Women aged between 21 and 35 in Singapore may be allowed to freeze their eggs for non-medical reasons as early as next year. This was one of several proposals put forth in a White Paper on women’s development in Singapore submitted to Parliament on March 28. Doctors and women TODAY spoke to were in favor of the proposal.They said that this would provide women an option to have a child later. The recommendation to make elective egg freezing legal is one of several proposals put forth in a White Paper on women’s development in Singapore which was submitted to Parliament on Monday. If the White Paper is endorsed by Parliament, the implementation of the elective egg freezing will take place in early 2023, in tandem with the introduction of the Assisted Reproduction Services Regulations under the Healthcare Services Act. Women TODAY spoke to expressed support for the proposal, saying that it will help give them the option of having a child later. “I’m not sure whether I want children but I would like the option one day. I just feel like I’m not ready right now,” said Ms Zhang, who is newly married and cited reasons such as her career and the pandemic for putting this decision on hold. Read more at: https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/women-doctors-white-paper-legalise-elective-egg-freezing-1857431
EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD
Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.
“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”
