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Articles 1 - 10 of 10
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Embodying Transnationalism: The Making Of The Indonesian Maid, Lenore T. Lyons
Embodying Transnationalism: The Making Of The Indonesian Maid, Lenore T. Lyons
Lenore Lyons
Extract: Female domestic workers are emblematic of the increasing movement of peoples across national borders. The global economic and cultural flows associated with transnational migration play a significant role in shaping the construction of gender in both sending and receiving countries by creating new forms of subjectivity and community, and destabilising traditional national boundaries. The interplay between local expressions of gender relations, and macro-level global processes, is central to the processes of nation-building and nationalism. This paper examines the material and discursive practices that produce foreign domestic workers as ‘symbolic border guards’ (Armstrong) between ‘here’ and ‘there’, between ‘us’ and …
Transient Workers Count Too? The Intersection Of Citizenship And Gender In Singapore’S Civil Society, Lenore T. Lyons
Transient Workers Count Too? The Intersection Of Citizenship And Gender In Singapore’S Civil Society, Lenore T. Lyons
Lenore Lyons
In November 2002, a group of Singaporean activists established a group called The Working Committee 2 (TWC2) to advocate for the rights of foreign domestic workers in Singapore. By limiting both its lifespan and the scope of its activities the TWC2 avoided the requirement that all NGOs formally register under the Singapore Registrar of Societies. At the end of its year-long campaign, however, the group signalled its intention to continue with its advocacy work. The new TWC2 (now called Transient Workers Count Too) was registered in August 2004. For some commentators, the TWC2 represents a new phase in the People’s …
The Borders Within: Mobility And Enclosure In The Riau Islands, M Ford, Lenore T. Lyons
The Borders Within: Mobility And Enclosure In The Riau Islands, M Ford, Lenore T. Lyons
Lenore Lyons
The border studies literature makes a strong case against claims for unfettered transnationalism and ‘borderlessness’ in our ‘globalizing world’. However, its focus on movement across borders means that it fails to address bordering practices that occur within the nation state as a result of transnational activity. In this paper we extend Cunningham and Heyman’s concepts ‘enclosure’ and ‘mobility’ to confront the different layers of bordering (both physical and non-physical) that have occurred in Indonesia’s Riau Islands since they became part of the Indonesia-Malaysia-Singapore Growth Triangle (IMS-GT).
Where Internal And International Migration Intersect: Mobility And The Formation Of Multi-Ethnic Communities In The Riau Islands Transit Zone, Lenore T. Lyons, M. Ford
Where Internal And International Migration Intersect: Mobility And The Formation Of Multi-Ethnic Communities In The Riau Islands Transit Zone, Lenore T. Lyons, M. Ford
Lenore Lyons
While migration studies scholars have paid considerable attention to internal migration within Indonesia, as well as to international labour migration flows from Indonesia, they have rarely considered the intersections between these two processes. This article addresses this gap through a close analysis of migration flows in one of Indonesia’s key transit areas – the Riau Islands. We argue that in the borderlands the processes of internal and international migration are mutually constitutive. The Riau Islands’ status as a transit zone for international labour migrants and as a destination for internal migrants determines its demographic profile and policies of migration control. …
Organizing For Domestic Worker Rights In Singapore: The Limits Of Transnationalism, Lenore T. Lyons
Organizing For Domestic Worker Rights In Singapore: The Limits Of Transnationalism, Lenore T. Lyons
Lenore Lyons
Extract: This article examines the limits of transnational feminist activism through a case study of domestic worker rights in Singapore. This work builds on my decade-long research on the feminist movement in Singapore and my activist involvement in the Singaporean women’s organisation, the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE). I argue that the Singaporean state inhibits attempts by local feminist organizations to engage transnationally (either through links with international NGOs, or by confronting the forces of globalization locally). Singaporean activists have creatively responded to these challenges, but their actions remain constrained by the imperatives of the nation-state.
Dignity Overdue: Women’S Rights Activism In Support Of Foreign Domestic Workers In Singapore, Lenore T. Lyons
Dignity Overdue: Women’S Rights Activism In Support Of Foreign Domestic Workers In Singapore, Lenore T. Lyons
Lenore Lyons
The forces of globalisation increasingly compel feminist activists to engage internationally, either through their involvement in transnational networks and social movements, or by incorporating understandings of the ‘global’ into local and national activist practices. However, as differently situated actors with diverse agendas and priorities come together to address women’s rights within a transnational frame they face a range of challenges and contradictions. Rather than simply transcending the ‘national’, transnational feminist activists must pay particular attention to the roles played by nation-states and national governments in mediating the relationship between local and transnational groups. Amongst the issues they must consider are …
L’Organisation Au Service Des Droits Des Travailleurs Migrants: Le Militantisme Transnational À Singapour Et En Malaisie, Lenore T. Lyons
L’Organisation Au Service Des Droits Des Travailleurs Migrants: Le Militantisme Transnational À Singapour Et En Malaisie, Lenore T. Lyons
Lenore Lyons
La mondialisation marque un point charnière dans l’action des militantes féministes et des organisations non gouvernementales. À la faveur d’une participation à des réseaux de lobbying transnationaux et d’alliances avec des organisations non gouvernementales internationales, des organisations féministes et des organisations vouées à la défense des droits des femmes, locales et nationales, se sont converties à de nouvelles formes de militantisme transnational. Cependant, il est une question qui n’a que très peu retenu l’attention des chercheurs dans le domaine de l’organisation féministe transnationale : c’est celle du lien entre le militantisme transnational et les théories qui sous-tendent les féminismes transnationaux. …
Disrupting The Center: Interrogating An ‘Asian Feminist’ Identity, Lenore T. Lyons
Disrupting The Center: Interrogating An ‘Asian Feminist’ Identity, Lenore T. Lyons
Lenore Lyons
The problem of ‘difference’ has emerged as a significant issue in western feminist theory making during the past two decades. In response to claims that mainstream feminism has ignored the lives and voices of third world women and women of colour, attention has increasingly been placed on the ways in which class and ‘race’ intersect in the everyday lived experiences of women. This work has sought to displace the hegemonic control of white, western women in the production of feminist knowledge. Despite a growing body of literature on women’s movements throughout the Asian region, however, common-sense perceptions of Asian ‘submissiveness’ …
Negotiating Difference: Singaporean Women Building An Ethics Of Respect, Lenore T. Lyons
Negotiating Difference: Singaporean Women Building An Ethics Of Respect, Lenore T. Lyons
Lenore Lyons
Extract: The problem of difference emerged as a significant issue in western feminist theory making during the 1980s-1990s. In response to claims that western feminism ignored the lives and voices of third world women1, attention was increasingly been placed on the need to forge broad-based coalitions that embrace difference and commonality. But, in the call to build coalitions, little work focused on the meaning of difference in the everyday lives of feminist activists; how do feminists work with women who are different to themselves? In this paper I examine the lives of women who belong to the Singaporean feminist organisation …
The Limits Of Feminist Political Intervention In Singapore, Lenore T. Lyons
The Limits Of Feminist Political Intervention In Singapore, Lenore T. Lyons
Lenore Lyons
In recent years increasing attention has focused on the Singapore government’s new attitude towards limited public participation in civil society. The women’s rights organisation the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) is one example of a nongovernment organisation (NGO) that is directly engaged in this newly emerging ‘civic’ society. AWARE’s activities are constrained, however, by a state demand that its objectives remain overtly ‘non-political’ and reformist in character. This has led some observers to comment that as a state-defined practice, feminism in Singapore is unable to address issues of structural inequality and difference.