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Jose Rizal's Letter to the Women of Malolos - A Critical Paper

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 CRITICAL PAPER - The Life and Works of Rizal
Jacinto R. Valila Jr., Associate Professor IV
GEED 10013
Jasper Abraham S. Gondong
2020-05897-MN-0
BS Mechanical Engineering 2-2

RIZAL’S LETTER TO THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS

A Critical Paper

Filipino women's struggles have always been entwined with the larger, more universal
struggles for social justice and independence. Throughout the Spanish period, women fought
colonialism alongside the underground resistance movement, Katipunan. They fought with the
men and learned a lot about politics and how to do things. Women were able to break free of the
traditional roles (i.e. homemaker and caregiver) that had been imposed on them by the patriarchal
Spanish regime. Despite a paucity of literature on the achievements of the masses of women to
the revolution against Spain, some accounts show that women did play important roles in that
period of Philippine history. "To the Young Women of Malolos," one of Jose Rizal's most famous
essays, is dedicated to all types of women—mothers, wives, the unmarried, and so on—and
conveys everything he desires them to bare in mind as they go about their daily lives.

A group of young women wanted to set up an evening school where they could learn
Spanish in December 1888. The women claimed that their inability to attend day classes at
Manila's educational institutions was due to their domestic responsibilities. It was Rizal's opinion
that these women were excellent role models for other young women who aspired to learn from
them. As a result of their actions, the nationalists' hopes had been boosted. When Jose Rizal saw
the young women of Malolos fighting so bravely, he was deeply moved. For him, the battle was
an occasion to celebrate and reflect on their accomplishments. This section of Rizal's letter makes
it clear that his main objective was for women to have equal access to education as men. At the
time, young girls were not sent to school due to the widespread belief that they would soon be
taken as wives and remain at home with the children. But Rizal says that both boys and girls
should be able to have the right to think freely and to go to school.

In the beginning, Rizal said that he didn't think bravery was a trait that Filipino women had
until he heard about this news. Rizal saw these women as katulong (helper) in the fight for the
betterment of the Filipino nation, which made them hopeful and encouraged them to believe that
 A Critical Paper to Jose Rizal’s Letter to the Women of Malolos

they could win over their hardships. It is mentioned twice in the speech that he thinks women as
katulong.

As a liberal feminist, Rizal sees women as having the power to make or break a nation. If
they are irrational people they can make an irrational society if they have been indoctrinated with
ideas that make them think they are smarter than they are. They can, however, build a rational
society when left to their own devices by the Church. In Rizal's view, a woman not only builds a
family and home, but also a nation because she is the seedbed of humanity—she bears and gives
birth, feeds and educates. Even if wives are expected to stay at home and care for their families,
Rizal believed that they should have the opportunity to receive an education that would help them
gain their own independence and a better understanding of their own rights. What a mother
demonstrates to her children determines who they will become.

What Rizal says mothers should have, in short, are these qualities: 1) become a noble
wife, 2) like Spartan mothers, raise her children in the service of the state, and 3) create a sense
of dignity and respect for the men around her. Mothers must rise up and begin preparing their
children's wills to all that is admirable, evaluated by the standard required, all that is truthful and
firm in intent; to all that is clear judgment; to all that is honest in act and deed; to all that respects
God. Rizal advised the unmarried not to be fooled by appearances and to choose a man with 1)
a noble and illustrious name, 2) a masculine heart, and 3) a high spirit unsatisfied with the
production of slaves.

Here, Rizal bemoans the backwardness of Asia's female population and the treatment of
women as property in this letter. He compared their plight to that of women in Europe and the
United States, where they are free, well-educated, and endowed with a keen intellect and a firm
sense of self-determination. What entitles him to compare? We must also keep in mind that Rizal
had direct contact with intelligent women and even feminists while he was in Europe. Rizal may
have known about the feminist schools of his time.

Rizal emphasized the importance of education for women in his letter to the women of
Malolos, emphasizing the importance of thinking for women and their children. He might not have
been the best feminist because he focused on how they could help the country grow instead of
their own rights and value. However, he still respected women and told them to think of
themselves as thinking people, because this would show how proud and honorable Filipinos were.

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 A Critical Paper to Jose Rizal’s Letter to the Women of Malolos

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Rizal, José, 1861-1896. A Letter to the Young Women of Malolos. Manila :Bureau of

Printing, 1932.

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