Giving Voice To The Silenced Women of the South

It’s been four months now that I’m moving heaven and hell with my advocacy on women electoral reforms. Since January of this year, my life is like a circle with no beginnings and endings. I always sleep late and wake up early in the morning chasing rainbows of opportunities for women through voter’s education and networking with local candidates.

We are in our crucial period of our country’s history. Inspired as Voices of the Future correspondent, the situation challenged me to this new level of advocacy and courageously accepted call of responsibilities on electoral advocacies.

On May 10, more than a week from now we will have our national election. Hopefully, this will be the last days of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who is well-known of rigging the election in 2004 and 2007 just to stay in power.

This will also be our first ever national automation electoral system. Majority of the Filipinos especially the rural population doesn’t have access to computer and have not even seen computers.

Filipino grassroots women have been long exposed to vote buying, fraud and violence as the main character of our election. But despite their fears amid intensified electoral violence going on in several places of the country and the uncertainties of automation, the women still hope for change through electoral exercise.

Election in the Philippines is dominated by candidates who have the GOONS, GUNS and GOLD. But, the women will still cast their votes silently for candidates whom they believed will bring change in their lives and for their children this coming May 10 election.

I always wanted to be a part of this process of bringing transformation and hope to the lives of each and every woman I met everyday. I wanted to listen to their silence due to fears and uncertainties. I wanted to be their witness when everyone is afraid to speak. But most of all I wanted them to speak out and bear witness to the truth and righteousness. I wanted them to vote wisely and courageously for deserving candidates to lead our country to prosperity and righteousness.

Speaking out and bearing witness to truth and righteousness is not an easy process for Filipino women who have been domesticated and marginalized for centuries of colonization and feudal exploitation. It takes a lot of effort and hard work for activist like me to empower my fellow Filipina to understand why we are afraid of people who are in power. It takes a lot of patience and courage to let them see the bright future through collective struggle such as guarding and defending their votes against fraud and electoral violence.

The invitation of World Pulse for me as a community board member is a timely respond to all these challenges at this critical juncture of our country’s history. I believe being a community board member of World Pulse is a great venue for supporting us in developing countries in raising the level our strength for advancing our aspirations to be free from all forms of violence, oppression and exploitation.

I believe my decade long experience and dedication with the women’s movement here in the Philippines as an activist and a leader will contribute to the on going process of World Pulse to be global network of women where the women of the poor countries like the Philippines will be represented and our issues and concerns be heard.

My organizational skills I’ve learned in my women’s work from community organizing multi- sectoral alliance building, institutional development work , training and conferences organizing to women and people’s campaign work will particularly be my contribution in making Pulse Wire a strong global women’s network that really works for women in developing countries. My few exposures to international women’s solidarity networks will also be of helped. My training as VOF correspondent gave me greater confidence in writing and raising the voices of women who has been silenced by feudal patriarchal society.

Furthermore, the training I will get from being World Pulse community board member will further enhance my leadership skills not only for the Filipino women movement but for the global women’s movement in advancing peace and justice in the world.