Estephanie Mae J.

Bacud
Malasiqui National High School
SPEECH
WOMEN AND THE PHILIPPINE SOCIETY
To all members of this progressing society, ladies and gentlemen
Greetings of enduring peace and harmony!
USA Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton once divulged that the rights of women and girls are the
unfinished business of the 21st century. Moreover, she added that women are the largest untapped reservoir of
talent in the world.
Ladies and Gentlemen, with these ratiocination of Mrs. Clinton, may I ask you this question.
HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE A WOMAN?
Some of you would tell.. My mother is a woman, The nurse is a woman, The teacher is a woman, The cashier is
a woman, The market vendor is a woman or worst scenario would be some of you opine that a Woman is
inferior as compared with a man.
Dearest listeners, it is a social reality that the morale of gender equality influences the way we perceive our
society; however, some of the strata of our civilization are still apathetic. Apathetic! For them, women are just
only women, weak, inferior, untalented, a plain housewife. Ladies and gentlemen, From January 2010 to
September 2012, GABRIELA national office was directly approached with more than 1,670 complaints of
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN. These violations include physical abuse, abandonment, refusal to grant child
custody and infidelity as stipulated by RA 9262 or the Anti-VAWC Law. According to Gabriela deputy-secretary
general Obeth Montes, the worsening problem of violence against women in the Philippines can be attributed
to three main reasons:
First, POVERTY- The women lack economic opportunity- Most of the victims of domestic violence came
from the lower-income classes. Second, CULTURE OF IMPUNITY- Women are very vulnerable to mens
abusive acts and Third, GOVERNMENT INCOMPETENCY- Weak implementation of government laws policies
such as the RA 9262 that will dispense justice for the abused women.
Therefore, how can we address this societal predicament? The answer is only three words- HOLISTIC
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT! When we involve women in politics, agenda-setting and in business, we can
create a more productive and gender-sensitive community.
The Human Development Report 2002 (UNDP) revealed that 35% of the Filipino administrators and
managers are women-which is one of the highest percentages in the world. Additionally, approximately
17.2% of all the Philippine legislative seats are occupied by women and 2/3 of professionals and technical
workers are women. This puts the Philippines Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) of 0.523 as the highest
in Asia. Besides, letting the female gender participate in our politics is the true spirit of democracy.
The female gender when became leaders can become as effective as male leaders for the female gender is
known to be intuitive, visionary and all-accommodating. However, the undying discrimination of the female
gender persists. Thousands of women are discriminated in the employment or even in government seats by
virtue of marriage and parenthood. It is a fact that there is a perceptible increase in number of women elected
into government posts but the assumption to institutional leadership does not necessarily signify an expected
degree of political equality. The question of resources also affects womens access to decision-making positions
since men and women do not enjoy same access to resources that yield political power!
Therefore, the lack of power of women in the society deprives women of their rights and opportunities.
Will you let this happen?
IF NOT, MAY WE BECOME VANGUARDS OF THIS ADVOCACY THAT MORE WOMEN SHOULD BE
INVOLVED IN PHILIPPINE SOCIETY! YES TO WOMEN EMPOWERMENT! YES TO GENDER EQUALITY!
YES TO NATIONAL PROGRESS!
Thank you for your kind consideration.