To further celebrate International Women’s Month, the Gender Inclusivity and Safe Spaces committee of PUP College of Communication Student Council (COC SC) hosted an event titled "ReSHEStance: Mga Kababaihang Tumindig Para sa Katotohanan, Karapatan, at Kalayaan" at the COC Audio-Visual room on March 26.
(Photos by Marc Nathaniel Servo/The Communicator)
The event was divided into three parts: Katotohanan, Karapatan, and Kalayaan, where the speakers were Sabokahan Vice Chairman Kat Dalon, Bulatlat contributing writer Menchina Tilendo, and Gabriela Women's Party Consultant Sarah Elago, with an opening lecture led by SAMASA COC Chairperson Kimberly Torralba.
Gender disparities
In the opening discussion, Torralba addressed the current state of workers in the Philippines, emphasizing the disparities women face in marginalized sectors. These include earning lower salaries than men and being presented with low-paying or contractual positions, lacking permanent job security.
“Kumikita nang mas mababa nang P7 hanggang P24 ang mga kababaihang magsasaka kumpara sa mga kalalakihan [....] kitang-kita talaga natin ang pagkakaiba,” Torralba stated, presenting the difference in salary earned under the agricultural sector.
She also stressed how women are frequently perceived as high-maintenance and fragile, while male workers are typically labeled as stronger, resulting in women's capabilities being overshadowed by the stereotypical ideology.
Torralba pointed out the importance of breaking the stereotypical gender roles imposed on women by society and further explained the significant role of women in investing in mobilizations and movements that benefit the broader masses.
She wrapped up the discussion by urging the students to organize and mobilize, advancing towards freedom and liberation.
Between truth and justice
Dalon describes the Lumad tribe as a community characterized by a strong sense of equality, where no gender holds dominance over the other and every member of the tribe contributes to the economic development of the community.
Despite not experiencing imbalances in the community she grew up in, she still speaks up against the patriarchal practices encountered by her fellow Lumads in other communities.
“Sa labas ng aming komunidad, andiyan pa rin—umiiral pa rin ‘yung patriyarkal na kultura, malapyudal na pagtingin sa mga kababaihan,” Dalon stated.
Some of these practices include polygyny, wherein a Muslim man is permitted to marry multiple women as long as he can provide for them equally, and child marriage.
For Dalon, it is a challenge for the women of the tribe to change the long-existing system and culture of the community. However, with collaborative effort, she believes action can be taken.
“Ang pinakamataas na pagpupugay sa mga kababaihan ay [ang] pagkilala sa [kanilang] mga karapatan,” Dalon concluded in her lecture under “Katotohanan.”
Injustice in media
Towards Karapatan, Tilendo centered the word “impunity” throughout the discussion, from listing down the impunities on Filipino media practitioners to why they experience them.
Having experienced the censorship of alternative media, Tilendo shared the injustice they felt when the alternative news outfit she works for, Bulatlat, got blocked by the National Telecommunications Commission in 2022.
Although Bulatlat has now been backed by AlterMidya, she described it as a “hard and long battle” before getting back on the news outfit.
She also talked about the struggles centralized to women in media, including the difference in salary between men and women in journalism, as well as the prominent attacks, harassment, and threats.
In addition, Tilendo called for the freedom of Frenchie Mae Cumpio, the youngest Filipina journalist who was imprisoned in 2020 due to alleged possession of firearms and explosives.
Despite the predominant red-tagging, harassment, and impunity, Tilendo stressed that media practitioners should fight back together.
“If we have shared oppression, we should have a shared fight.”
Towards the freedom
Elago recalled the history of International Women's Month, which all started with a big labor movement in New York City in 1908 and was officially commemorated in the Philippines in 1971.
Elago also emphasized the discrimination and double standards imposed on women in politics.
She then listed some bills passed under the GABRIELA party, which primarily focus on workers, safe spaces, and strengthening the Violence Against Women Act and the anti-gender-based discrimination bill.
Meanwhile, she expressed her disappointment regarding the long-due SOGIE SC Bill, which has been delayed for two decades.
“‘Yung SOGIE SC Equality Bill, ang tagal-tagal na nito, dalawang dekada na. Kung ‘yung RBH 7 o Cha-cha kayang-kaya nila nang dalawang linggo, bakit yung SOGIE SC Equality hindi inaaksyunan?” Elago on the pending bill.
Elago encouraged the students to support and help the party by upholding their advocacy.
Afterward, a talkback session was held where the two speakers answered the questions prepared by the host, and the attendees elaborated more on the obstacles faced in their workplaces.
When asked about what they felt about the lack of justice towards women during the Japanese occupation in the Philippines, Tilendo shared that the events during that time were a reflection of how the patriarchal society views women, using them as worse than objects and exploiting them to the most graphic extent.
“Wartime calls to slavery, hustisya para sa mga comfort women,” Elago added. She then stated that the comfort women, despite their age, still go out to join mobilizations that call to stop the wars.
When asked why they still do it, Elago explained, “Sabi nila [ng mga comfort woman], hanggat kaya, lalabas ako kasi hindi ko gusto na ‘yung henerasyon niyo [ay] maranasan ‘yung nasaranasan ko [noong Japanese occupation].”
The event concluded with COC SC President Aem Kimberly Ignacio explaining the significance of attending educational discussions, and how it impacts the orientation of the students.
Article: Raven Gabriel Cruz
Graphics: Aldreich Pascual
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