In the Philippines, the Women’s Month Celebration has since served as a venue to highlight women’s achievements and discuss continuing and emerging women’s empowerment and gender equality issues and concerns, challenges, and commitments. The celebration focuses on concrete activities that are aligned with national and international instruments and treaties such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Beijing Platform for Action, the Philippine Plan for Gender-Responsive Development (1995-2025), the Framework Plan for Women, and the Sustainable Development Goals. (Philippine Commission on Women). Through multiple preparatory meetings, the set theme by the UP Diliman GAD Committee for the UPD Women’s Month is “Babae, tuloy ang arangkada at pakikibaka! I-phaseout ang pahirap sa masa!”. In line with this theme and the Campaign & Advocacy Program’s dedication to reinstitute community gathering and discourse, the UP Diliman delivered a total of 55 activities in celebration of the UPD Women’s Month 2024, including UPDGO’s Arangkada, Kerima! 1st UPD Women’s Congress and Art Festival (Art Crawl).
Staying true to the principle of mainstreaming women’s and gender issues and with the campaign to end all violence against women and children (VAWC), end gender-based violence (GBV), and celebrate women, all UP Diliman colleges, offices, units and organizations, through the UP Diliman Gender Office, were enjoined to contribute to the UPD Women’s Month 2024 celebrations by initiating their own activities intended as part of this celebration. All concrete activities organized and implemented were considered part of their participation in the Gender and Development (GAD) accomplishments of all colleges/offices/units involved. Apart from expression of solidarity and support, their participation was counted as part of their respective college/office/unit’s accomplishment in the mainstreaming of Gender and Development in Programs, Activities, and Projects (PAPs) as mandated by law.
UPD Women’s Month Celebrations
Preparatory meetings with the UP Diliman Gender and Development Committee were conducted online. The UPD GAD committee brainstormed for possible themes for this year’s celebration. Several issues and current dispositions were floated and these were amalgamated to create three themes that were vied to be the set theme. The set theme by the UP Diliman GAD Committee for the UPD Women’s Month is “Babae, tuloy ang arangkada at pakikibaka! I-phaseout ang pahirap sa masa!”. This was then supplemented by a UPD Community statement that was published online to welcome this year’s women’s month celebration. The statement and the publicity material posted are as follows and is accessible via this link https://www.facebook.com/
“Babae, tuloy ang arangkada at pakikibaka! I-phaseout ang pahirap sa masa!
UPD Community Statement
Sa lumalalang pambansa at pandaigdigang krisis, higit nating kinikilala ang mga dagok nito sa kababaihan, kabataan, at LGBTQIA+. Kabilang sa umiiral na krisis ay ang ‘di makataong jeepney phaseout, matinding kagutuman at kahirapan, ang panukalang Charter Change na pahirap sa masa, at pagkitil sa buhay. Nagpapatuloy at lumalala a ng patong-patong na pasanin, lalo na sa kababaihan. Maraming mga nanay ang unang nasasampal ng mga bayarin – paano pagkakasyahin ang kakarampot na kita at sahod sa nagmamahalang mga bilihin? Dagdag sa pahirap na ito ang kakulangan sa mga benepisyo para sa manggagawang kababaihan sa ‘di-makataong sistemang kontraktwal, kawalan ng solo parent benefits, unpaid domestic work at marami pang iba. Sa pag-iral ng mga pahirap na ito ay inaasahan pa rin ng kababaihan upang maitaguyod ang pamilya. Ang paglaban ng mga kababaihan at sambayanan para sa mga batayang karapatan ay tinatapatan pa ng represyon, pagkukulong, at stigma mula sa estado. Maraming kababaihan ang ikinulong dahil lamang sa pagkukusang ipatampok at ipaglaban ang mga karapatan. Umaatikabo rin ang seksismo, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia at iba pang mapang-aping gawi at wika sa kasarian sa ating mga tahanan, sa lugar-paggawa, sa kalsada, sa mga online na espasyo, at maging sa ating pamahalaan. Isinusulong din ang Charter Change na malinaw naman ang tunguhing pangungurakot at pagpapalawig ng politikal na kapangyarihan ng mga nagpapanukala nito. Malinaw ang hinaing ng kababaihan at taumbayan: abot-kamay na basic social services, hindi Charter Change! Dagdag sahod, regularisasyon, at murang bilihin, hindi Charter Change! Kasabay ng nagpapatuloy na karahasan sa kababaihan at taumbayan sa ating bansa ay ang nangyayaring genocide sa Palestine, digmaan sa Ukraine, at paniniil at pagkitil ng buhay sa maraming bansa. Ginagamit din ang pang-aabusong seksuwal bilang taktika sa pag-api sa mga kababaihan, kabataan, at LGBTQIA+. Hindi na maarok ang kalapastanganang ito sa buhay.
Ang Araw ng Kababaihang Anakpawis at ang Buwan ng Kababaihan ay panahon ng pagtindig para wakasan ang lahat ng uri ng karahasan at diskriminasyon. Kaya’t sa kaliwa’t kanang krisis, mapangahas na nananawagan ang komunidad ng UP Diliman: I-PHASE OUT ANG MGA PAHIRAP SA MASA! Labanan ang lahat ng uri ng karahasan at diskriminasyong nakabatay sa kasarian! Itigil ang pagkitil sa buhay! Itaguyod ang mapagkalingang lipunan!
Magbalik-tanaw at matuto sa mahalagang papel ng kababaihan sa pagtataguyod ng isang lipunang malaya sa lahat ng uri ng karahasan at diskriminasyon. Balikan ang mga itinaguyod nina Kerima Tariman, Liliosa Hilao, at marami pang kababaihan sa kasaysayan. Pahalagahan ang kababaihan sa sining at panitikan, sa pananaliksik, gawaing pangkomunidad, ang gawaing gender and development (o GAD), at aktibismo. Tumindig para sa buhay at mapagkalingang komunidad para sa lahat.
Babae, Tuloy Ang Arangkada!
#BuwanNgKababaihan2024
#AbanteBabae
#JeepneyPhaseoutIbasura
#EndGBV
#UpholdHumanRights
#FreePalestine
#CeasefireNow
#NotoChacha”
A community calendar was also initiated by the UP Diliman Gender Office to support the initiatives and publicity of all the units, offices, and organizations that have planned activities to celebrate the UPD Women’s Month. A whopping 57 activities were gathered from all over UP Diliman this year. The events that were conducted were a variety of fora, social media campaigns, art exhibits, film screenings, and service-oriented activities like health consultations and free screenings. The calendar was printed and posted outside Benton Hall. The UPD GAD Committee members also vowed to support each other’s campaigns and events through social media postings and attendance. A sublimation banner was also printed and posted alongside the calendar with the call: “”Women United Can Never Be Defeated!”. The UPD Community Calendar was also posted online and is accessible in this link: https://www.facebook.com/
A half-day “Libreng Sakay” was also initiated, spearheaded by UPDGO, in celebration of UPD Women’s Month and as a show of solidarity with the plight of Jeepney drivers against jeepney phaseout. One Ikot and one Toki jeepneys were dressed up with posters, ribbons, and banners stipulating sectoral and gender calls.
