I’m referring to Corporal Goh Hui Lim who was killed when her ship collided with a merchant vessel on Friday (January 3) off the coast of Pedra Branca. Three of her colleagues, all women, are still missing.

If, as it is feared, they are found dead, it will mean that four young Singaporean women lost their lives while safeguarding their country.

Four promising young women just on the threshold of life – snuffed out like candles in the course of military duty.

What a loss to their families and to Singapore! All four women were only in their early twenties and, judging by their educational qualifications and responsibilities, they would have contributed richly to the country’s well-being and economy. But qualified or not, as Singapore citizens they were part of our country’s assets.

According to reports, Corporal Goh Hui Lim, 22, joined the Republic of Singapore Navy in December 2001 after graduating with a Diploma in Electronics and Computer Engineering from Ngee Ann Polytechnic - qualifications not to be sneezed at.

The military, happily, does not seem to discriminate against women. It recognized these qualifications and gave the young woman the responsibilities to go with them. From reports it appears that Corporal Goh was on the sort of “active duty” that many of us seem to think is only reserved for men. Somehow it is still hard for many of us culturally-conditioned Asians, to envisage women standing shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts in an engine boiler room or on a battlefield.

But, obviously, Corporal Goh was metaphorically standing shoulder to shoulder with her male colleagues when she died. The accident, tragic as it is, has unwittingly brought into focus (for those who care to see), an area of interest that has long-reaching ramifications for gender issues in Singapore.

I mean, it could mean another chance for advocates of women’s issues to scrutinize the way women employees are compensated and allowed to develop in Singapore, especially in the civil service and private sector as well another chance for policy makers to redeem themselves in the eyes of all women and fair-thinking people.

But, it is gratifying, even in such an unhappy situation, to see that women have made some headway in the military if I am correct in deducing that the late young corporal’s onerous duties point to a military that is democratic in its allotment of duties and responsibilities regardless of gender. One presumes, too, that the military’s compensation scheme is equally equitable. That is, I dare say the military was paying the late Corporal Goh the same amount as her male colleagues.

Can we say the same of women in the private and public sector, many of whom cannot claim benefits for their offspring, as they are not seen as “primary bread winners”? No.

Indeed, women in Singapore have as long and hard a climb up the corporate and political ladders as those in many developing countries.

According to a survey of 500 Singapore firms last year, one in five companies had no women in senior management, while in fewer than half the companies, only a quarter of senior management posts were held by women. The research was done by a private research company TMP Worldwide eResourcing.

The Labour Force in Singapore 2001 Report showed that for 2001 alone over 208,000 managerial, proprietors and senior managers were males compared to 67,000 females holding similar jobs.

The wage gap between the genders ranged from 11 per cent for professionals to 39 per cent for factory workers. Indeed, although they constitute half the population, less than 20 per cent of Singapore’s parliamentarians are women.

To quote my friend and ex-colleague who is also a nominated member of Parliament Braema Mathi: “Is it a dream to ask for constitutional rights for women? After all does it matter when we see confident women in the workplace, inquiring female undergraduates and bright

girls in schools? It is tempting to say we have arrived and that the rest of what we want is marginal. Perhaps it is indeed time to stop the asking and be grateful…

...I'm afraid not.’’

The views of the writer do not neccessarily represent the views of Lycos Asia.

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