The Women Who Matters - Us

As we celebrate women's month it is my assessment on how lucky we are to be living in a free country and appreciate the freedom we have as women of today. We have a lot to be thankful to all the women (and the men) who have worked hard to have the kind of gender equality we are experiencing today. There are still a lot of areas in which struggles are real and are still a work in progress in terms of equality - in the workplace, politics, religion, social media (free the nipple anyone?) some patriarchal practices and cultures and a whole other aspects. However, I would like to believe that we have indeed come a long way. My original major was Sociology and I shifted to Psychology because maybe I thought is was way cooler and that it was more popular. However, a lot of my learning was from my Sociology classes . I remember my term paper in one of my Sociology course in college was the Controversial "Women's Liberation Movement". My report was more on the history.Yes, Betty Friedan was mentioned and all these other fore bearers were in that report. I remember, I was very self conscious when I presented because one of my audience that time was a professor who was a very active feminist and a staunch supporter of the movement. She was an active member and an officer of the Gabriela -a feminist organization in the country. I was glad I was able to answer all her questions and presented as objectively as possible. It was a time when I was at a very impressionable stage when I was still deciding about feminism, how much of it is an opposite to chivalry or how much equality are we expecting. Looking back, I am glad that in UP you are exposed to a lot of talks and training on gender sensitivity, feminism, assertiveness and the like. It has helped me become the independent and self sufficient person I am today. Yes , there are times when I still feel like I'm just winging it and maybe all of us has that moment so like I said before there's a part of me that's a confused product of my liberal education and a religious upbringing. Linkhttp://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_feminism Yes on a larger scale, there is still a lot of cases and traditions that cause some abuses to women. Phenomenon such as arrange marriage / forced marriage in many countries, child brides, sexual slavery especially now in Isis occupied territory such as in Iraq and other borders, girls are not allowed to go to school and give priority to boys in some countries. There is a book which talk about a Saudi princess - aptly titled - Princess - it is based on a true story written by Jean Sasson that best describe some of the practices of middle eastern countries -their treatment of women and girls. Even royalties are subjected to practices which shouts inequality. She maybe a western writer and some argues that there might be some bias in the way she would write because as they say it's a culture thing and it comes with the territory. However, the story was based on account of the said Princess who wanted her story known and in that way to give light to their situation and made their plight known to the world. I'm sure this book has long been banned in their country and also to protect her identity and her family's her name was of course withheld, ultimately preventing being ostracized, or worse being killed in the name of honor. This month as we celebrate, let us be aware of the plights of women across the globe. Let us support organizations that promotes equality in whatever way like Amnesty international, locally there are organizations and foundations such as Gabriela. Word Vision – women, and the likes. (http://www.spot.ph/gallery/1030/10-women-rsquo-s-rights-advocates/article/47914#photo-1-1)Let us appreciate all the women we know especially those who are in our midst - our moms, grandma, sisters, and friends. Women we meet everyday, who inspires us to be better, our bosses, our co workers our org mates (in my case a shout out to my Jci Iloilo Ilang Ilang org, an all female organization who have worthy projects through the years have great impacts to the women and the community in general) our neighbors. To all the women, we know as well as those we don't may we find opportunities and joy while doing them, I wish you courage to deal with change, I wish you beauty and that for all the role we take as wives and mothers, sister or any chosen career we have taken I hope that we are able to take precious naps and maintain our well being and happiness! May we find some role models - women we should admire and emulate. They may be in government service, politics, even entertainment. Personally, my women idols would be designer Tory Burch, Senator Miriam Santiago, Amal Clooney, Queen Rania of Jordan, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, ( not entirely for her music or her ability to write based on her love affairs and lack thereof but her civic mindedness, her support to charity and foundations) https://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/taylor-swift#related-news, Emma Watson and Melinda Gates. Women who are not defined by stereotypes and from time to time defies it and also uses their power, influence and fame to good use and their celebrity status to benefit the greater good. May we find more women like them or be be like them in our lifetime and hopefully transform the world into a better place.