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University of Wollongong

Faculty of Arts - Papers (Archive)

Migrant workers

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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

L’Organisation Au Service Des Droits Des Travailleurs Migrants: Le Militantisme Transnational À Singapour Et En Malaisie, Lenore T. Lyons Sep 2007

L’Organisation Au Service Des Droits Des Travailleurs Migrants: Le Militantisme Transnational À Singapour Et En Malaisie, Lenore T. Lyons

Faculty of Arts - Papers (Archive)

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. …


Dignity Overdue: Women’S Rights Activism In Support Of Foreign Domestic Workers In Singapore, Lenore T. Lyons Apr 2007

Dignity Overdue: Women’S Rights Activism In Support Of Foreign Domestic Workers In Singapore, Lenore T. Lyons

Faculty of Arts - Papers (Archive)

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 …


Transient Workers Count Too? The Intersection Of Citizenship And Gender In Singapore’S Civil Society, Lenore T. Lyons Oct 2005

Transient Workers Count Too? The Intersection Of Citizenship And Gender In Singapore’S Civil Society, Lenore T. Lyons

Faculty of Arts - Papers (Archive)

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 …


Embodying Transnationalism: The Making Of The Indonesian Maid, Lenore T. Lyons Jan 2005

Embodying Transnationalism: The Making Of The Indonesian Maid, Lenore T. Lyons

Faculty of Arts - Papers (Archive)

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 …


Organizing For Domestic Worker Rights In Singapore: The Limits Of Transnationalism, Lenore T. Lyons Jan 2004

Organizing For Domestic Worker Rights In Singapore: The Limits Of Transnationalism, Lenore T. Lyons

Faculty of Arts - Papers (Archive)

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.