Constance Singam (born D'Cruz in 1936) is a Singaporean activist and writer. Singam's career as an activist started later in life, when she was widowed. She earned a degree and became active in women's rights group,

AWARE Awareness is the state of being conscious of something. More specifically, it is the ability to directly know and perceive, to feel, or to be cognizant of events. Another definition describes it as a state wherein a subject is aware of some inform ...

, which she was president of for 3 separate terms. Singam was also involved in other groups in Singapore and later, wrote about her many experiences. Singam was inducted into the

Singapore Women's Hall of Fame The Singapore Women's Hall of Fame is a virtual hall of fame that honors and documents the lives of historically significant women in Singapore. The hall is the creation of the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations (SCWO), and grew out of an ea ...

in 2015.

Biography

Singam was born in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

as Constance D'Cruz on 1936. At age five, she and her family went to visit family in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

but stayed until 1948 because of the

Japanese occupation of Singapore , officially , was the name for Singapore when it was occupied and ruled by the Empire of Japan, following the fall and surrender of British military forces on 15 February 1942 during World War II. Japanese military forces occupied it after ...

. Singam married journalist, N.T.R. Singam, at age 24 and was widowed by 42. She became more independent after her husband died, getting a

driver's license A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public ...

and earn an honours degree in

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

. She went to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

to study literature and returned to Singapore in 1984. Singam joined

in 1986. Singam served as president of AWARE for three different terms, from 1987 to 1989, 1994 to 1996 and lastly from 2007 to 2009. In 1990, she was elected as president of the

Singapore Council of Women's Organisations The Singapore Council of Women's Organisations (SCWO) is an umbrella organisation founded in 1980 in order to coordinate the efforts of women's groups in Singapore. The organisation represents many diverse women's groups and advocates for women's r ...

(SCWO). She was active in creating the Society Against Family Violence (SAFV) in 1991. In 1998, she was active in forming The Working Committee (TWC) which supported activism in Singapore. In 2002, Singam started a group that later became called Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2), which worked to help foreign workers in Singapore. TWC3 was started in 2014 in order to recognize Singapore's activists. These awards were called the Singapore Advocacy Awards. In 2015, Singam was inducted into the

Work

Singam's

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...

, ''Where I Was: A Memoir From the Margins'' (2013) describes her life living in Singapore as part of many intersecting

marginalized groups Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. It is used across discipline ...

. Her 2016 book, ''Never Leave Home Without Your Chilli Sauce'' celebrates Singapore's cuisine and culture. Singam was a co-editor of ''The Art of Advocacy in Singapore'' (2017).

References

{{Authority control 1936 births Singaporean women activists 21st-century Singaporean women writers 20th-century Singaporean women writers Living people