoms’, nationalism, democracy (and the lack of it) — a soaring, free-flowing conversation predictably accentuated with a heavy dose of ultra creative high-tech and digital glitz offered by our host, Google Singapore.
The conversation was moderated by local Singaporean author, publisher, and impressive organiser of literature festivals in Indian non-metropoles, Zafar Anjum. Whereas my co-panelist turned out to be the humanitarian, Member of Parliament, actress, TV talk show host, Miss Singapore pageant winner, and author, Eunice Olsen. I had known of Eunice and of her award-winning (Best Shorts, Indie Fest, Emmy award nominee) TV show Womentalk for a few years now, but it was at my book launch that I met her for the first time.
Eunice came accompanied by her television production team and her mother, who is an equally charming and polite lady of Chinese descent, while Eunice’s father, I learnt, is Swedish-Portuguese belonging to a typical Singaporean middle income set-up. Eunice grew up with no privileges of wealth, opportunity, or social networks. Yet as a young, migrant woman in Singapore, Eunice’s success on so many fronts — political, professional, financial, personal — left me impressed about her calibre and courageous disposition. It also made me curious about the environment that Singapore offers to its girls to successfully live a life of their choice.
According to the World Bank, Singapore ranks third in the world for its GDP per capita, whereas it is placed at 65 (rank 1 being the best) out of 144 countries in the World Economic Forum’s gender gap report. According to the Forum’s report, the country scores high in wage equality and earning by both sexes, but lags behind half the world in gender equality in literacy rate, health, political empowerment, and labour force participation.
According to Eunice, gender sensitive issues in Singapore are not a topic relevant to contemporary political or social discussion in her country. The culture is rooted in the philosophy of meritocracy, and it is generally believed that men and women must be offered a fair and equal platform to succeed. However in reality, women in Singapore face challenges resulting from various forms of gender stereotypes that makes it difficult for them to lead the life they truly aspire for. The problem with meritocracy is that in the short term, it favours the progress of those who have an edge over the others to start with. It does not mollycoddle the weaker groups in society and instead issues a tough call for them to work harder than the privileged in order to realise their life aspirations.
So even though it is common to see mothers in Singapore as the primary caregivers to their children (for example, I hardly saw fathers carrying babies as I do in most parts of Western Europe), and uncommon to see common public toilets for men and women here as is the case in countries such as Sweden or Norway, Singapore is still a good example of social progress in the Asian context. I should clarify that in my opinion, ‘progress’ has less to do with the GDP and more about individuals having the ability to make and implement a personal choice — whether it is to stay at home and care for a child or join the labour force; to pursue an education or not; to dress traditionally or in modern ways; and so on. If the growth in the GDP facilitates the creation and awareness of choices for individuals, as well as provides equal opportunity for all to be in good health and stance to actualise their choices, only then there is progress.
But this is not a given. For example, Saudi Arabia has, over the years, enjoyed a steady GDP growth — with the exception of a dip in the early 1980s — yet the possibility for women and men to implement their choice of work, sexuality, social interactions and appearance, is often more limited than most parts of the world. Similarly, while the economy and political stability of Egypt flourished for three decades of Hosni Mubarak’s dictatorship, the possibility of Egyptians for implementing their free will to express, dress, participate politically, only diminished.
On the other hand in India, political freedom from the British has brought in many other ‘freedoms’ for us — we have eliminated famines freeing millions from starvation, life expectancy has doubled from 32 years in 1947 to 66 years in 2012, ensuring freedom to live in good health to many. Indeed there is a long way more to go as four out of 10 Indians still can not read even if they want to, 163 million are enslaved to thirst as they do not have access to safe drinking water, and despite seven decades of political freedom, 45 million girls have gone missing because they have been denied freedom to live often at the time of their birth.
Eunice’s book I am a girl. See what I can be! releases this month. It is a children’s book of poems about women role models. She believes that when little boys and girls play games and read books that nurture respect towards each other (and themselves) irrespective of their gender, they grow up to be responsible adults. Her book is about the lives of courageous women, in the hope that little girls and boys will read and be inspired about the immense potential that lies within them to be what they each want to be.
As we parted ways, she promised to consider bringing these poems to our children in India soon. The triumphs and challenges of societies changing in fast developing economies are, at times, very similar. Friendships, travel, books, sports, trade, and nurturing role models are powerful ways to learn from each other despite political borders.
Miniya is the author of Indian Instincts: Essays on Freedom and Equality in India, Penguin Random House (2018), and the CEO of Sustain labs Paris, the world’s first sustainability incubator.
Email: miniya@labsparis.com