MODULE 4 that they, too, played a part in infertility.

Eventually, societies concluded that the

Lesson 10: Theories on the Origin of Women’s
energy source was the penis, not the womb.
Oppression
• People started believing that males bore the
Conception of Women’s Oppression creative power in which the seed of men
developed inside the female, who served as a
• How did half of the world’s population receptive vessel of life. As male power grew,
systematically discriminate against women? inequality also increased.
o Bears children and mainly raise their
• Women became seen not as active partners
children from infancy and up to their
but only as passive incubators.
early years.
o A source of cultural and emotional Theory 2: Eve and the Other
education for children.
• Western Religion influenced a negative
o Primary task of taking care of the
perception of women.
family (universal caregiving).
o First healer due to their extensive • The Story of Eve – since she is of Adam’s
knowledge of herbs. flesh (rib), she is his equal.
• At some point in all ancient cultures, women • The story shows how a woman had deprived
were hailed as mediators to the gods. humankind of the abundance that the Garden
of Eden had to offer. Ultimately, a woman’s
• Rosalind Miles – a famous feminist writer,
folly brought suffering to men.
journalist, and historian who has researched
the hidden role of women throughout history. • According to Miles, the links fall to the
Compiled theories to discuss the origin of goddess cult to the rise of discriminatory
women’s oppression. treatment against women.
• Women are perceived to be feeble-minded
Theory 1: Goddess Worship to God Worship and of lesser value to men, and ultimately,
women could cause the downfall of great men.
• From ancient civilizations that worshipped the
earth goddess to the male suppression of this Theory 3: A Shift of Production
goddess.
• Women-centric cults existed before the • The shift of production from hunter-gathering
phallocentric cults, a slow and violent process. to agriculture has contributed to the
oppression of women. How? Reproduction
• According to Miles, women were less valued,
became an essential task in society as
and their status was threatened with the
workers needed it. Women had to be watched,
expansion of phallus worship around 1500
protected and controlled.
BC.
• Sexuality had to be overseen so the
• The first gods for early civilization were
community could be assured that the children
women, celebrated and revered for their
they produce would be loyal to the community.
fertility (dating as far as back as 5000 years
ago). • A shift from food production to laborer
production has oppressed women.
• Goddess-Based Social Organization – the
worship of mother goddesses lasted for as
➢ From the various theories above can be
long as people experienced the development
concluded that women’s oppression has
of life as a mystery and a gift. Men realized
 become a complex matter of women’s issue characterized by particular aspects of the
that still deserves to be discussed in the struggle toward emancipation.
present day.
The Western Women’s Movement
➢ Although the feminist movement existed at the
end of the nineteenth century, people still • Exposed the structural inequality faced by
have not accepted the concept of equality women in a particular era.
between men and women to get rights. • Feminism – is a way of looking at the world
➢ The feminist movement still needs to struggle from a woman’s perspective. The patriarchal
to get avowal from people, especially men, nature of society has driven feminism to
that women have equal rights. concern itself with issues about women’s
➢ In the case of oppression done by men’s oppression, with an end goal of liberating
domination, feminism becomes a weapon to women through gender equality.
reach the equality of rights between men and
women. First Wave: Women and Civil Rights
➢ The priority of feminism is to evaluate the • Called for women’s equal rights with men,
status of women and men in social life to focusing on the right to vote.
encourage knowledge for achieving women’s • Originated during the French Revolution –
better life. Parisian women marched to the Paris City Hall
➢ Feminism also encourages the thought and in 1789 to demand the right to cheaper bread.
efforts to create suitable ways to solve the
• The theoretical root is Liberal Feminism.
discrimination and oppression toward women.
Women became articulated their equality with
Lesson 11: The Western Women’s Movement men. This is inspired by the political thoughts
of Kant, Mill, and Rousseau.
Introduction a. Women and the Anti-Slavery
➢ The women’s movement made many Movement
advances in recent history, yet its scope and o The idea that a woman is her
description must be discussed for one to husband’s property may explain
grasp current issues of women and gender the strong connection between
studies truly. This lesson introduces the the women’s liberation
history of the women’s movement, waves, movement and the anti-slavery in
theories, and approaches. the West.
➢ Feminism is a way of looking at the world from o Women had no political voice,
a woman’s perspective. It is a concept and during the 1840 World Anti-
popularized by Western societies, with many Slavery Convention, women
feminist issues articulated by Western- delegates were even made to
educated women and men. listen behind curtains.
➢ It is deeply rooted in the Western idea of o Attendees like Lucretia Mott and
liberal democracy and the philosophy of equal Elizabeth Cady Stanton say this
rights for all as defined by thinkers such as is similar to women’s situation
Kant and Mill. The evolution of the Western with enslaved people.
women’s movement in recent history can be b. Women’s Right to Vote
summarized in three waves, each o Participants in the first wave of
the women’s emancipation
 movement fought for the right to Lesson 12: Women in the Philippines
vote, equal opportunity for
Introduction
employment and commerce, and
the right to education. ➢ The history of women in our society should be
o Seneca Falls Convention – the examined to understand the unique situation
first women’s rights convention in of women in the Philippines. The Philippine
New York City in 1848. Produced situation is unique as it is rooted in the
the Declaration of Sentiments country's colonial history. The actual condition
and eventually led to what would of pre-Spanish women in the Philippines can
be known as the suffrage be reflected in the practices of the indigenous
(suffragette) movement. peoples and the testimonies of Spanish
chronicles. These sources indicate a genuine
Second Wave
measure of women during the pre-Spanish
• Rooted in the movements of liberation in the period.
1960s and 1970s and the heightened feminist
The Pre-colonial Philippines
consciousness.
• Socialist Feminist – believes that women are • There was no discrimination between
opposed in all aspects of their lives, not only sons and daughters, and parents took
in the economic part. Women’s subjugation is pride in their children. All children are
rooted in the concept of having a equal in terms of inheritance.
monogamous family, and monogamous • All children are educated equally, and
women are confined in their homes and each takes an active role in society
discouraged from participating in productive when they grow up.
labor. • Marriages were arranged, and the
groom paid the wife's family a dowry.
• Radical Feminism – sought to ensure
The woman kept her name, and if she
women’s differences from men were was exceptionally meritorious, the
recognized and celebrated. Came about as a husband took her name. Spouses are
reaction to the lack of attention given to sex viewed as equal partners in marriage.
and sexuality in the women’s struggle. • Divorce was available, and both had
Third Wave equal rights to property and children.
o Sexual inhibitions regarding
• Shifted focus to include the needs of women virginity in marriage were not
from developing countries in light of the effect universally valued; sex
of globalization and neoliberalist economic education was prescribed
policies. duty of mothers to daughters
(Code of Kalantiaw).
• Call for feminism that embraced the plurality
o Women were free to exercise
of women’s experience. their reproductive decisions,
• Deemed to be more inclusive, as voices from with abortion an option.
post-colony and post-socialist countries were o Women played an essential
involved in the movement. role in the economy.
o Babaylan – individuals who
hold special knowledge or
can converse with spirits.
 Supposedly chosen by the 2. The women's involvement in these
hearts and given special movements gave them liberties and roles that
powers to engage the were traditionally denied to them.
unseen beings of nature. A 3. The goals and objectiveness of these
culture bearer, priestess, and movements were valid for and essential to a
myth keeper healing one's smaller or significant section of Filipino
body, soul, and relationship women.
with the spirits and nature.
The Birth of Militant Groups with a Feminist
Hispanic Period Agenda
• Spanish clergy saw early Filipinas as too • Revolutionary groups that emerged in the
sensuous and free with their behavior but 1960s and 1970s were associated with the
were appreciated for being intelligent, strong- communist and socialist movements.
willed, and practical.
• Friars admonished women to remain pure. The Nationalist and Militant Movements
• Women were taught to avoid sin by being • Believed that the only way to achieve equality
chaste, not vain, dressing modestly, keeping in society was to liberate the nation from
busy at home, and self-sacrificing. exploiting the elite and the United States.
• Spaniards created a woman who was only
active at home and withdrawn from the public Militant Groups:
sphere.
1. MAKIBAKA – Malayang Kilusan ng Bagong
• Filipinas were reduced to an instrument for Kababaihan. A group of student activists
propagating the colonial system and showed that the root of women's problems lay
producing the next generation to ensure its
in feudalism, capitalism, and colonialism.
survival. 2. PILIPINA – Kilusan ng Kababaihang Pilipino.
• Maria Clara – the embodiment of a Filipina Focused on mainstreaming women's
during the Spanish Era. A sweet, docile, concerns in the transformation of society.
obedient, self-sacrificing woman. 3. KALAYAAN – Katipunan ng Kababaihan Pasa
• Logia de Adoption – an 1890s masonic lodge sa Kalayaan. I have worked within the national
of intellectual women with anti-Spanish liberation plan to ensure that the women's
sentiments. liberation issues were not made secondary in
American Period the movement.
4. SAMAKA – Samahand Makabayan ng
• From 1900 to the 1920s, most women's Kabataang Pilipina. A women’s group from the
groups furthered the presence of women in University of the Philippines.
the public sphere by focusing on charity work 5. GABRIELA – General Assembly Binding
and social services. Women for Reforms, Integrity, Equality,
• Men had primarily done decision-making at Leadership, and Action. A political party
top levels in all these movements. focusing on women.

Three Insights (American Period to Martial Law): Ten Filipinas Who Advanced Modern Feminism in
the Country
1. Movements were begun and dominated by
men 1. Leticia Ramos-Shahani – a former Senator,
chairperson of the National Commission on
the Role of Filipina Women, country
 representative to the first Commission on the
Status of Women, and one of the women who
spearheaded and solely drafted CEDAW.
2. Patricia Benitez-Licuanan – a former
chairperson of CHED, National Commission
on the Role of Filipina Women, Commission
on the Status of Women, Main Committee
Fourth World Conference of Women, and co-
founder of the Asia Pacific Women's Watch,
the convener of the Asia-Pacific NGO Forum.
3. Teresita Quintos-Delez – a peace advocate,
former chair, and co-founder of Coalition for
Peace, National Peace Conference.
4. Sister Mary John Mananzan, OSB – a feminist
activist, former GABRIELA chairperson, and
former president of St. Scholastica's College.
One of the top 100 Inspiring People in the
World in 2011.
5. Sister Christine Tan – first Filipina to head the
Philippine Province of the Religious of the
Good Shepherd.
6. Joi Barrios (Maria Josephine Barrios) – a
famous poet, actress, scriptwriter, and
activist. Her works include To Be A Woman is
to Live at A Time of War.
7. Lorena Barros – one of the founders of
MAKIBAKA.
8. Raisa Jajurie – an advocate of Muslim
women's rights. Founded Nisa Ul-Haqq fi
Bangsamoro (women for Justice in the
Bangsamoro).
9. Roselle Ambubuyog – first visually-impaired
Filipina summa cum laude. She was granted
a full scholarship at the Ateneo de Manila
University for a bachelor's degree in
Mathematics.
10. Rosa Henson – a comfort woman. Her
autobiography Comfort Women: Slave of
Destiny was published in 1992. She joined
Hukbalahap in the WW2.