pag-asaharibon:

not-your-asian-fantasy:

Early Feminism in the Philippines

The Philippines has been noted as having one of the smallest gender disparities in the world. The gender gap has been closed in both health and education; the country has had two female presidents (Corazon Aquino from 1986-1992 and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from 2001-2010); and had its first woman Supreme Court justice (Cecilia Muñoz Palma in 1973) before the United States had one (Sandra Day O’Connor in 1981). These achievements reflect a long history of efforts by women to involve themselves equally in governance as well as in society.

I was expecting a little bit more from the post and was suprised a few of these Filipinas were left out:

• Gabriela Silang a revolutionary – a representation of female bravery – who fought against Spanish colonialism in the 18th century. Silang was a contrast to the chaste and religiously devout image of the Filipino lady as portrayed by Jose Rizal through his Spanish-language novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. 
• Clemencia Lopez became the first Filipino to enter the White House and the first to testify before a U.S. Senate hearing as a representative of her subjugated people.
• Sofia Reyes de Veyra an educator, social worker and first secretary and co-founder (with Mary E. Coleman) of Asociacion Feminista Filipina, the first women’s club in the Philippines. Its establishment in June 1905 marked the start of the Feminist Movement in the country. She also organized the Manila Women’s Club which later became the nucleus of the National Federation of Women’s Clubs. This federation was in the forefront of the campaign to give women the right to vote and other rights. The women of the Philippines won these rights in 1931.
• Dr. Carol Pagaduan-Araullo an UP cum laude graduate, medical doctor, 2012 UP Distinguished Alumni awardee and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) chairperson. While Dr. Araullo was UP Student Council vice chairman and an activist imprisoned for opposing martial law.

Unabridged version of Hercules, California Councilmember Myrna de Vera’s speech, delivered during the 2012 Filipina Women’s Network’s 100 Most Influential Filipina Women of the US

Philippines was ranked 3rd highest in Asia Pacific region for gender equality according to the Worldwide Index of Women’s Advancement report released by global financial firm MasterCard. Yet there’s still PH laws that are unfair to women.

Articles 

• Filipinas who were first in PH history
• I Am… Woman: Historic Filipinas
• #SexTalk: Who is the Filipina of today?
• Sampaguita Girl: The Pinay Activist Timeline
• Women play key role in PH peace process
• VIDEO: Where does the Filipino woman stand today?
• Of race and gender clashes: Do women rise above labels?
• ‘Breaking the Silence’: The truth about abortion
• Defending Filipino women from stereotypes
• Importing, exporting stereotypes: How do global Pinays cope?
• Barbara Jane Reyes: Virtual Blog Tour, Is Pinay Lit a Genre, and Tagging Others

Books

• Denise Cruz’s Transpacific Femininities: The Making of the Modern Filipina
• Mina Roces’ Women’s Movements and the Filipina 1986-2008
• Melinda L. de Jesús’ Pinay Power: Peminist Critical Theory (reprinted this year)

chidtalk’s recommendations

• A systems approach to improving maternal health in the Philippines by Dale Huntington, Eduardo Banzon, and Zenaida Dy Recidoro
• Does Feminism Have to Address Race? by Latoya Peterson
• Early Feminism in the Philippines by Athena Lydia Casambre and Steven Rood
• Feminism and race in the Philippines
• Feminism and the present image of Filipino women
• Filipiniana: Philippine Women’s Studies
• News From the Tropics: Is there Feminism in the Philippines?
• Philippines: Feminists Converse on Social Movement Building
• The changing role of women in Philippine society by Cicely Richard
• The changing role of women in Philippine society by G. Fitzsimmon
• The changing role of women in Philippine society by Zakiya Mahomed

Tumblr posts

• chidtalk’s post on Filipin@s and Feminism
• pinoy-culture’s 10 Kickass Pilipina Warriors in History That You Probably Never Heard Of