Clubbing for a cause

Vandana Aggarwal

The first thing people look for when they migrate abroad is like-minded persons they can depend on. The Kamala Club, one of the oldest women’s clubs in Singapore, too, was born out of this basic human need, back in 1950. It started off as a recreational club, offering opportunities to socialise to its members, but gradually evolved into an association that took up social causes and handed out generous donations to address them, thereby playing a crucial role in the development of Singapore.

The need for such a club was felt when Indian women started accompanying their husbands to Singapore in the 1920s. Many of them practised purdah system, did not speak the local language, and had no friends at all in their adopted home. A few women who had been exposed to western culture felt it was time these women were empowered. And within months of each other, in 1931, BC Handy and EV Davies, both immigrants from the Indian sub-continent, started two clubs — The Ladies Union and Lotus Club, respectively. Even though the membership was open to all nationalities, the clubs primarily focussed on women from India and Sri Lanka. According to news reports at that time, the clubs made efforts to “bring together the women of these communities in some creative activities, in recreation and in friendliness, at the same time developing the qualities of leadership lying dormant in so many women.”

The world beyond their homes

Both clubs had overlapping programmes, ranging from classes on cooking, music and languages. Visiting dignitaries were invited to deliver talks on health, hygiene and child welfare. The clubs were hugely popular, with many women grabbing the membership of both clubs. Coming from different parts of India and backgrounds, they spoke different languages, but so great was their desire to get together that all such hurdles, including the cultural and religious diversity, were overcome. In 1937, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and his daughter Indira met the members of the Ladies Union and motivated them to develop “self-reliance, character and beauty.” In 1950, Pandit Nehru, this time as the Prime Minister of newly independent India, visited Singapore again and suggested that the two clubs merge. The ladies agreed, and The Kamala Club was born, named apparently after Kamala Nehru, the late wife of Pandit Nehru. Salma Moiz, who joined the club as a shy, young bride, says it was her informal participation in the club events that opened up her mind and enhanced her confidence. “I met so many witty, smart, outgoing people at the club. I am what I am because of them,” says the now 77-year-old Moiz.

Breaking barriers

In 1954, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit visited Singapore as the president of the United States General Assembly, and laid the foundation stone of the new clubhouse that the ladies wanted to build. Within four years, the building was inaugurated by Ena Goode, the wife of the Governor of Singapore. To be Singapore’s only women's club to have a clubhouse was a big achievement. Besides lending out the premises to weddings and meetings, they held fashion shows, saree and costume pageants, bazaars and donation drives at the clubhouse to raise funds. Slowly but surely, The Kamala Club was bringing about a social revolution by breaking barriers of caste, creed and social status, and creating a community where women partnered with one another and moved forward in a spirit of togetherness. Donations were made to causes like the Cancer Society, Singapore Association for Retarded Children and the Singapore Anti-Tuberculosis Association. India, too, was not forgotten – the club records show that over the years generous donations were made to the Madras Cyclone Relief Fund, the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund to help the girl child affected by the Gujarat earthquake in 2001 and to the Red Cross for the victims of the 2004 Tsunami. The club, however, ran into trouble in 1981 when the government acquired the land it stood on . The women lost their clubhouse, but not their spirit. Mary Emmanuel, the club president, magnanimously offered her own residence to run the club activities – the club functioned for nearly a decade from her residence.

Rising like a phoenix

After Emmanuel passed away in 1992, her home was sold and the club needed to reinvent itself once again. Ever since, the club meetings have been held at the residence of the president or the committee members, and all other activities are held at condominiums or in hotels. Besides, the focus of the club has shifted to volunteering at old age homes, orphanages, and foreign worker dormitories. With frugality typical of women and hardnosed ability to drive bargains, they managed to raise substantial funds and the organisations like the Singapore Indian Education Trust and Singapore Indian Development Association were the beneficiaries of their generous donations. In 2017 $100,000 was donated to the National University of Singapore for the education of female Singaporean-Indian students.

The club has carved out such a niche for itself that the Indian Heritage Centre in Singapore has a section devoted to the memorabilia related to the club. “The Kamala Club was one of the earliest expressions of female solidarity in Singapore. Set up by the women with South Asian roots in the mid-20th century, it gave women a space for self-expression, and a role outside the domestic environment,” says Nalina Gopal, curator Indian Heritage Centre. “The narrative of south Asian women in early Singapore is underrepresented and often overshadowed by the predominantly male experience of migration. The Kamala Club offers a rare glimpse into the lives of Indian women in 20th century Singapore. It was important to capture this aspect of history at the centre.”

Is the club relevant today? Naysayers may have their doubts, but the members are happy spreading joy and awareness.