CHAPTER 6

WOMEN: A Sectorial Situationer

The sectoral situationer below will give an overview of the condition of

women both in the Philippines and around the globe in relation to
oppression. This situationer may hopefully serve as a lens in which
students can view and understand the gender inequality women face
everywhere.

Women and the Economy: Women and Work

Work is often understood as livelihood. For a good reason, it is seen as

a survival mechanism for many as work provides money necessary to
buy goods for a person to live.

Not only are fewer women employed, they also experience the pay
gap-they are paid less than what men receive for doing the same work,
across all sectors and occupations.

Women, Work, and Poverty in the Philippines

Women as a social class are the fifth poorest, as 15.6% of women are
classified as poor in 2015. The structural adjustment has a negative
impact on women living in poverty, as it affects the availability of
work, the nature of one's work, and job program security.

Women and Education

Gender parity in primary education is present not just in the

Philippines, but also in the rest of the world, with girls performing
better than boys in some regions.

Generally, fewer students enroll in secondary education than in

primary education and even so in tertiary education. However, an
increase can be found in female participation in higher education.

Better educated women tend to be more informed about nutrition and

healthcare, have fewer children, marry at a later age, and their
children are usually healthier, should they choose to become mothers.
They are more likely to participate in the formal labor market and earn
higher incomes.

Women and Health

Access to health care and health services constitute issues

surrounding women and health, as well as a woman's emotional,
psychological, and social wellness. Women-specific health issues are
often linked to sexual and reproductive health needs.

However, pregnancy and childbirth are still the main health concerns
of women aged 15-29.

The average life expectancy of women has risen to the age of 72

years, while it is 68 for men.

Issues surrounding health care in the Philippines involve :

1. The lack of access to healthcare ficilities,

2. quality services, and

3. actual health centers in the communities.

Access to Services

Women seeking treatment for abortion are still stigmatized regardless

of whether the abortion was self-imduced or spontaneous .

Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

Teenage pregnancy in the Philippines has been increasing specifically,

a 65% a rise from the years 2000 to 2010. One in ten teenage girls is
pregnant or is already a mother.

The groundbreaking Reponsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health

Act of 2012 (R.A. 10354) aims to address the gaps in reproductive
health. It guarantees universal access to all methods of family
planning.
Violence Against Women

Violence against women (VAW) exists on a global scale, and affects

millions of women on a daily basis.

Culture-specific violence such as bride burning, child brides, or female

genital mutilation is still practiced despite its violation of a person's
basic human rights. Also women make up to 80% of the victims of
human trafficing, showing that women are quite prone to becoming
victims of violence due to their sex.

Women and Armed Conflict

Armed conflict is seen as a critical area of concern in terms of

women's participation in peace panels and peacekeeping, as well as in
terms of their victimization during conflict around the globe.

The UN Women Report states that only seven out of ten peace
agreements had special provisions for gender in 2015.

A special form of victimization occurs for women in armed conflict.

Women have gender-specific needs apart from the basic survival needs
that other victims of conflict have.

The Global Study on the Implementation of Security Council Resolution

1325 (2000) states that:

"Women and girls are disproportionately affected by crises.

They are exposed to increased risk of violence, more likely to die than
men in natural disasters and have less access to resources".

Other issues faced by women include subhuman evacuation

conditions, forced recruitment into rebel camps, killings, abductions,
psychological trauma, and hostage-taking.

The Philippines has adopted international mechanisms to secure

women's safety during times of conflict through the Philippine National
Action Plan or Women, Peace, and Security (PNAPWPS).
WOMEN IN POWER AND POLITICS

The number of women in the parliament worldwide has doubled in the

years since the implementation of the BPFA. However, women
compose only 20% of the parliament today. Globally, 143 of 195
countries have constitutional provisions to ensure gender equality.

Despite the Philippines getting high marks for women's political

involvement, women in power still make up less than half of those
elected. Some issues that hamper women's participation in the
elections involve SEX-ROLE STEREOTYPES and GENDERED
ASSUMPTIONS.

INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISM AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN

•The Magna Carta of Women

-A comprehensive women's human rights law that seeks to eliminate

discrimination through the recognition, protection, fulfillment, and
promotion of the rights of Filipino women especially those belonging to
the marginalized sectors of society.

•Women's Empowerment, Development and Gender Equality (Women's

EDGE)

-The formulation of the Women’s EDGE Plan provides a timely

opportunity to review persistent and emerging gender issues and to
take these into account in the existing plans of government. This
document will guide agencies in mainstreaming the gender dimension
in their regular programs, as well as in implementing gender-focused
activities.
DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE GIRL-CHILD

- Female children are particularly vulnerable due to their double

oppression.

- It is the Girl-child who is most vulnerable to harmful cultural

practices.

• Female Infanticide

• Sex-selective Abortion

• Child Marriage

• Teenage Pregnancy

• Child trafficking, Child labor, and Domestic slavery are issues that
girls face.

• Female Circumcision (a harmful traditional practice that targets

young girls).

Women and the Environment Women has a great impact to

environment, since woman are the one's needing the resources in
fuel,food,basic needs etc. Although women has a great importance for
the environment they are excluded to have 'land title' in which they
are disregarded as they have property to lose that can affect their
livelihood.

Women and Disaster

Women are disaster resilience but it depends on their own economic,

cultural, and legal status, when a disaster hit a community they are
most often attend to immediate survival needs of their family members
but due to the inequalities they are prevented to make consultations
and not given attention for the planning process for disaster
preparedness and management.
Women in the Indigenous Communities

Women have little access to the governments provision of services in

education, health and other necessities due to their location or
distance from the capital

.•Land ownership only man are given certificate award by the

Government excluding women

.•Reproductive rights due to the distance from the capital are giving
birth to their house and as per their rules that they abide which has a
bad effect for the health of the mother as well as the baby

.•Child marriage one of the rules is to let the parents decide who they
want for their child which sometimes exchanging child for money like
dowry in Muslim custom.