VILLAR, MAAN P.

MSBA 1
REACTION PAPER ON THE MAGNA CARTA FOR WOMEN
I am ambivalent with the Magna Carta for Women, it does
have a valid point espoused and provisions that are needed,
however most of it is but redundant to existing laws already
existent and is not answering to solid needs. Having been
affiliated with Amnesty International, an international human
rights organization, for the past couple of years, I believe
that the Magna Carta for Women is not all encompassing. It
sounds to me like Eve Ensler’s landmark work The Vagina
Monologues which I do not at all agree to. I have been exposed
to abuses and sensitive issues made to both men and women as a
media worker and spokesperson for AI, I believe that there
should be more specific legislations that should be passed that
would address these because despite the equal enjoyment of both
rights of both genders, there are still stories that are unheard
of, women who need justice and a clock that is ticking before
these issues are resolved. One of the projects that moved me was
a series of interviews I made with lolas who are victims of
Japanese brutality in their occupation. You would see the mark
of torment the abuses the Japanese soldiers have caused these
women in their faces and their tear-stricken eyes when you talk
to them about what happened in the past. Less than a dozen of
these Filipino comfort women to the Japanese remain today and up
to now they have been lobbying to both the Filipino and Japanese
government to give justice to what they had went through and up
to now, there is a blank answer. The Japanese government still
refuses to yield to their requests for minimal compensation,
prosecution of those at fault and an admission from the Japanese
government of what they had done to these women, a simple
request that the Japanese government pretends to be deaf to.
I believe that there are already many laws in our country
that already protect the rights of women and that there is no
need for further legislation, this is only a proof of our
democratic intent to give feminist and other women rights and
empowerment extremists a voice and recognition, but is it any
good to bring equalization to both genders in our society or
does it give women an advantage over men when this should not be
the case? I think that the Feminist movement is too extremist, I
do respect their ideals and they do make crucial turning points
especially if we date back in history but they should remain as
a safeguard to the rights of women, not as a means to go above,
overtake and overshadow that of men because men themselves have

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cases of unresolved abuses, violence, exploitation and other
gender-related maligning that are not documented because they
have less voice compared to women with regards to this. Men
themselves are harried by gender issues and sexism and there is
no point in making it appear that women are too much at a
disadvantage. Legislation should answer to real needs of the
society and not needs brought about by the assumptive claims
extremism has as output to their plights.
What the Magna Carta for Women is deficient of would be
focus, it should be targeted at solutions for silenced cases,
unresolved issues and as a safety net of upcoming issues that
would be sensitive not only to women but also to the needs of
men. As to provisions on the health of men and women, there
should be an injection of a little innovation on this because
there is already hallmark researches done on the difference of
the need for medication and treatment for the health carries of
men and women. That is, there are some treatment plans and
medications that are harmful or detrimental to the health to the
health of women that are good for men and the opposite is also
true. It is mandatory that these health breakthroughs be noted
and given enough answers to rather than focusing on minute
health issues that are already answered to. I have read that if
only the funding for health institutions would be allocated
properly, this would create a better environment for the health
of men. This can be reflected in the leave and health benefits
enjoyed by women compared to that of men. These specific needs
are already captured in the Magna Carta for Women, companies
could even be more lenient and give women workers more benefits
having been knowledgeable on the reproductive functions and
repercussions brought about by such function/s as well as the
biological difference that exists between that of men and women.
Putting a light on the status quo here in the country, our
social institutions already affirm that women enjoy equal rights
with men, there is a need only for legislation that would answer
to some unmet requirements for women but overall, as the Family
Code was revised last 1997, there was already a removal of
discriminatory provisions under the Civil Code such that women
already enjoy equal custody and parental authority of children,
has the same legal marrying age and do not have discrimination
as to inheritance. To concretize this further, women did not
enjoy the same property rights with men before because it was
only men who are perceived as primary property owners but after
a few tweaks and turns on our legal system, there are no more
legal variations as to the access to land and property of men
and women and women already enjoy the same status with men for
the lease or purchase of public lands.

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 Magna Carta would actually refer to a statement of rights
and I find minute reasons as to why there should be a clamor and
restatement of the rights of women when Filipino women already
existent and practiced. Although in rural areas there would
exist certain gender imbalances, it would really depend on them
if they would comply and voice out this imbalances or would be
complacent with it and be in good terms with what such sub-
cultures impose upon them, some even pride themselves with such
gender imbalance as being a distinct aspect and identifying
factor to their culture although it may seem unacceptable to the
urban state of thinking. It may seem unacceptable for us to see
women in burkas or seeing them receiving maltreatment from men
but it is up to us to open our minds that they too have their
own identity and sometimes we need not force them to what we
think is righteous and respect them for who they are and what
they respect as a culture and as their customary laws which
could be as old as their cultures. Example would be the Muslims
who practice genital mutilation to Muslim women, we may say that
this is physical violence against women but for them, they
should practice this to remain true to the principles that found
their religion. Or we may say that Muslim women are restrained
of their civil liberties because they do not enjoy the same
mobility rights of non-Muslim women because their freedom to
travel outside of their homes are restrained for some Muslim
women or because there are restriction on their freedom of
choice as to the mode of dressing because they are to wear veils
that cover their hair. How can we say that they do not have a
freedom of choice when they comply to the Muslim standards
without complaint and are we assured that they do feel impugned
by these standards imposed by their religion when they
themselves chose to follow such faith?
Women are already well protected and in the company that I
am working for, we do have ASH or Anti-Sexual Harrassment
provisions that are very open-door and easily accessible to all
employees and what is good about it is that anyone is allowed to
report sexual harassment cases or even just awkward situations
that they are placed in and it is open to cases reported by both
male and female employees without bias.
Filipino women are even lucky because unlike other Asian
women who are subjected to the “silk ceiling” (the Asian
counterpart of the “glass ceiling” with certain variations) they
are recognized in the country as leaders, great entrepreneurs
and respectable movers of the nation.

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