Women in the Philippines - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The role of women in the Philippines is explained based on the context of Filipino culture, standards, and mindset

Mindset

In decision theory and general systems theory, a mindset is a set of assumptions, methods or notations held by one or more people or groups of people which is so established that it creates a powerful incentive within these people or groups to continue to adopt or accept prior behaviors, choices,...

s. The Philippines is described to be a nation

Nation

A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...

of strong women, who directly and indirectly run the family unit, businesses, government agencies and hacienda

Hacienda

Hacienda is a Spanish word for an estate. Some haciendas were plantations, mines, or even business factories. Many haciendas combined these productive activities...

s.

Although they generally define themselves in the milieu of a masculine dominated post-colonial Asian Catholic

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

society, Filipino

Filipino people

The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....

women live in a culture that is focused on the community, with the family as the main unit of society. It is in this framework of Philippine hierarchical structure, class differences, religious justifications, and living in a globally developing nation wherein Filipino women struggle for respect. Compared to other parts of Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

, women in Philippine society have always enjoyed a greater share of legal equality.

Pre-colonial status

Some pre-colonial social structures of the Philippines gave equal importance to maternal and paternal lineage. This bilateral kinship

Kinship

Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections....

system accorded Philippine women enormous power within a clan

Clan

A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...

. They were entitled to property, engage in a trade and could exercise their right to divorce her husband. They could also become village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

chief

Tribal chief

A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...

s in the absence of a male heir. Before the arrival of the Spaniards, Filipino women could also achieve status as medicine women

Babaylan

Babaylan is a Visayan term identifying an indigenous Filipino religious leader, who functions as a healer, a shaman, a seer and a community "miracle-worker"...

or high-priestesses

Babaylan

Babaylan is a Visayan term identifying an indigenous Filipino religious leader, who functions as a healer, a shaman, a seer and a community "miracle-worker"...

and astrologer

Astrologer

An astrologer practices one or more forms of astrology. Typically an astrologer draws a horoscope for the time of an event, such as a person's birth, and interprets celestial points and their placements at the time of the event to better understand someone, determine the auspiciousness of an...

s.

In this sense, the Philippines was very similar to Spain, where the highest power was bestowed upon a woman. Both the founder of the Spanish nation (Isabella I of Castile

Isabella I of Castile

Isabella I was Queen of Castile and León. She and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon brought stability to both kingdoms that became the basis for the unification of Spain. Later the two laid the foundations for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor...

) and the highest ruler of Spain and the Philippines during the last times of the Spanish colonization (Isabella II of Spain

Isabella II of Spain

Isabella II was the only female monarch of Spain in modern times. She came to the throne as an infant, but her succession was disputed by the Carlists, who refused to recognise a female sovereign, leading to the Carlist Wars. After a troubled reign, she was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of...

) were women and had absolute powers to lead the future of the nation.

After Islam reached the Philippines in the 14th century from Malaysia and Indonesia, the role of women in society changed radically in order to adapt to Muslim values, although after the arrival of the Christian colonizers the spreading of Islam was successfully stopped and eradicated in most parts of the archipelago.

Hispanic Philippines

Spanish colonization of the Philippines lasted from 1565 to 1898, although until 1821 the islands were governed mostly from Mexico and later directly from Spain. As a result, there is a significant amount of Mexican influences in Philippine customs and traditions.

Although Christian values were supposed to be spread through the population, missionaries and priests soon realized that they'd be better off adapting their doctrine as much as possible to the local customs, rather than trying to impose it. As it happened all over Asia, women in the Philippines were expected to become caring and nurturing mothers for their own children and take care of most household chores. Also a trait found all over Asia was the preference of most families to have male children instead of females.

During the last part of the colonization of the Philippines, Isabella II introduced the Education Decree of 1863 (10 years before Japan had a compulsory free modern public education and 40 years before the United States government started a free modern public school system in the Philippines) that provided for the establishment of at least two free primary schools, one for boys and another for girls, in each town under the responsibility of the municipal government. That put the Philippines way ahead in offering education for women in Asia, even ahead of some European countries.

Filipino women were always aware of their importance, their power, and their equality with men. Two heroines made a great contribution to the Philippine liberation during the colonization, Gabriela Silang

Gabriela Silang

María Josefa Gabriela Cariño Silang was the wife of the Ilocano insurgent leader, Diego Silang. Following Diego's assassination in 1763, she led the group for four months before she was captured and executed....

and Melchora Aquino

Melchora Aquino

Melchora Aquino de Ramos was a Filipina revolutionary who became known as "Tandang Sora" in the history of the Philippines because of her age when the Philippine Revolution broke out in 1896...

American influence

When Spain lost the Spanish-American War in 1898, the Philippines was ceded to the United States of America. America introduced a new public education system which retained opportunity to every child regardless of gender.

Through the American-patterned school system, Filipino women became professional

Professional

A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...

s, although most of them and their male counterparts opted for making use of their former education roots and expressed themselves in Spanish or Tagalog. According to the Monroe Commission on Philippine Education: “Upon leaving school, more than 99% of Filipinos will not speak English in their homes. Possibly, only 10% to 15% of the next generation will be able to use this language in their occupations. In fact, it will only be the government employees, and the professionals, who might make use of English.”

Contemporary roles

Modern-day Philippine women play a decisive role in Filipino families. They handle the money, act as religious mentors, and could also arrange the marriages of sons and daughters, striving to improve the family’s dynastic connections. The emergence of Corazon Aquino

Corazon Aquino

Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino was the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office in Philippine history. She is best remembered for leading the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines...

, Imelda Marcos

Imelda Marcos

Imelda R. Marcos is a Filipino politician and widow of 10th Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. Upon the ascension of her husband to political power, she held various positions to the government until 1986...

and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...

as political figures shows that Filipino society have high regard on Filipino women, in spite of its male chauvinism

Chauvinism

Chauvinism, in its original and primary meaning, is an exaggerated, bellicose patriotism and a belief in national superiority and glory. It is an eponym of a possibly fictional French soldier Nicolas Chauvin who was credited with many superhuman feats in the Napoleonic wars.By extension it has come...

Urban setting

In the past, firms and businesses generally hire Filipino women for less pay and secretarial functions. But at present, Filipino women are given the same opportunities as their male counterparts in the business realm. Most CEO positions are given to men, but there has been several vice presidents, managers, and other jobs where Filipino women are given equal opportunities with men. In some cases, Filipino women also run successful businesses and become CEO's.

In school, boys are often elected to organizational positions such as president and vice-president, while the girls are either members or holding treasurer

Treasurer

A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...

positions. However, the trend has changed and girls more tend to be or even sometimes the only ones elected or nominated in all positions. This has been due to a change of mindset towards the female gender who are now regarded as more hardworking, well-versed, and dedicated than their male counterparts.

Since Filipino wife holds the money in the family, she has the access to the family's finances. Therefore, she has the ability to help her family when the needs arise. In most cases, her own family has a better chance of financial access rather than her husband's family. Generally, the husband do not really care about how his wife spends the money. His obligation is to bring money in the family, and it is the wife's obligation to budget the money. In few cases, the Filipino husbands may also give financial help to his family.

Rural and tribal clan setting

In rural

Rural

Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...

areas, the Filipino woman belongs in the home. The children approach her for money and help. She is the family's treasurer. She supports the children’s educational needs. For non-family members who require support, the wife is the person to be approached. However, the wife is neither the person who makes the final decision or the person who hands out the money.

In contrast, however, Juan Flavier

Juan Flavier

Juan Martin Flavier is a former politician from the Philippines. He was a former Secretary of the Department of Health and a senator. He was born in Tondo, Manila eventually moving to Baguio City where he finished his secondary studies at the Baguio City High School...

, a physician, an authority on community development, and a former Philippine senator

Senate of the Philippines

The Senate of the Philippines is the upper chamber of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, the Congress of the Philippines...

, described in his book, Doctor to the Barrios
Doctor to the Barrios
Doctor to the Barrios is a book authored by Juan M. Flavier, a physician and former senator in the Philippines. Its complete title is Doctor to the Barrios, Experiences with the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement. In this book, Flavier focused on the common problems encountered by Filipinos...

, that "whether some (Filipino) men are willing to admit it or not"... "rural women in the Philippines wield considerable authority," the housewife in particular. This is especially if the housewife, who is often referred to as the Reyna ng Tahanan (Queen of the Home), is convinced of the benefits that will be gained from a certain practice such as the concept of family planning in the barrios. Flavier also mentioned that "In the Philippine barrio

Barrio

Barrio is a Spanish word meaning district or neighborhood.-Usage:In its formal usage in English, barrios are generally considered cohesive places, sharing, for example, a church and traditions such as feast days...

, the one responsible for the home" and its management "is the wife... she holds the key to... household... development."

Marriage and relationships

Generally, the Filipino wife is the treasurer in the family. She has the power of the purse. She makes crucial decisions that involves her family, her home, and her children. Filipino husband's responsibility is to provide for the family, while the Filipino wife ensures that their home and family are well taken care of. Filipino women takes pleasure in ensuring that her husband and children are well taken care of, not because she is obligated to do so, but because of her selfless love and devotion to her family.

Despite the Western influence, courtship and relationship in the Philippines is considered conservative. The man will have to court the woman and prove his love for her before he can win her heart. Sometimes the courtship period would last for years. Parents prefer their daughter to be courted in their home, so they can have a chance to know the man. It is during the courtship period that the man would put his best foot forward to create a good impression on the woman and her family. Generally, the man is being measured on his being a gentleman, ability to respect the woman's family, and servitude (the extent of what he was willing to do to prove his love for the woman). Usually, the woman is courted by several men and will have to chose the best from among her suitors.Courtship and relationship remain the same for rural and urban areas despite the modern western influence.

Culturally in the Philippines, divorce

Divorce

Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...

is viewed as negative and destructive, because of a tradition that emphasizes that the family is the core social unit

Social unit

Social unit is a term used in sociology, anthropology, ethnology, and also in animal behaviour studies, zoology and biology to describe a social entity which is part of and participates in a larger social group or society....

, especially for the Filipino wife. Divorce is not perceived as a solution to any matrimonial-related problem because it hinders the development or progress of the basic community unit. Therefore, husband and wife are obligated to fix any problems within the boundaries of the marriage.

It should always be noted, though, that pre-colonial women in the Philippines enjoyed equal status with men. Prior to colonization, both men and women could get a divorce for the following reasons: failure to meet family obligations, childlessness, and infidelity. Children, regardless of gender, and properties were equally divided in a divorce. Since a man needed to pay a dowry to the woman's family, she was required to give it back should she be found at fault. If the man was at fault, he then lost the right to get back his dowry.

In the Philippines, society valued offspring regardless of gender. Female children were as valuable as male ones, mainly because they recognized that women are as important as men. Parents provide equal opportunities to their children. Filipino daughters can also go to school like Filipino sons, Filipino daughters can also inherit property like Filipino sons, and Filipino daughters can also become village chiefs like Filipino sons.

In 1994, the John and Lorena Bobbitt

John and Lorena Bobbitt

John Wayne Bobbitt and Lorena Bobbitt were an American couple, married on June 18, 1989, whose difficult relationship gained worldwide notoriety for an incident in 1993 when Lorena severed John's penis with a knife...

case, in which a wife cut off the penis

Penis removal

In ancient civilizations, removal of the human penis was sometimes used as a means of demonstrating superiority: armies were sometimes known to sever the penises of their enemies to count the dead, as well as for trophies...

of her sleeping husband, seized the attention of media in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, which reported that a similar incident had occurred in Cebu

Cebu

Cebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...

the previous November. The Bobbitt case was reported at a time when Filipino feminist groups were protesting against prostitution

Prostitution

Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...

, the practice of mail-order bride

Mail-order bride

Mail-order bride is a label applied to a woman who publishes her intent to marry someone from another country. This term is considered offensive by some people. The mail-order bride industry is the economic trade of contracted domestic partnerships, often between citizens of different countries or...

s, and marital rape. In 2008, a similar case in Pasig City

Pasig City

The City of Pasig is one of the city municipalities of Metro Manila in the Philippines and was the former capital of the province of Rizal prior to the formation of this grouping of cities designated as the National Capital Region...

was reported.

Change, influences and interventions

In urban areas, single Filipinas have become liberal due to western influences

Western culture

Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...

. Although it is still culturally unacceptable for a single Filipino woman to ask a man on a date or to show interest in a man, Filipinas have learned to use body language to show their interest and openness to a relationship.

In rural communities, Filipinas are still not allowed to be too liberal. They are required to stifle their personality and sexuality

Sexuality in the Philippines

Sexuality and sensuality in the Philippines or Filipino sexuality refers to human sexuality and sensuality as perceived, expressed, experienced, and valued by the Filipino people. This encompasses sexual behavior, sexual practices, and sexual activities exhibited by Filipino men and women of the...

, and should show a total lack of interest in intimacy with men to maintain reputation and self-respect.

Filipino women and work

Traditionally, rural and tribal women do all the household related chores, but the heavy works that require more strength is done by the husband. The scope of their functions include cooking, cleaning, teaching the children, washing clothes, repairs, budgeting, and helping in the farm. The husband is the one who makes sure the farm would yield quality crops, so he does all the maintenance works. In some cases, where the husband needs help from other men, the wife would make sure that the men are fed, so she cooks food and bring it to the farm. The Filipino women, ensures that everyone is well fed, and this characteristics extends to the workers, relatives, or visitors.

In general, Filipino women find pride in their work. They do not find themselves alienated from their chores because they work with, around, and for their families. This family-oriented mindset gives them a sense of dignity and responsibility. The family and the children are the primary priority in a Filipina's life.

Filipino women and Philippine politics

Compared to other countries, Filipino women have gained and enjoyed equal rights with men. They have became presidents, senators, congresswomen, mayors. They have served in government offices, and have held cabinet positions for presidents. Filipino women have proven that they are capable of carrying out responsibilities and tasks as well as their male counterparts.

However, the number of women who engage in politics are smaller compare to their male counterparts. This was primarily because engagement in politics is considered "dirty."

A recent study revealed that there is a re-emergence of the empowerment of Filipino women through the political process, just as they were prior to the arrival of the ancient conquerors from Spain. Philippine women are rediscovering their strengths. Filipino women had been successful in implementing policies by becoming executive staff members, advisers to politicians, and as advocates within non-governmental organizations.

Modern-day Filipinas are making strides in electoral politics by initiating more female-oriented programs. They are performing well as leaders, although generally, Filipino women still often earn political seats by having fathers and husbands who are politically connected, a "dynasty system" that hinders other Filipino women from joining the electoral process. Other factors that prevent full-engagement of other well-qualified Filipinas from the Philippine political scene are the expense in politics and the importance of the family name.

Participation of Filipino women in Philippine politics was encouraged during the Beijing Declaration in 1995 at the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

' Fourth World Conference on Women. In February 2005, however, a United Nations review on the progress of Philippine women and their role in politics revealed that despite "an increase in the quality of female politicians, there was not enough increase in" the number of women participants in government activities. From 1992 to 2001, Filipino women had been elected as local chief executives, functioning as mayors, governors, and captains of villages. One influential factor contributing to the increasing number of female politicians, is the elevation of Corazon Aquino and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as Philippine women Presidents.

Filipino women in art

In his paintings of Filipino women, the Philippine National Artist Fernando Amorsolo

Fernando Amorsolo

Fernando Amorsolo y Cueto is one of the most important artists in the history of painting in the Philippines. Amorsolo was a portraitist and painter of rural Philippine landscapes. He is popularly known for his craftsmanship and mastery in the use of light...

rejected Western ideals of beauty in favor of Filipino ideals He said that the women he painted have "a rounded face, not of the oval type often presented to us in newspapers and magazine illustrations. The eyes should be exceptionally lively, not the dreamy, sleepy type that characterizes the Mongolian. The nose should be of the blunt form but firm and strongly marked. ... So the ideal Filipina beauty should not necessarily be white complexioned, nor of the dark brown color of the typical Malayan, but of the clear skin or fresh colored type which we often witness when we met a blushing girl."

External links

National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, retrieved on: April 9, 2008
National Commission on the Role of Women, LawPhil.net, retrieved on: July 16, 2007
Name of Organization: National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, UNESCAP.org, retrieved on: July 16, 2007
Philippines, Women's Studies, Bibliography, LIB.Berkeley.edu, retrieved on: July 16, 2007
National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW), International Labour Organization, ILO.org, February 6, 2004, retrieved on: July 16, 2007

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