Nalla Tan

Nallammah "Nalla" Ruth Tan (née Navarednam 12 May 1923 – 27 March 2012) was a Singaporean physician, women's rights advocate and writer. She is known for her early advocacy of sex education and public health education in Singapore. She was also known for her poetry and short story writing.

Biography Tan was born Nallammah Navarendam on 12 May 1923 in Ipoh. Tan's parents were teachers and she was the fourth out of six children.

After school, she became a government health officer and later an administrative officer for the Ministry of Health. She brought up the idea of creating a "Women's Affairs" department in the government. In 1975, Tan, along with Chan Choy Siong and Lim Kim Choo, were recognized with Outstanding Women Awards for their work for women's rights in Singapore.

Tan earned her doctorate of medicine in 1975. In 2015, Tan was inducted into the Singapore Women's Hall of Fame. She wrote her first story, "Robert and the Beetroots" at that time. It was also the first time that Singaporean women's short stories had been collected into an anthology. She was also featured in Singapore Short Stories Volume II (1978). The collection of her short stories, Hearts and Crosses (1989), incorporate her own personal experiences and take place in Singapore. Many of her short stories are also characterized by a sense of irony and having a twist ending. The Times also describes how her satirical poetry has a sense of "dry humor." She also discusses drug addiction in the book. Tan wrote a weekly column in the Sunday Times called 'You' where she discussed issues many readers faced, politics and developing the community.

Selected bibliography