Skip to main content

Hey kids, did you know?

About a hundred years ago, Filipino women couldn't vote. Only men could cast votes in Philippine elections. Men were making choices and electing into office other men whose decisions would impact on the lives of men, women and children alike. And women didn't have a say in this -- at least not officially.

Today, not only can we vote, we have women in senate and in congress. We have women governing our provinces, cities and barangays. Two female presidents so far. Maybe not all of these women improved the lives of the majority of Filipino women. But each of them represents widening possibilities for women's leadership and participation in politics. They are part of a chain of historical transformations in the Philippines, beginning with the women's right to vote.

The great-grandmothers of my generation worked hard to make this happen. They campaigned around the country, rallied the women, convinced husbands, debated and negotiated with gatekeepers and the powers that be. One of them was my Lola Pilar.

There were times I took this gift from our Lola Suffragettes for granted and neglected the responsibility that came with it.

But as I grow up I feel more and more strongly that it's important to cast that vote -- no matter how useless it might seem at times. Voting is an act of optimism that says, We can do this. We can make things work.

When they're ready, I'm going to tell my daughters: Girls, don't even think about wasting your vote. That is sooo last century!

This Women's Month I am paying tribute to the connections and relationships that have given us voice and the power of choice.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Good mother, good academic?

I wrote this four years ago. The struggle remains the same, so yes, publish. And god, I so want to be over this dilemma. 2016. Yesterday I was proofreading my manuscript at home when the Little Big Boss came over crying. I had to put my pen down and console her. She didn't want to leave my lap so we compromised. We put her play doh on the table and I tried to work while she played. It went smoothly -- for about five minutes! Haha! The Artist in Residence is familiar with this scene. Starting when she was eight years old, she had to come along with me to academic conferences. She'd stay in her chair reading, or drawing and writing in her notebooks. People praised her and commented on how she was remarkably well-behaved. I had no idea just how remarkable her ability to sit still and focus was, until the Little Big Boss came along. With this one, sitting together quietly for a stretch of time is a much bigger challenge. The things that kept the Artist content at conference...

Lola of Maipon

It's all too easy to fall asleep under the blanket of everyday life and to smother dreams with the mundane things I surround myself with. But once in a while, along comes a sparkling vision that jolts me out of my daily sleep and reminds me of the existence of convictions and worlds so different from my own. "Our beloved LOLA of Guinubatan, Maipon, Albay is the last true messenger of God. So, let us follow her holy teachings so that we will gain TRUE SALVATION without sufferings and without death." In another story I, the intrepid heroine, the adventurer seduced by mysteries, the pilgrim in search of truth, would follow them back to Guinubatan from Session Road, thirsting to see and hear their Lola for myself. However, it's all too easy -- much safer! -- to fall back asleep under the blanket of everyday life, and to smother dreams with the mundane things I surround myself with. Then along comes 9 a.m., and really, it's time to down the dregs of coffee at the bott...

Cordillera Folktales and Story-telling

It was cold and wet outside on the day of the launching of The Golden Arrow of Mt. Makilkilang and other Cordillera Folktales . But inside Mt. Cloud Bookshop we were warmed by stories read and performed by the Aanak di Kabiligan community theater group. Storytelling on a stormy afternoon. Paco Paco. A Benguet story from the book, published by the Cordillera Green Network. Aanak di Kabiligan means children of the mountains. The theater group was born out of the Cordillera Green Network's eleven years of conducting workshops in which children transform their grandparents' stories into theater productions. Here they perform the title story of the Golden Arrow of Mt. Makilkilang and Other Cordillera Folktales.