Celebrating women: A tribute to equality and empowerment

“God shows no impartiality.”

This bible verse is apt for the occasion—today, March 8, being the International Women’s Day; and March being observed in the Philippines as National Women’s Month or Women’s History Month in the United States.

As everyone becomes more aware of the significance of gender equality, more and more come together to mark the occasion—serving as a reminder of the remarkable contributions of women around the globe.

In the Philippines, the observance of International Women’s Day began in 1988 after then President Corazon C. Aquino signed Proclamation No. 2224, “Declaring the first week of March of every year as Women’s Week and March 8, 1988, and every year, thereafter, as Women’s Rights and International Peace Day” — affirming the Philippines’ solidarity with the United Nations and serves as a recognition of women’s role in shaping history, society, and peace.

According to the Philippine Commission on Women, this year’s National Women’s Month celebration aims to capitalize on the recurring theme, “WE for gender equality and inclusive society,” introduced in 2023. It builds upon the earlier theme, “WE Make CHANGE Work for Women” that stressed the importance of “compassionate and harmonized networks toward gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE).” WE, according to the Philippine Commission on Women, “represent Women and Everyone, highlighting the collective responsibility for gender equality, not solely resting on women but involving everyone. WE also symbolize Women’s Empowerment.”

While the Philippines has attained much in its efforts to close gender gaps, Filipino women still face challenges while assuming bigger roles in society.
The National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in 2022 showed that 17.5 percent of Filipino women aged 15-49 have experienced any form of physical, sexual, and emotional violence from their intimate partners. A year earlier, there were 8,399 reported cases of physical violence — 1,791 on rape, and 1,505 on acts of lasciviousness.

The abuse or violence against women is alarming since as early as 2004, the country already passed Republic Act 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act. The law defines violence against women and children as “any act or a series of acts committed by any person against a woman who is his wife, former wife, or against a woman with whom the person has or had a sexual or dating relationship, or with whom he has a common child, or against her child whether legitimate or illegitimate, with or without the family abode, which result in or is likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological harm or suffering, or economic abuse including threats of such acts, battery, assault, coercion, harassment or arbitrary deprivation of liberty.”

Likewise, the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women defines violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public and private life. Gender-based violence is any violence inflicted on women because of their sex.”

To ensure that we practice and promote gender equality, empowering women as equal partners is crucial to guarantee that decision-making, role-playing, and access to opportunities under all circumstances are no longer weighted in favor of men.

Men and women should coexist on a level playing field.