Image size: 55.5 x 37.0 cm
Khau Jie, a retired majie, demonstrates how long her hair used to be. Due to the convenience and practicality of a shorter cut, especially as they aged, many majies like Khau Jie had cut short their long hair. In her mid-eighties, Khau Jie lives alone in a one-room rental flat in Chinatown which is home to those like her who had sought work as domestic servants in Singapore between the 1930s and 1970s. Since arriving in Singapore from China in 1959, she has worked for a few families, undertaking domestic chores such as laundry, cooking and cleaning. Khau Jie is one of the few remaining in the majie community in Singapore today, many of whom have passed on or returned to China. This photograph is part of a series by Singaporean photographer Charmaine Poh, which documents the experiences of the majies living out their twilight years in Singapore.
