GENDER & SOCIETY

[LEARNING MATERIAL 3]

NAME:karen R.Medrano
SUBJECT CODE:20036

MARY MAAR A. CABARLES, LPT

Instructor, Social Science
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
 LEARNING
Gender & Society
MATERIAL 3

LAW, POLICIES, AND PROGRAMS FOR

CHAPTER 9
PHILIPPINE WOMEN

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Identify Philippine laws that protect and empower women.
2. Explain the importance of policies that protect and empower women.
3. State the aims of these policies for women and for the society as a whole.

INTRODUCTION

Filipino women have been active participants in almost every aspect of positive social change in the Philippines. The
current laws protecting Filipino women’s rights are a testament to our foremothers’ determination to fight for gender equality.

DISCUSSION

Women’s rights are mandated by the Constitution. Women play a vital role in nation-building. Their inclusion in societal
structures and processes are key toward equality and development.

 Republic Act 7192, or the Women in Development and Nation-Building Act, stems from this portion of the
Constitution. The Act tasked the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW), now the Philippine
Commission of Women (PCW) to provide assistance “in ensuring the formulation and nationwide implementation of
gender-responsive government, policies, programs and projects.
 The NCRFW is the primary policy-making and coordinating body on women and gender equality concerns.
 The PCW is an advisory body to the President and Cabinet members on issues concerning gender and development.
 Executive Order No. 348 created the Philippine Development Plan for Women (PDPW) for the period 1989-1992. It
was the first development plan to integrate women’s interests.
 The Philippine Plan for Gender-Responsive Development (PPGD) was later drafted to supplement the PDPW. This 30-
year perspective plan from 1995 to 2025 covers the following domains: the individual, the family, as well as socio-
cultural, economic, political, and legal issues.
 The PPGD considers gender and development mainstreaming priority concerns and seeks to achieve gender equality in
all public programs and policies.
 All government departments, bureaus, offices, agencies, as well as affiliates or government-controlled corporations are
required to formulate and realize a gender and development (GAD) plan of action that would incorporate gender
perspective in their institutional frameworks.
 The Philippine government produced two recent publications on gender mainstreaming:
 The Harmonized Gender and Development Guidelines published in 2010 by the National Economic &
Development Authority (NEDA)
 The Women’s Empowerment, Development and Gender Equality (EDGE) Plan 2013-2016 published by PCW.
 The government has enacted numerous laws to protect Philippine women from gender-specific forms of discrimination
and violence. These includes:
 The Anti-Rape Act (senate Bill No. 1252)
 The Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill (Senate Bill No. 1250)
 The Gender-based Electronic Violence (Senate Bill No. 1251)

THEORIES ON THE ORIGIN OF WOMEN’S

CHAPTER 10
OPPRESSION

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. State his or her own understanding of the roots of sexual discrimination.
2. Explain why discrimination is not necessary for the development of human civilization and how it evolved based on
historical circumstances.

INTRODUCTION
Many theories explain why women are oppressed, but so far none are conclusive. Discussed in this chapter are some of
these theories as compiled in the work of Rosalind Miles, a feminist writer, journalist, and historian who has researched the
hidden role of women throughout history.

DISCUSSION
GODDESS WORSHIP TO GOD WORSHIP
 One prominent theory on the oppression of women concerns the shift to paradigms: from ancient civilization that
worshipped the earth goddess to the male suppression of this goddess.
 According to Miles, women were less valued and their status were threatened with the expansion of phallus worship
around 1500 BC.
 In the Philippines, they had to take on the character and aspect of a woman and, in some more ancient civilizations,
men’s penises were carved out into vaginas to seize the power of the goddess.
 This theory of early goddess-based social organization stipulates that the worship of the mother goddess lasted for as
long as people experienced the development of life as a mystery and a gift.
 At some point, human beings changed the way they saw and experienced life. A major paradigm shift was thought to
have occurred the moment people started to focus on the empirical, rather than the mythical.
 Theory of the mother goddess cult seem highly speculative. However, Miles shows historical evidence of this cult
through the appearance of female deities, their prevalence, as well as their destruction.

A SHIFT OF PRODUCTION
 The shift to agriculture is likewise a plausible theory for the suppression of women. Although more stable than hunting
and gathering, agriculture is still a difficult and risky source of food.
 In this theory, suppression of the value of women and their awareness of their own value are evident so that they would
continue to accept their role as receptive grounds for the seed of men on which the next generation of workers is to be
grown.
 When productivity increased with the advent of new farming processes like animal husbandry and plough-based
farming, more laborers were needed to take advantage of the wealth creation from the greater productivity.
 Men focused on the agricultural labor because ploughing is difficult for children. At this point, women were no longer
involved in food production but in laborer production.
 Oppression is often justified by essentialist reasons. Essentialist arguments assert that the oppression of women is due
to the nature of their gender or their socially-constructed roles.
 Women also come with natural impurities because they bleed on a monthly basis. Their moral weakness makes them
unsuitable for leadership and meaningful participation in religious rituals.
 Whichever way it is justified and whatever its historical roots are, women are considered the lesser sex today. Before
male domination and gender inequality, there seemed to be a state where women had a central role in society and much
of the shares communal life was dependent on her labor.
 Oppression of women is made possible because of existing system that orient people toward oppressing women, not
because women are fundamentally weaker or flawed.

CHAPTER 11 THE WESTERN WOMEN’S MOVEMENT

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Outline the development of Western feminism.
2. Explain the factors that shaped its development.

INTRODUCTION

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The women’s movement made many advances in recent history, yet its scope and description must be discussed for one
to truly grasp the current issues of women and gender studies. This chapter serves as an introduction to the history of women’s
movement, both in the Philippines and abroad.

DISCUSSION

Feminism
- It is a way of looking at the world through a woman’s perspective.
- It is a concept popularized by Western societies, with many feminist issues articulated by Western educated women and
even men.

THE FIRST WAVE OF FEMINISM: WOMEN & CIVIL RIGHTS

Theoretical Roots of the First Wave of Feminism- Liberal Feminism

 The first wave of women’s movement is characterized by the women’s struggle for equality.
 The Citoyennes Republicaines, Revolutionnaires demanded that women be granted the to vote and hold civilian and
military positions like men. However, the male revolutionaries ignored these calls.
 It is evident in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen of 1789 which only focused on men and men’s
rights.
 Olympia de Gouges was a French feminist, writer, and political activist who believed strongly in justice and equality
for all.
 The manifesto of de Gouges inspired what can be considered the keystone text of liberal feminist thought, A
Vindication of the Right of Women in 1972 by Mary Wollstonecraft.

Women and the Anti-Slavery Movement

 The idea that a woman is a property of her husband may explain the strong connection between women’s liberation
movement and the anti-slavery movement in the Western world.

Women and the Right to Vote

 A woman’s right to vote may not seem like a large issue, yet it was controversial in so far as it was believed that women
were too emotional and did not possess the proper faculties to make rational decisions.
 The suffrage movement was the major struggle of women, uniting the Northern American and Western European
women’s movement during the 19th and 20th centuries.
 Fundamentally, the first wave of women’s struggle was focused on establishing equality with men. It borrowed its
ideology from political liberalism that assumes equality of all people regardless of race or gender.
 Biological differences between sexes, and therefore genders, were perceived as something that could be transcended.

THE SECOND WAVE OF FEMINISM AND WOMEN’S LIBERATION

Theoretical Roots in the Second Wave of Feminism

Social Feminism
 Social Feminism was developed after Marxist Feminism to address gaps found in Marxist theories.
 Social feminist believe that women’s subjugation is rooted in the concept of having a monogamous family in which
women are confined in their homes and are discouraged to participate in productive labor.

Radical Feminism
 The civil rights movement in the US inspired another form of feminism that is grounded on structural change. This
feminist perspective-known as radical feminism- sought to ensure that women’s differences from men were recognized
and celebrated.

SUMMING UP THE WESTERN FEMINIST MOVEMENT

A brief history of the Western feminist movement is presented to show the various strides that women have made in
recent history. Various kinds of feminism with different viewpoints and priorities emerged, depending on the needs of women at

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that time. These movements were as reactions to historical events or struggles, such as the civil rights movements. Despite this
rich diversity, all the “ists” and “isms” of feminism show that one thing has been the priority of the movement: uplift women
such that they can fully participate in society as equals with others, and removing structural barriers that prevent them from
doing so. While much work has yet to be done, it is important to recognize the heroes of the past for what they have achieved to
privilege this generation of a better future.

CHAPTER 12 WOMEN IN THE PHILIPPINES

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Describe how the role of Filipino women in society evolved.
2. State at least three kinds of responses of Filipino women to oppression.
3. Explain how oppression emerged in the Philippine society.

INTRODUCTION

The history of women in our society should be examined in order to understand the unique situation of women in the
Philippines. The Philippine situation is unique as it is rooted in the colonial history of the country.

DISCUSSION

WOMEN IN PRE-COLONIAL PHILIPPINES

 Prior to Hispanic colonization, it can be said that there was no discrimination between sons and daughter.
 Marriages were arranged and a dowry was paid by the groom to the wife’s family. The women kept her name and, if
she was particularly meritorious, the husband took her name.

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 Women played an important role in the economic life of the people. Women held a substantial amount of the family’s
capital and even managed the family’s land holdings.
 Maranan highlights an important point for the equality of women: women were independent because they had equal
access and control of production resources.
 Before colonialism, women were leaders in the community.
 Babaylan commonly refers to individuals who have special knowledge or can converse with spirits. During precolonial
times, the babaylan was a woman, or a man who took on the persona of a woman, said to be chosen by the spirits and
given special powers to engage the unseen beings of nature.
 Babaylans are presently discussed not only as a mystics and spirit intermediaries, but also as community leaders and
propagators of the world view that defined most people in ancient Philippines.

WOMEN IN THE HISPANIC PERIOD

 It was important for the Spaniards that the Filipina woman be completely subjugated to her husband or her father
and to the Catholic Church.
 Filipinas were victims of the Spanish patriarchal systems and its version of Catholicism.
 The Propaganda Movement, however, began to recognize the crucial roles women could assume especially in
campaigns against Spain, although still limited. Many outstanding Filipino women such as Gabriela Silang and
Gregoria de Jesus were active participants in the war against Spain.
 Women enlisted in Emilio Aguinaldo’s army to fight against the American regime.
 Agueda Iniquinto Cahabagan even rose to the rank of Heneral Brigada in1899 and led a military unit under
Aguinaldo’s army.

WOMEN IN THE AMERICAN ERA

Development of Women Groups in the Philippines

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10 FILIPINAS WHO ADVANCED MODERN FEMINISM IN THE COUNTRY

1. LETICIA RAMOS-SHAHANI
- She was a former senator, chair of the National Commission on the Role of Filipina Women and UN assistant
secretary general for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs.

2. PATRICIA BENITEZ- LICUANAN

- She served as the chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education, chairwoman then National Commission on
the Role of the Filipina Women, chairperson of the Commission on the Status of Women, chairperson of the Main
Committee Fourth World Conference on Women, co-founder of the Asia Pacific Women’s Watch, and convenor
of the Asia-Pacific NGO Forum in Beijing.

3. TERISITA QUINTOS- DELES

- She is a peace advocate; former chair and co-founder of Coalition for Peace, National Peace Conference;
presidential adviser on the Peace Process during the time of former President Benigno Aquino III; and appointed
lead convenor of the National Anti-Poverty Commission from 2001-2003.

4. SISTER MARY JOHN MANANZAN, OSB

- She is a feminist activist, a former GABRIELA chairperson, former president of St. Scholastica’s College, and
prioress of the Missionary of Benedictine Sisters of the Manila Priory.

5. SISTER CHRISTINE TAN

- She was the first Filipina to head the Philippine Province of the Religious of the Good Sheperd, a former
chairperson of the Executive Board of the Association of Major Religious Superiors of Women in the Philippines,
and founder of Alay Kapwa Christian Community.

6. JOI BARRIOS
- Born as Maria Josephine Barrios in 1962, she is a o popular poet, actress, scriptwriter, and activist. She earned her
PhD in Filipino and Philippine Literature from the University of the Philippines and served as associate professor
and associate dean of the UP College of Arts and Letters.

7. LORENA BARROS

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- A woman leader, gifted writer, and one of the icons of modern Philippine feminism. She was one of the well-
known heroes during the anti-dictatorship struggle who founded the Malayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan or
MAKIBAKA.

8. RAISSA JAJURIE
- A Moro program coordinator of the Alternative Legal Assistance Center. An advocate of Muslim women’s rights,
she belives in justice for Muslim women in accordance with Islamic teachings and human rights standard.

9. ROSELLE AMBUBUYOG
- She is the very fist visually-impaired Filipina to be awarded summa cum laude. Blind at age of six, Ambubuyog
did not let her disability hinder her to finish her studied. She graduated valedictorian in her elementary school and
high school. She was awarded full scholarship at the Ateneo de Manila University.

10. ROSA HENSON

- Rosa was a comfort woman. In 1992, she broke the silence about Filipina comfort women through her
autobiography, Comfort Women: Slave of Destiny. During World War II she joined, the Hukbalahap and served
as a messenger.

CURRENT FORMS OF OPPRESSION AGAINST FILIPNO WOMEN AND THEIR RESPONSES

 The first aspect of women’s oppression is due to gender.

 The second is their membership in a social class or sector of society.
 Finally, women are oppressed as citizens of a former colony due to the continuing effects of exploitative
globalization.
 The combination of these three are called intersectional oppression, or the multiple oppression that women
face due to the marginalization of other parts of their identity.

WOMEN IN THE THIRD WORLD

 Women workers are exploited because of their gender and their economic and social positions.
 As Third World laborers, women are used as part of the cheap labor force. They also paid less than their male
counterparts simply because they are women.
 Women in the Philippines are made to suffer particularly difficult conditions because of their position as
citizen of the Third World.
 As women, they are even more disempowered because of the lack of representatives with a significant voice to
air their concerns and prioritize their welfare.
 With this multifaceted discrimination against women, Philippine feminist have centered their engagement on
certain issues. Some groups are organized around the care for women victims of domestic violence.

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CHAPTER 13 WOMEN AND EDUCATION

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Identify the major problems women face in the education sector.
2. Explain the value of equality in education for women.
3. Name the policies that protect the rights of women in education.

INTRODUCTION

Education is a basic human right, one that is essential for the progress of society. This chapter explores education in
formal institutions. It tackles gender and education both theoretically and in practice.

DISCUSSION

THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION: AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

 Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stresses that education is everyone’s fundamental right; it is
something necessary to fulfill one’s human potential.
 Access to primary education I one of the eight MDGs as it is a powerful tool for social transformation.
 Education is also a powerful tool for socialization. A school teaches what is important, such as an individual’s
responsibilities in a society and one’s potential.
 Education is a priority sector mentioned in gender literature in the Philippines.
 Currently, gender issues in education include non-sexist curriculum, non-sexist language, freedom in career options,
and the removal of all forms of discrimination.

EDUCATION AND THE BEIJING PLATFORM FOR ACTION 1995

The strategic objectives of the UN Beijing Platforms for Action in relation to education are as follows:
 Ensure equal access to education.
 Eradicate illiteracy among women.
 Improve women’s access to vocational training, science and technology, and continuing education.
 Develop non-discriminatory education and training.
 Allocate sufficient resources for and monitor the implementation of educational reforms.
 Promote lifelong education and training for girls and women.

PHILIPPINE LAWS ON GENDER-RESPONSIVE AND GENDER-FAIR EDUCATION

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 The Filipino’s high regard for education comes the view that education is a “pillar of nationality development and a
primary avenue for social and economic mobility.”
 Numerous laws enforce and protect one’s right to education, with specific consideration for the issues that arise from
one’s strategic and practical gender needs.

Issues mentioned in Pertinent Documents on Gender and Education

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NAME:Karen R.Medrano SCORE:

SUBJECT CODE:20036 RATING:

ACTIVITY 1

1. Why were women highly regarded in ancient times?

ans:The role of women in ancient Greece and ancient Rome In athens (a city state located in ancient Greece)they
believed that women were valued for taking care of the house and producing children.Upper class women were
hidden from other women and had to be escorted in public places.

2. What are the theories tracing the possible root causes of women subjugation and oppression in history? Explain one.
ans:A basic division runs between biologically oriented and socio-culturally oriented theories .The former finds
significance in relative universality of physical characteristics amlng humans and of a gender division of labor that
assign men to "public"and women to "private"activities.This commonality is attributed to genetic or physical
differences.

3. Massive food production and industrialization reinforced the socialized role of women as home keepers. What are the
positive and negative consequences of these development on women perception in the society?
ans:The industrial revolution had a very significant effect on the lives of women.They saw theirsocietal
role shift from not just having traditional roles but also to contributing to the industrial theyantered the workforce in
order to support their families .Once in the workplace they faceddiscrimination and for treament .As a result the first
feminst movement emerged out of the timeperiod and sought aquality especially in terms of voting rights today. The
feminist movement Continuess women fight for equary.

4. What is gender essentialism? How does essentialist reasoning contribute to the oppression of women?
ans:Gender essentialism is a concept which is used to examine the attribution of fixed,intrinsic,innate qualities to
women and men.In this theory,there are certain universal,innate biologically or psychologically,based features of
gender that are at the root of observed differences in the behavior of men and women.

5. What can you do to reshape the prevalent thinking that women are of the lesser sex?
ans:By providing them that they are wrong.I will showcase to them statistic,data as well as research that women can
also do or do better,the things that men can do.I will also teach all young ones to treat all gender the way they want
others to treat them.

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NAME:karen R.Medrano SCORE:

SUBJECT CODE:20036 RATING:

ACTIVITY 2

Make a list of a women you consider the 10 most significant in history. These
women can be local or foreign. Explain why they are included in your list. Then, consider if
these women advanced the cause of women’s liberation and how they did this.

1.Marie curie-This polish -french physicist is synonymous with her work in radioactivity and was the first woman to a nobel
prize and the only woman to win twice.

2.Rosa parks-Boarded a bus that changed the course of the civil right movement in america.

3.Emmeline pankhurst-A leader of the British suffragette movement,emmeline pankurt was instrumental in getting women the
right to vote in the Uk.

4.Ada lovelace-Was the first person on record to acknowledge the capability of what computers could do and worked with
charles babbage,the fatherof computers to translate an article which is considered to be the instance of computer
programming.

5.Rosalind Franklin-After studying at cambridge and living in france,Rosalind franklin became a research associated at king's
college in london and became notable for her work on x-ray diffraction images of DNA which could eventually lead to the
discovery of the DNA double helix.

6.Margaret Thatcher-Margaret Thatcher was the first female british prime minister and she came to power in may 79-61 yrs
after wimen in the Uk got the vote.

7.Angela Burdett-couts-A nineteenth century philantropist,Burdett-coutts was one of the wealthiest women in britan during
her lifetime and spent the majority of her wealth on scholarship and endowment.

8.Mary wollstorecraft-A british writer ,philosopher and advocate for women right and is now regarded as one of the founding
feminist philosopers.

9.Florence Nightingale-Florence Nightingale established the first secular nursing school in the world at st thoma's hospital in
london,helped to improve healthcare across the Uk,advocate for better hunger relief in india,helped abolish harsh prostitution
laws for women and helped to expand the acceptable forms of female particapation in the workplace.

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NAME:karen R.Medrano SCORE:

SUBJECT CODE:20036 RATING:

ACTIVITY 3

Think about your experiences as a student. What feelings arise when you hear issues regarding
violence in your campus? If you yourself are a victim of discrimination, how did you feel during that
incident? Can you think of ways that could reform this campus culture?

I feel anger and sadness when I hear about these issues.These things should not happen in
the campus or anywhere else for that matter.

I would feel angry ,sad and humiliated if I ever feel discriminated against. We should have rules in place
that would not only punish but change the behaviors of the bullies.Perhaps they can talk to a
guidance counselor Who could adress the cause of their actions.

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