ADVERTISEMENT
“Arlene, unlike other lawmakers in Congress, sees the everyday lives of women. She sees how women suffer, not only from violence but also from poverty."
Echanis, a political detainee, is one of the fellows of the Palihang Rogelio Sicat (PRS), an annual national workshop on creative writing using Filipino and various languages in the Philippines. It is the first time in the history of the workshop to have a political prisoner as one of its 15 participants.
Just last year, the United Nations (UN) Women - Philippines also recognized the contribution of Ujano in championing human rights. She received a distinction as a Feminist Champion against Gender-Based Violence, along with other long-time women’s rights defenders Aida Santos, former executive director of Women's Educational, Development, Productivity, & Research Org (WeDpro) and Princess Nemenzo, former executive director of WomanHealth.
Regular check ups, particularly those related to reproductive health, are not covered by the free services provided by village health centers, as per the Philippine law on universal health care. Fabella wishes that the government can allocate more funds for the basic services but this has not improved over the years.
“Governments must protect the rights of every child, especially boys and girls living in countries that have contributed least to this problem but are enduring the most dangerous floods, storms, and heat."
"We have a lot of platforms where we can show our defiance and our strength. The moment women chose to take the path of armed struggle, they already defied the macho-feudal imperialist system that says that only men can topple the system or become part of the revolutionary army."
“Children failed to fully realize their rights because they also bear the brunt of economic problems faced by their parents — low wages, contractualization, joblessness."
In the first six months of the Marcos Jr administration, the Children’s Legal Rights and Development Center documented 12 children killed. In 2023, 20 children died in Caloocan and Manila alone.
On International Women’s Day, journalists have called for the release of detained community journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio.
In the Philippines, one in four Filipino women aged 15-49 has experienced physical, emotional, or sexual violence by their husband or partner, according to a survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority last 2017.
In this story, Bulatlat highlights the story of women writers who are in detention for expressing their criticism and dissent through their craft.
Assembling clothespins is among the many jobs women do in the occupied houses in Pandi, Bulacan. The mothers mentioned other low-income jobs like garlic peeling, rug making and notebook sewing.
As a mentee, the Seams said Echanis will be working on the translation of Filipino poetry into English.
Women’s group Gabriela similarly denounced the Reciprocal Access Agreement, citing that Japan has yet to apologize for its atrocities during the war that involved sexual slavery.
“Gabriela aimed to apprise the UN and the international community of the grim economic and human rights crises in the country, that ‘disproportionately impact women.’ In turn, these shall serve as strong bases for UN CEDAW's evaluation of and subsequent recommendations to the Philippine government."
For Danah, the struggle is far from over.
House Bill 8910 or Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Act aims to provide appropriate sex education for the Filipino youth and other social services such as health services, workshops and livelihood programs for adolescent mothers.
A community of readers and supporters that help us sustain our operations through microdonations for as low as $1.
Save as PDF