I REFER to the letters, 'Singapore still far behind in true
gender equality: Aware' (May 20) and 'A nation of spoilt
princesses?' (May 26).
Our society has evolved and the traditional Asian women of our
mothers' and grandmothers' times do not exist now. Today's
well-educated, financially self-sufficient and widely travelled
Singaporean women choose to work and supplement the family income
even after they get married.
With the rise in cost of living, more dual-income families are
emerging. So the traditional roles expected of Asian men and women
have inevitably become less well-defined.
Both men and women are now more accepting of sharing the
parenting role and domestic chores, especially in nuclear families,
where help from grandparents does not come easy or the married
couples choose not to have domestic help.
So the birth-rate issue should not be seen as a consequence of
the battle of the genders.
Most often, our family upbringing and cultural and religious
backgrounds play a great part in moulding and shaping us to be who
and what we are. Both husband and wife need to respect each other
for who they are and complement each other's strengths and
weaknesses in child rearing and domestic chores.
There will be tensions only when gender roles are stereotyped -
for example, insisting that the wife must be the one doing the
household chores.
Rearing children is a lifetime commitment. If a married couple
can put aside 12 years of their life to care for a pet dog, surely
they can spare more time and effort to bring up a child.
The state, of course, needs to give adequate support through
work-life balance initiatives and quality childcare provisions so
working couples can have peace of mind while at work and boost our
country's birth rate.
Lee-Teo Lay Yan (Mrs)