Oh to be a woman! The struggle of living under the patriarchy

People think women have it easy. Spoiler alert – we don’t.

All our lives, we were told that, “All women have to do was what women were told to do.” This was the long-standing narrative we were led to believe. And even when times have changed, a woman’s position in the society, unfortunately, remains unchallenged.

Her capabilities to lead and foster change remains unrecognized. She still struggles to have an equal social, political, and economic opportunities. And even decades after, we still have no bodily autonomy.

Often, we feel so isolated in our struggles, and mostly what they care about is how we look, how we act. All what others care to check up on is if we’re staying inside the boxed up idea of what and how a woman should be.

Gender-based violence in the Philippines

This idea manifests and perpetuates discrimination and gender inequality. In 2021, the SWS survey revealed that 25%, or one out of 4 Filipino adults, cited violence against women as the most pressing issue women faces amidst the pandemic. And what’s frustrating is there were little to no changes made in the efforts to address this fact.

We’re already too familiar with “Hi, Miss, ganda mo naman” or the malicious whistles on public spaces. We’ve become accustomed to the thought that if we were harassed, it’s probably our fault so we should just keep quiet. We learned to think of how to be safe in public spaces because we have no power to make it safe for us.

From March 2020 to August 2021, 18,945 VAW cases have been reported to the PNP Women and Children’s Protection Center. These were the cases of women who were able to ask for help alone. This does not include the cases of those who isn’t able to ask for help; those who might be able to but is threatened, and; those nameless cases whose narrative we will never hear.

I can imagine just how much bigger of a number it would be if all of them can ask for help, and it’s heartbreaking.

On that note

Yes, you might have heard of the phrase, “Whatever a man can do, a woman can do bleeding.” And while it’s correct, this isn’t entirely true.

The battle to attain women’s equal rights was never theirs alone.

So this year, as we welcome the International Women’s Month, may we keep in our hearts the struggles that are unseen. I’m urging you to carry-out their battle cry: take a stand beside them in their fight against discrimination, inequality, and violence.

Help women make change – Make Change Work for Women.