The troops were assembling, a batallion of women from the communities. The heat of the afternoon sun was merciless, pricking the skin. There I sat next to a battle-weary colleague, a seasoned activist in his thirties. Cool in his shades he says, we should be organising for the nationalisation of the oil industry. Stung, I replied – this isn’t as sexy, but just as important. No such thing as high politics or low politics, to my mind. The battle ground is culture – values, norms, standards. The scale is the micro and gendered politics of the home. At stake are bodies of women and what can and cannot be done with their reproductive functions. What a jaded, unfortunate thing to say, I thought, for someone who’d been at this far longer than I have.
Our purple bandanas were a meagre protection from the sun, but I put one on my head anyway. A lady in a brightly-coloured top was distributing them to rows of six to five. Another colleague looks through the lenses of his camera, documenting the preparations for the short march to the House. Through the scope he scanned the ladies hoisting their brightly-coloured placards. The booming voice of a community leader could be heard among the ranks, practising the chant of the march. I thought, nobody would hear the chanting, but it was probably more for the marchers than for anyone else, to keep energy from flagging.
As with many aspects of this country, the politics of gender is as multi-faceted and conflicted as our democratic process, our national project, our class formations and alliances, our cuisine. A developing country which regularly ranks high in alleviating gender inequality, it nevertheless thrives from the perpetuation of traditional roles of women. Many Filipinas leave their homes only to perform similar domestic roles elsewhere. The only difference is, for mothering young children or caring for the sick and elderly of others, they gain a handsome remuneration. The migrant Filipina’s remittances purchase the labour of other women to take care of those she left behind.
Women’s labour earn most of this country’s foreign exchange, as migrants and as workers in the electronics industry. Women constitute 74 percent of electronics industry workers, amassing more than $27 billion a year in exports for the Philippines. Semiconductors account for over 70 percent of Philippine exports (McKay 2006). In the wet dreams of the foreign investor, the docile Filipina would never think to organise a union as the rent-seeking local government would never think to enforce labour standards. There she sits, quietly assembling the micro parts of the chip, her nimble little fingers and eye for detail put to good use.
The President is a woman, the matriarch of the Philippine household. Reflective of our quasi-feudal society, the fruits of her labour accrue to her husband, her children and their myriad hangers-on. Meanwhile the government she has inherited perpetuates the export of women’s labour of care – nannies, care-givers, nurses, entertainers, teachers, sex workers. She wants to export more than a million this year. Typical of many of this country’s contradictions, a woman wearing the pants in her home leeches blood from the domesticity of other women.
The two o’clock sun reflects heat from the cement road on the way to Batasan. Cars honk their horns in derision or solidarity, I don’t know. Reproductive health always elicits snickers. Apparently it isn’t serious business when a woman has no choice what happens to her own body. But then, a woman constantly pregnant and home-bound is the ultimate expression of Filipino domesticity.
——
McKay S. (2006). “Hard Drives and Glass Ceilings: Gender and Stratification in High-Tech Production.” Gender & Society 20(2), pp 207-35
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Well Congratulations indeed to the women folk.
According to Dr. Romulo A. Virola, of the National Statistics Coordination Board, there is now a very noticeable gender disparity–in women’s favor! They are outperforming men in all three human development metrics: health, education and income.
http://www.nscb.gov.ph/headlines/StatsSpeak/2009/020909_cja_gdi.asp
The statistic is the opposite of that in most other countries.
Manoy Pinoys Unite! It is we who need Liberation! We’ve been under the saya all along and as I have suspected all of my life, they only make us think we are on top. That’s the secret o their Rule!
“We’ve been under the saya all along” -DJB
Speak for yourself! I am the King of the house. With my woman’s consent, that is. I would say Pinoy men are spoiled by their mothers.
But seriously, indeed Filipina women have been empowered since day one of nationhood. We’ve had two lady-presidents and a look at the present Congress: there are 4 Senators out of 24 solons and 40 out of 250 Representatives. Not to say that 3 out 15 Supreme Court justices are women.
Happy International Women’s Day to all members of the fairer kind.
Amen.
Time was when men ran the broadcast newsrooms in the Philippines.
Not anymore.
But now the newscasts are so much ‘ballsier’ and gender sensitive at the same time.
Mabuhay ang mga kababaihang mamamahayag!
“Typical of many of this country’s contradictions, a woman wearing the pants in her home leeches blood from the domesticity of other women.”-caffeine_sparks
Nothing of the sort, the man is still the main breadwinner!
It is now good that women can vote now. In Islamic
society, they are still properties of their husbands.
Look at the countries in the Middle East. They are
not treated well.
Pnoys and Pinays are always adventurous beings.
All wants to get out of the country. We are the
only race, except the Chinese, whose people are
all over the world. The Chinese are restaurant
owners. We are domestic helpers..
great blog spark,
During the spanish colonization, women are second class citizens, glorifying Virgin Mary as their role models. When Philippines was ceded to the US, the intro of public educational system filipina women became professional.
Nowadays, Philippine women are more open minded and would like to replace every male president in office :)
There was also a study that women are less corrupt than men?
Hi sparks,
Congrats on this blog. Hope you could blog also about the pending Magna Carta for Women. It seeks to change for example, worn-out legal concepts, such as adultery could only be committed by women, etc.
In politics, women in our our country still mostly ascend to power mostly by virtue of their family connection — e.g. where would GMA if not for her father, ex-President Diosdado M. or Corazon Aquino, by virtue of being widow of Ninoy Aquino.
@caffiene
“Semiconductors account for over 70 percent of Philippine exports (McKay 2006). In the wet dreams of the foreign investor, the docile Filipina would never think to organise a union as the rent-seeking local government would never think to enforce labour standards. There she sits, quietly assembling the micro parts of the chip, her nimble little fingers and eye for detail put to good use.”
aren’t semiconductor firms good employers?
“There was also a study that women are less corrupt than men?”
Oh yes, but when they corrupt, they corrupt absolutely!
Especially if the man is the main breadwinner.
Interesting post indicating how far we still have to go as a society
http://ricedaddies.blogspot.com/2008/09/philippines-is-nation-full-of-uncle.html