Introduction to Her Stories: Who is the Filipino Woman?

Filipino women on March 8 join the global community of women in celebrating International Women’s day (see history). As women are wont to do, we will make this a two-sided occasion. We will celebrate our triumphs as well as reaffirm our commitment to face remaining challenges, as the struggle for women’s rights never lets up.

The good news is revealed by statistics on the progress Filipino women have achieved in the last decade in the areas of education and economic work. However, there are also issues the numbers cannot mask—that Filipino women are still the most affected by rising poverty in the country, by violence in the home and in areas under social-political conflicts, and are still discriminated on the basis of sex. Statistics say Filipino women are (see fact box): • in the reproductive and productive age group 15 to 49 years old; • above-average literate especially in urban areas, with female literacy reaching 92.47% vs. the males’ 92.10%; the pattern began in 1989 and became more definite in mid-1990s • becoming highly educated, as 3 out 5 females get college degrees and 2 out 5 females graduating from elementary reach high school; • getting employed, particularly as overseas workers, with the ratio already reaching 50-50 distribution between the males and females; • active in economic work, with 48% of women 15-49 years old involved in gainful activities Other figures are less encouraging: • Of the total number of Filipinos employed, only 37.5% are females; • 71% of total female population are not in the labor force; • Women in rural areas have less opportunities to attend school; • Assertion of reproductive rights remain low as Filipino women still bear an average of 3 children Numbers are important benchmarks but they don’t entirely capture the multi-faceted experiences of Filipino women. They don’t reflect the double burden of urban poor women who do informal economic work while taking care of a brood of 10, trying to survive in hand-to-mouth existence. They don’t answer questions such as how a mother copes with separation from her children to work abroad or why a public school teacher sticks it out in her job until retirement despite low salary and poor school environments, or what discrimination a policewoman struggles with daily. Women, despite hard life, have the capacity for personal evolutions. Filipino women, in particular, offer life stories that defy statistics, like the story of a Muslim woman who rises beyond the traumas of war and evacuation. Or the story of a feminist who contrary to stereotype is not all rage but knows how to nurture. And there’s the story of a sexy actress who has to survive in an industry that both glamorizes and demotes women. GMANews.TV celebrates women’s month not only in the numbers, but by featuring life stories of different Filipino women: urban poor mothers; actors; feminist activist; overseas female worker; public school teacher; Muslim woman; young professional; students; and rural women. Read their stories. Cry, laugh and sigh with them; share their frustrations and dreams, and understand who you are. C.V. Militante, GMANews.TV