The Construction of Femininity in a Postcolonial State

"Singapore, the "economic miracle" has thrived in spite of its lack of natural resources and defied all odds to become a first world economy within a very short span of time. Women in Singapore appear to have benefited much from Singapore's rapid development. It is fashionable to subscribe to liberal feminist thought that women have the same capabilities as men and women's second-class status is due to the lack of equal economic and educational opportunities being given to them. The solution is to provide girls with opportunities for education and employment so as to enable them to enter into a full range of professions. A closer examination of the statistics reveals that the view that access to education empowers women to achieve equal status with men is too simplistic. The question of schooling for empowerment or for subordination is an important issue that this book seeks to address"--