A Brief Timeline of the Philippine Feminist Movement

With all of the things we have faced, all women are still deemed unworthy, overpowered, and
ruled by men. However, there’s always another side to every story; in Pananaw Peminista’s
YouTube channel, where they have a brief discussion about the timeline of the Philippine
feminine movements and create presentations, they explain and illustrate the message clearly
about how strong and empowered women are, back in the day. They elaborate on how women
have played a major role throughout the years, up to today’s generation. It was also stated how
important it is to know how strong and independent our women really are, starting with the
babaylan that serves as female political and socio-economic identity and that played a crucial
role in Philippine pre-colonial societies. They have the right to have their own land, fight for
their own business, divorce, and remarry. They also have the power to use medicine and be
religious in each barangay. Babaylan’s are also beside the Datu, and we were able to work with
them side by side.

And from then on, it was said that men dominated women, which can be traced to Spanish
colonial rule. They completely cut off women’s right to everything, even education, which was
forbidden for them. Yet there are still women who fought and showed their bravery by fighting
for Philippine independence. They also gave a best example of women who showcase their
strength, for an instance Gabriela Silang, who is best known for being the first female leader,
who lead for our independency. Not until the 1969 election, which they claimed was the dirtiest
in the country’s history. Because this is where the Philippine Revolution started, where things
got worse. And this is also where some non-government organizations emerged that protested
Marcos’s leadership. Gabriela is the biggest alliance of women’s groups, and they also claimed
that Aquino was the one who crystallized this organization. Gabriella, who’s still existing today,
has added specific objectives to protect women.

To sum this all up, even in pre-colonial era, women were never seen as the lowest human
being, they also have the right as stated in the video clip. This clip proves that filipino women
were never “just women.” That we also holds our own power, and strong enough to handle even
the men’s work, and not just for house labor. We were not just displays of men’s pride and ego.
We also have the right to talk, to rule, and to make the world even better. I am completely aware
that speaking up is really a hard thing to do, but as Pananaw Peminimista’s said, every voice
counts for us to move forward, and I totally agree with that.