Singapore: Protest-averse Singapore will
allow a "SlutWalk" rally against sexual violence to be held
this weekend, police said on Wednesday after a public squabble
between the authorities and organisers.
"A permit has been approved," a police spokesman said.
Unlike SlutWalk marches held in other cities, the
Singapore edition will be restricted to a free-speech park
called Speakers' Corner in line with strict laws against
street demonstrations.
The organisers had insisted they never needed a permit in
the first place but police said the global nature of the
movement and expected presence of foreigners made it
necessary.
SlutWalk events in other countries featured
scantily-dressed women insisting on their right to wear what
they want without being harassed or assaulted.
The Singapore event will include dances, speeches as well
as a muay thai martial arts demonstration.
The organisers are appealing out of principle to the
minister in charge of the police to waive the permit
requirement, which comes with a USD 38.64 fee, but said they
would pay it if their request was rejected.
"SlutWalk Singapore has been granted the police permit,
but we have sent in an appeal to Home Affairs Minister Teo
Chee Hean to have it waived," they said on their Facebook
site.
SlutWalks have been held in dozens of cities around the
world, including Toronto, Auckland and Wellington in New
Zealand, New Delhi, Philadelphia, Seoul, Sydney, Washington,
Paris and Berlin.
Alex Au, a social critic and gay rights activist,
ridiculed the police reaction to the SlutWalk, saying in a
blog that "maybe our senior civil servants can't get past the
word 'slut' and have begun to hyperventilate.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, November 30, 2011, 16:07