Valerie L.

Apura

THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN

NATION-BUILDING
LESSON 16
Introduction

Letter to the Women of Malolos

● A central document
● Written in 1889 at the request of Marcelo H. Del Pilar
 THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS: Lesson Discussion

The women of Malolos who belonged to Chinese-Mestizo clans in Bulacan namely the Tiongsons, Tantocos,
Reyeses and Santoses, were actively involved in the quest for educational reform. They wanted to study to
study Spanish under Teodoro Sandico and they personally gave their letter of request to the then Governor
General Valeriano Weyler on December 12, 1888.
THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS
DID YOU KNOW?

Spanish friars during that time prohibited this attempt to learn to maintain control over women. Native priests
in the Philippines, however, had always been supportive of the move to educate their fellow Filipinos,
especially with the establishment of the Royal Decree of 1863 that aimed to educate all Filipinos, men and
women, in Spanish.

Despite all the hindrances met by the women from Malolos, they never wavered; and by 1889, they finally
got what they wanted, provided that they funded on their own education and that the classes were to be done
at a day and not at night. The school, however, was short-lived as Sandico was falsely accused of
disseminating anti-government ideas his school in May, 1889.
THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS

Propagandists like Graciano Lopez Jaena and Marcelo H. Del

Pilar wrote articles about them in La Solidaridad. Marcelo H.
Del Pilar was the who requested Rizal to write a letter to the
women of Malolos. Rizal obliged and on February 22, 1889.
 The Role of
Women in
Nation-
building
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

The following are the major points raised by Rizal in the letter he wrote for the young women of Malolos.
THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN NATION-BUILDING
Rizal’s major points:
First, he commended the bravery of the young Finally, Rizal stated the importance of high
women especially in their quest to educate standards in finding a partner.
themselves emphasizing the role of reason over
blind obedience, and their continuous search for
wisdom.

Second, in relation to education, he pointed out one

of the most important roles of women, which was
the raising of a child.
Women in
Other Letters of
Rizal
Rizal also emphasized the importance of women in some of
his letters. He continuously encouraged his sisters to pursue
education. For example, in a letter sent to his sister Soledad
Rizal Mercado on June 6, 1890, as translated by A.P. Purino
in the book Rizal: The Greatest Filipino Hero.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

 The letter sent to his sister ( Soledad)
I am pleased to know that you are dedicating yourself to
teaching because I believe that in that profession, you will
be obliged to improve yourself more and more. Try to be
a model of good virtue and good traits, in as much as the
one who teaches ought to be better than the person who
need to learn virtues.
WOMEN IN OTHER LETTERS OF RIZAL

Rizal also appreciated the strong women of Germany. In

another letter addressed to his sister Trinidad on March 11,
1886, as translated by Gregorio Zaide, the German woman
according to Rizal
 The letter addressed to Trinidad

…is serious diligent, educated, and friendly. She is not gossipy,

frivolous, and quarrelsome like the Spanish woman. She is not
particular about the beautiful dresses and expensive jewelry,
though she could dress nicely like any other woman in the world.

…Now that you ( Trinidad) are still young you should strive to
read, read, and learn. You must not allow yourself to be
conquered by indolence because it costs so little to cast it off.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under

CC BY-SA-NC
 Title of your presentation.

THAT WILL BE ALL

FOR THE REPORT!

This is where you section ends. Duplicate this set of slides as many times you need to go over all your sections.