Post-War Malay Nationalism and Women’s Rights
Mass protests against the British proposal for a Malayan Union.
Women’s associations before World War II were often founded by the wives of British administrators or by women of the local elites in contact with the British. However, organisations that championed women’s rights bloomed in the immediate post-war period. Although most of these associations had memberships of a communal nature, but they generally strived for the emancipation of all women. Given the political background, the Malay women organisations in Malaya and Singapore uniquely took on a political front, like the Angkatan Wanita Sedar (AWAS, “Conscious Women’s Front”), the women’s wing of the radical Malay Nationalist Party (Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya, or PKMM), or the Kaum Ibu UMNO, their UMNO counterpart. It is therefore important to first understand why there was a rise in Malay nationalism after the war.
On her return to Malaya and Singapore, Britain announced her future plans for both colonies., which provoked a dramatic surge of political activity by people of all races, especially from the educated middle-class Malays, with strong rural support.
The British proposed to separate Singapore from the peninsular states and intend to pave way for self-government of Malaya by introducing a unitary government under Kuala Lumpur, removing the powers of the Sultans with British jurisdiction and establishing a common Malayan citizenship which gave equal citizenship rights to all those domiciled in the colony. These proposals were seen by the Malay elites to undermine their rights and would potentially place them on a vulnerable political footing with the economically advantaged immigrant communities. Political parties like PKMM or UMNO hence emerged as competing forces against the colonial state. It would be natural for Malay female activists to seek affiliation with these groups, which were already fighting for the rights of its ethnic community.
PKMM’s largest rally in December 1946, featuring the acronyms of three protest groups. The 3 words also meant fire, beware and angry in Malay.
At its peak, AWAS had a membership of 2000 women and they believed that cultural practices regarding the social position of Malay women need to be removed so that they can practise their own rights in marriage and education. They took on the path of active political participation to be the radical force in emancipating women from the patriarchal social system then . For instance, the women in AWAS launched campaigns to tackle illiteracy and provide education for village women. Most of these programmes are managed by anti-colonial activists, with a focus on destroying colonial exploitation and an appreciation of the glory of national independence and the dignity of manual labour.
Feast for the children at the MWWA premises at Desker Road.
Due to its militant nature AWAS was banned by the colonial authorities in July 1947. The British accused them for having affiliations to communism. Its Singapore-based treasurer Che Zahara then established the Malay Women’s Welfare Association as a socio-welfare organisation, whose objective was to help Malay women prevent desertion and exploitation in society. Citing illiteracy to be the main reason for the weakness of women, fifty female Malay school teachers pledged to join her in October that year and they planned to create awareness about the plight of Malay women through advocacy and cultural activities.
Over the course of 13 years, Che Zahara has taken care of more than 300 women and orphans regardless of race or religion. She wrote a series of plays to be performed as a protest against traditional Malay marriage customs, which included the ability of a man to divorce his wife without legal inquiry. In addition, she fought for husbands to pay alimony to divorced wives until she remarried. Che Zahara also supported the Laycock Marriage Bill which created a minimum age for marriage in Singapore and subsequently was one of the key members to help establish the Women’s Charter before her demise the following year.
Hajjah Zain (right), the second leader of the Kaum Ibu UMNO.
After the crackdown on AWAS, Kaum Ibu UMNO filled in the power vacuum quickly as the next major Malay nationalist force amongst female activists. Apart from being an effective rallying machinery during elections, Kaum Ibu UMNO emulated some of the activities and passions that AWAS carried out, advocating further education for females. Kaum Ibu members frequently drew attention to the lack of women on public bodies and arranged marriages. However, discouraging attitudes from their male comrades caused such radical fervour to subside from the mid-1950s where UMNO sacked the head of Kaum Ibu for breaching party discipline and started suppressing the female radicalist movement. Then head of Kaum Ibu, Khatijah Sidek, demanded the women's vote within UMNO's National Assembly in 1953 and equal political representation within the party. Moreover, she fought for the autonomy of UMNO's women's section, a separate women youth's section to complement the existing UMNO Youth section, and the increased nomination of women to contest the general elections via the pre-selection of female candidates. Nonetheless, these brave ladies managed to create an awareness on championing women’s rights, and led to the establishment of women’s social organisations that exist even till today.
Female radical activists in post-war Malaya (and Singapore) were confronted with multiple hegemonies that worked to stifle their development, given the political context of the time. These hegemonies originated, first, from within their own society in the form of customary conventions and practices associated with class differences. AWAS and Kaum Ibu UMNO also had to contend with censure and disciplinary actions from their male compatriots, who regarded them as threats to their male dominance in their nationalist fervour. Finally, these female activists also came under the watchful eye and proscriptive measures of the colonial rulers that sought to regain its control over its Malayan subjects after the war. The ladies struggled to overcome these hegemonies by drawing upon a whole array of relationships and connections to advance their cause, albeit with limited success.
In our next post, we will be looking at how the drive for women’s rights took place in social discourse and its influence in society.
PS: In trying to translate the Malay word, I kinda feel that the word sedar (adj. conscious) might be better translated as woke today. Just for fun.
And you can find out more about Che Zahara here.
