Ever wondered what the lives of women in pre-independence Singapore were like? Find out at an exhibition by the Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame (SWHF) at the National Museum of Singapore (NMS) that opens this May 11 and will run till the end of July.

“The Lives of Women: What life was like for women in pre-Independence Singapore,” is the first of a three-part series by the SWHF in collaboration with the National Museum. The second in the series will be in 2019 and will look at the key issues affecting women in Singapore since Independence. The final exhibition in 2020 will look at what lies ahead.

At this first exhibit, one will get to know about the roles that women played in society until the 20^th century, where there were more males than females. Find out about the women who first broke through the gender barriers in their professions, as well as brought about the new laws introduced soon after Independence and which affected the lives of women much.

Celebrating Singaporean Women’s Achievements

The Hall of Fame’s goal, which was launched in 2014 by the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations, is to celebrate achievements and contributions of Singapore’s outstanding women and to document and share their stories, many of which may not be known. The exhibits’ goal on the other hand, is to provide the context for the achievements of the Hall of Famers and to show what it was like to be a woman in those times.

The Lives of Women series of exhibitions is the Hall of Fame’s second collaboration with the National Museum. The first, titled A Salute to the Pioneering Women of Singapore, was held in 2015 as part of Singapore’s SG50 celebrations. It ran for 11 weeks and was visited by some 60,000 people.

Attend Talks On Working Women’s Lives And 1950s Movement For Women’s Betterment

Two talks will be held during the course of the exhibition. One will be “She Works Hard for the Money” by Sociologist Dr Lai Ah Eng, who has researched and written extensively on women, heritage and multiculturalism in Singapore. The talk will shed light on the lives of women who worked in tin-mining, rubber production, construction, domestic service, hawking and leisure in early to mid-20th century Singapore and Malaya. This talk will be held at the National Museum of Singapore on 25 May.

“I am Woman, Hear me Roar” by educationist Dr Phyllis Chew will talk about the half-forgotten and under-appreciated movement that struggled for women’s betterment throughout the 1950s.

The Lives of Women exhibit will be at the National Museum of Singapore, The Concourse, Level 1 From May 11 to July 22. It is open from 10 AM to 7 PM, daily. Admission is free.