Introduction
Happy International Women's Month from Project Okibu! From rocket scientists to artists and authors to politicians, Filipino women have played important parts in history and continue to shape the world.
It might surprise a few to learn that pre-colonial Pinoy society actually functioned within a matriarchal framework!
In this article, we would like to highlight just a few of the amazing babaes who have contributed greatly to their respective fields and the diaspora.
Gabriela Silang
"The Filipino Joan of Arc"
Starting the list strong, we have the fierce and strong Gabriela Silang. During the Seven Years' war (1756-1763), the British fought the Spanish and occupied Manila. Within this period, she aided her husband in his attempt to undermine the Spanish regime.
Eventually, her husband was killed, but our heroine was not deterred!
Wielding a bolo, a traditional cutlass-type weapon, she continued to lead the resistance with some of her husband's remaining staff. Gabriela besieged Vigan on the 10th of September 1763 but was sadly unsuccessful.
She was executed alongside her comrades 10 days later.
Geraldine Roman
300 years later and Filipinas are still making big political stands. Geraldine Roman was elected to the Congress of the Philippines in 2016 and has served the people of Bataan since.
She is the first transgender politician to be elected to congress!
Despite not having the worse LGBTQ+ policy in Asia, there is still a lot of work needed before real equality is achieved. Geraldine has made great progress in furthering this cause. In 2022 she authored a bill preventing gender discrimination and sexual orientation discrimination.
Mitzi Jonelle Tan
On the opposite end of political activism is Mitzi Jonelle Tan.
Mitzi is the Co-founder of Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines as well as its spokesperson. Fearless in the face of governmental authority, Mitzi has organised demonstrations and strikes in aid of.... well climate action.
As an intersectional environmental feminist, Mitzi has called attention to the fact that it is not fair for smaller economies to shoulder the weight of climate activism. These aims not only seek to put an end to destructive climate change but also build a world that puts people before profit!
The effects of Mitzi's work have already inspired a lot of youth around globally, such as the up and coming Indonesian youth activist Salsabila Khairunnisa.
Whang-Od
Described as the oldest, and maybe even the 'last' mababatok (a traditional Kalinga tattooist) Whang-od is truly inspirational to any artist. Also known as Maria Oggay, she is still active and keeps this culture and art form alive.
At the grand age of 106, she continues to practice the ancient tattoo art unique to the province of Kalinga. This art form is beautiful in its simplicity, requiring nothing but a bamboo stick, a thorn, some ink and a high pain tolerance.
Traditionally tattoos had to be earned via feats of strength or bravery, giving each painful masterpiece a special significance. However, since the warriors who protected the village have died out, Whang-od now practices her work on tourists.
Angelita Castro-Kelly
An incredibly smart woman, Angelita Kelly was born in 1942. In 1962, she graduated from Santo Tomas university with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and moved to the US where she received her doctorate from the University of Maryland.
Fighting stigmas in both race and gender, she worked for NASA for 12 years.
In 2007, 2008 and 2009, she won the NASA exceptional achievement medal as well as being a recipient of the Astronauts' Manned Flight Program Launch Honouree, along with many other notable achievements. She sadly passed in 2016.
She was truly out of this world!
Women in the Diaspora
The importance of women in the diaspora can not be overstated. The Philippine Statistic Authority has highlighted that around 60% of all overseas workers are women.
Female overseas workers in the UK play a big part in the healthcare industry. Surely we can all relate to having a lola, tita or pinsan worker as a nurse! And it's not surprising seeing as Filipinos represent the third largest ethnic group in the NHS. These women are often the people we look up to the most, having led the way in their pioneering efforts to provide!
Current Nurse Louis Horne has done great work to raise awareness of the role of Nurses in the diaspora, as well as Liezel Long Boan, founder of Tinig UK.
Keishia Quijano
Speaking of women in the diaspora, it would be an oversight to not mention Keisha Quijano.
Kiesha was the winner of Miss Philippines UK 2019, graduating with a bachelor's in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, as well as being the founder of the media business @FilBrit.ish.
She has a passion for sharing and preserving all aspects of Filipino culture and language, not just what is trendy.
Moving forward, Keisha has expressed interest in putting even more time and effort into re-vitalising FilBrit.ish. We look forward to seeing what more she can achieve!
Bibliography
https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/we-are-the-nhs/nursing-careers/international-recruitment/international-nurses-share-their-stories/louie
https://www.stonewall.org.uk/system/files/philippines_global_workplace_briefing_2018.pdf
https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/bitstream/handle/10822/1050770/Pereyra_georgetown_0076M_13959.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
https://www.congress.gov.ph/members/search.php?id=roman-g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPJjQJ1UWn4&ab_channel=DWDocumentary
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1287110/philippines-overseas-workers-gender-distribution/#:~:text=Between%20April%20and%20September%202021,for%20OFWs%20during%20this%20period.
https://psa.gov.ph/statistics/survey/labor-and-employment/survey-overseas-filipinos
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