Today, women all over the world are honored during International Women’s Day. Yet from where I now sit, I look at our Philippine situation and realize that the uphill struggle for parity and respect is far from over. In fact, it has deteriorated, thanks to the misogynistic comments of some of the leaders in government.
The Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD) issued a media statement in observance of International Women’s Day. You can read it HERE.
The good
The statement points out that there are positive legislative signs that women’s rights in the Philippines should be a priority.
- Landmark laws include the Magna Carta of Women, Women in Nation Building Act, the Anti-Violence against Women and Their Children Act, and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act
- The Reproductive Health Law, though facing some challenges with its implementation, seeks to advance women’s rights through policy reforms
- The Philippines is committed to international women’s rights instruments, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the International Conference on Population and Development, and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
- The Philippines has remained in the Top 10 of the Global Gender Gap Index (GGI) and among top-tier countries in the Gender Development Index (GDI), a composite of the Human Development Index (HDI)
The bad
However, there are other indicators as well that show there is still a long way to go to achieve true gender equality for women.
- the Gender Inequality Index (GII), also a composite of the HDI, shows the Philippines at 96th out of 188 countries in 2016. The statement explains that “The GII measures gender inequalities in three significant areas of human development: reproductive health, political empowerment, and economic participation.”
- Some key indicators such as contraceptive prevalence rate and the need for family planning have not improved in recent years.
- The worst, in my view, is the growth of misogyny. In just a couple of years, there have already been many instances when the highest leaders of the land have moved to silence women, shame them, and even go so far as to insinuate that we all should be seen only as genitalia. I do not know if it is just coincidence but most of the moves now have been against women in position: a sitting lady senator, a female Ombudsman, a female Chief Justice, and who knows who’s next. The sad part too is how approving of this behavior other men (AND WOMEN) have been.
To these misogynistic men…what’s your beef with women that you want to relegate us to subservience?!? Is that the only way your masculinity can come out?
Women were already making some progress in the world as far as recognition of their strengths in different fields but here in the Philippines, it appears that we have slid back, not just one step, but a whole flight of stairs.
I am not losing hope though. Not while there are men who continue to respect, honor and love women for their roles as mother, sister, wife, daughters, colleagues, partners, etc. Not while there are women who are willing to stand their ground and push back against this misogyny. Not while I have daughters, nieces, female friends who deserve a future society where men and women are treated as co-equals but in different ways.
So I’m taking action by participating in one of the options suggested by internationalwomensday.com. You can too. The theme for 2018 is #PressForProgress.
Here are some options you can commit to take to press for progress for gender parity in your own sphere of influence. Below you can see the option I chose to take, which is to challenge stereotypes and bias.
Regardless of your gender preference, please consider supporting women not only today, International Women’s Day, but EVERY DAY. Honor and respect for all genders should be lived out all the time.
You can choose how you would want to be of help in empowering women. Just follow this link: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/PressforProgress
Let’s stand our ground. If we do not push back, we will be pushed backwards.