Festival of N.O.W. celebrates the diverse experiences of women in Singapore

Whether on the streets or online, festivals like this are an important battleground in the fight for gender parity as it shatters stereotypes and gender norms. By amplifying the voices of women, as well as the marginalised, it helps educate others and raise awareness on the income disparity and unequal access they have as compared to their male counterparts. This affects both independence and quality of life. And given that more than half of the population is female, this is alarming.

To cover a wide spectrum of experiences, Noorlinah has invited collaborators from different sectors to tell their stories. “[The collaborators] come from different sectors beyond the arts, which means, we have social workers, academics, researchers, artists, community cultural workers, women leaders, speakers and thinkers. Each has a story to tell that is sometimes less often heard or seen, largely at the intersections of gender, class and race, and whose main concern is to affect positive change in our communities.”

While it's a celebration of women, it’s not just made for women. In order for change to be made, these voices need to be heard by all. “What is often relegated as women’s issues such as sexual and physical violence, reproductive rights, and women’s access to education and equal pay affect not only women but everyone,” says Noorlinah.

She further shares that last year’s attendees consisted of 60 percent female and 40 percent male. “Our male friends attend to hear a story that connects them better with what’s going on in society, a society where inequality exists, especially inequality in terms of income distribution within the matrix of age and gender.”

According to Noorlinah, the festival is led, supported and managed by women and those that identify as women including trans women, and non-binary people of pronouns she/her and they/them. 

“The presentation of works is never based on an identity check-list. My concern is achieving diversity and representation without tokenising who they are and their concerns,” says Noorlinah. “In 2019, we have queer, non-queer writers, Indian, Chinese, Malay presence, and a wide age range – but what’s important is that each collaborator was given the primacy of focus and support for their work.”

Diversity – even in perspective – is key. King by actress and playwright Jo Tan and director Jasmine Ng is matched with Fit for King: A Discussion about Gender, Performance and Every King in Between, an in-conversation featuring queer art-makers Stephanie Chan and Liting Tan who have experience and knowledge in drag king culture.

We also get to hear the liminal experiences of non-citizen migrant married women who faced limited financial access as well as the everyday creative strategies to negotiate the marital and institutional frames that impede them. These are delivered in In Entangled Intimacies: Transnational Divorce Narratives, a verbatim account reading by academic Dr Quah Ee Ling Sharon, lawyer and poet Amanda Chong, head of advocacy, research and communications of AWARE, Shailey Hingorani, as well as four transnational migrant married women from the community.

One of the highlights of the festival is the Women of N.O.W. 2020 Digital Exhibition: Art and Life crossings. Noorlinah leads this project, the second in a series of three, which began with the 2019 exhibition Power of Letters. 

The digital exhibition features interviews with 27 women from different sectors – spotlighting the women who have been working in challenging environments, and are often overlooked. They exemplify the commitment to raise awareness with ingenuity, humour, reflexivity, and creativity, with each finding different ways to achieve what they need to benefit the communities they work with.

“I hope the Women of N.O.W. and their stories would endear readers and make them want to do their part in their little circles. The many circles make up the larger whole and collectively we can make a difference,” Noorlinah says.

Among the lineup of creatives, activists and non-profit organisations are The Codette Project and Liyana Dhamirah who support the development of skills and capacity of other women, as well as Teo You Yenn, and forensic scientists Yvonne Sim and Crystal Tan who believe that women can impact others through education.

Bettering the community through volunteerism, Azlina Ahmad founded #SalamSmilesSG where families can volunteer while on holiday. There are also on-the-ground neighbourhood warriors such as Elvayanti whose indefatigable spirit of volunteerism makes her a willing organiser of events for the Jalan Kukoh community, and Izzaty Ishak who has been working with her community through the arts.

When it comes to fighting against sexual violence and exploitation, Project X, Zubee Ali, Shahranny Hassan, and Asha Adnan, among others, are pushing these issues to the forefront.

The digital exhibition also features three ground-up initiatives that serve the migrant communities including Itsrainingraincoats, Project Chulia Street, and Women of Shakti, as well as social entrepreneurs Nasyitah Tan Wah Ling and Raeesah Khan, and Grace Lee-Khoo, who are enabling communities through enterprise.

Through their stories, we get to see the world through different lenses, reflect on our own experiences and privilege, and find out how we can make a difference. According to Noorlinah, the relevance here is not about weighing the significance of each story then and now, but the act of researching, knowing, identifying and committing to being aware.

“We know so little because we are so good at hiding the uncomfortable. We don’t talk much about poverty, and even if when we do, we talk about it in terms of economic impact, daily necessities, the government hand-outs, but less so about the day-to-day struggles that these hand-outs don’t cover.” 

She adds, “[I hope] that N.O.W. encourages engagement in the development of our communities, generates critical discussion and awareness that there are those hampered by limited access and resources, and invites us to hold space for those who may benefit from support, encouragement and needing champions.”

For the full list of programmes, visit notordinarywork.com/festivalofwomen. Live events are streamed via T:>Works' Facebook, YouTube and SoundCloud channels. Mark your calendar now (pun intended) for Festival of Women: N.O.W to not miss out.