Notes from Women's Month

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor NANETTE L. GUADALQUIVER Busines Editor ERIC T. LORETIZO Sports Editor (On Leave) RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

Despite oft-quoted jokes about women in the Philippines being more equal than the men, studies and statistics coming out, including those from the United Nations, show that Filipino women still have not attained that parity with men that other countries take for granted.

This is ironical, because the Philippines is one of the few countries in Asia, and perhaps even in the world, that has elected two women as presidents and has, today, a very big percentage of women occupying important offices, both in the government and in the private sector. We have several women as cabinet members, as congress representatives, as senators, as local government executives, as judges, and even as justices of the highest courts.

The United Nations study, undertaken as part of the celebration of international Women's Month, revealed that the Philippines did poorly in various areas testing their equality with men. It cited discriminatory practices and social conditions against Filipino women, like workplace conditions, inadequate laws to protect them, media bias, inadequate health care, the absence of a divorce law, and the influence of a conservative Catholic Church.

There were some good points noted, such as the rise of the literacy rate in the country where women outdid men by having an 86.3 rating compared to the 81.9 of men. Another was the record of women in the past three years of having 65 percent of them passing government professional government examinations. Even in the number of overseas foreign workers sending back remittances to their home country, 51 percent are women.

There have been enacted by Congress some laws in recent years intended to benefit women, but there is still much to be desired in their implementation. Hopefully, the next few years will see their application to the problems of women improve.

One interesting note in the study, however, is the recognition that poverty is still regarded as the main reason that prevents Filipino women from enjoying more equality with men in this country. And so the vicious cycle goes on, still with the predictable villain, Poverty.*