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SERYE BABAE: Agenda ng kababaihan, iniindak kontra ChaCha

Ni Nuel M. Bacarra

Naging makulay ang kahabaan ng España sa Maynila sa paggunita ng Internasyunal na Araw ng Kababaihang Anakpawis noong nakaraang Biyernes, Marso 8. Naging dominante sa araw na ito ang kulay rosas at lila na kasuotan ng iba’t ibang grupo ng kababaihan mula sa iba’t iba ring sektor ng lipunan. Makukulay rin maging ang mga istrimer at plakard na nagpapahayag ng kanilang mga panawagan at kahingian.

Nagsimula silang magtipon bago mag-alas otso ng umaga. Habang hinihintay ang mga kasamahan nila, panay na ang kuhanan ng litrato. Matamang inaayos ang trak na gagamiting entablado sa programa at may mga nag-eensayo na ng mga talumpati.

Nang sinimulan ang programa, okupado na ng mga raliyista ang halos kalahati ng kalsada sa direksyon patungong Quiapo o ang papuntang timog na bahagi. Sa kanto ng España at kalye dela Fuente ang unang programa na bagaman maikli ay naglinaw na antimano ng kanilang mga usaping nais nilang patampukin sa paggunita ng Internasyunal na Araw ng Kababaihang Anakpawis: kabuhayan, karapatan, kasarinlan, hindi charter change.

Ang martsa ng kababaihan sa Maynila noong Marso 8, 2024. (Larawan ni N. Bacarra/Kodao)

Isyu ng bayan

Hindi alintana maging ng nakatatanda ang pusikit na init ng araw na nakipag-sabayan sa mga manggagawa at empleyado at nakababatang estudyante at kabataan sa hanay ng mga demonstrador. At bakit nga ba hindi? Kaisa ang kanilang tinig pagdating sa usapin ng paggigiit ng umento sa sahod. Ang ₱610 kada araw na sahod ng mga manggagawa ay kulang ng halos ₱520 upang matugunan ang kabuuang pangangailangan ng isang lima-kataong pamilya sa isang araw. Ang nakabubuhay na sahod ay malabong ibigay ng rehimeng Marcos Jr. na ang tingin ay nakatuon sa pagratsada ng Charter Change o ChaCha.

Ang kawalan ng pagtataas ng sahod ay higit na mas mahirap sa kababaihan na kalahati ng kabuuang populasyon ng Pilipinas na siyang may pasan ng usapin ng pagbababadyet para sa buong pamilya. Kaya giit nila na sa halip na baguhin ang konstitusyon, dapat asikasuhin ang tumitinding suliranin ng mababang sahod, kawalang-trabaho at kahirapan. Marami ang nasasadlak sa mga impormal na trabaho ng pag-raket sa online selling at iba pa para lamang maka-agapay kahit paano sa mataas na presyo ng mga bilihin o makipagsapalaran sa ibang bansa kahit iwanan ang pamilya.

Ang panawagan ng kababaihan sa Internasyunal na Araw ng Kababaihang Anakpawis. (Larawan ni N. Bacarra/Kodao)

Hindi nararamdaman ng mamamayan ang serbisyo publiko na dapat ay pangunahing tungkulin ng gubyerno. Kinakaharap nila buwan-buwan ang mataas na bayarin sa kuryente, tubig, pamasahe at iba pa. Bawal ang pagkakasakit.

Malaking usapin sa kababaihang magbubukid at sa buong pamilya nila ang kawalan at kakulangan sa lupa para makaagapay sa pag-abandona ng gubyerno sa pagpapaunlad ng lokal na produksyon na lalo pinalala ng kontra-insurhensiyang programa ng pamahalaan sa kanayunan. Buo-buong komunidad ang dumaranas kapwa ang mga magsasaka at pambansang minorya ng pagtataboy sa kanila sa kanilang lupain dahil sa mga operasyon ng mamalaking pagmimina, plantasyon at iba pang proyektong pang-imprastruktura ng gubyerno mismo.

Tawag ng paglaban

Ang mga usaping ito ay hindi simpleng hinihingi sa kinauukulan. Nakikibaka ang kababaihang anakpawis dahil ang sistemang malakolonyal at malapyudal ay isang sistemang dapat baguhin sa pamamagitan ng pakikibaka kasama ng iba’t ibang sektor ng lipunan laluna hindi sa pamamagitan ng pagbago ng saligang batas. Marami nang naging martir na kababaihan dahil sa pakikibaka. Sa kasalukuyan nga ay 20.5% ng 799 na mga bilanggong pulitikal sa buong bansa ay mga babae na marami ay may mga sakit at matatanda na rin.

Mula España hanggang Morayta, ipinakita nila ang pagkakaisa at isinisigaw ang kanilang mga kahingian. Nagsisayaw ang kani-kanilang mga lider masa sa saliw ng tugtog na kontra-ChaCha. Ngunit ang Morayta ay hindi España. Maluwag ang kalsada sa mapayapang pagmamartsa nila sa kahabaan ng España. Pagtuntong sa Morayta, ang init ng pakikibaka ay tumindi dahil sa nakabalandra na ang ilang suson ng kapulisan sa parehong pakpak ng daan patungong Mendiola.

Ang mga kababaihang matapang na humarap sa mga naghaharang na pulis. (Larawan ni N. Bacarra/Kodao)

Pakiusapan. Tulakan. Negosasyon. Subalit ang hangganan ay iginuhit ng malalaking trak para hindi na makaabante ang mga demonstrador. Bagamat ganito, itinuloy ng mga mga demonstrador ang programa na may sangkap na mga kultural na pagtatanghal. Bawat tagapagsalita ay naglilinaw ng mga isyung kinakaharap ng sektor at ng buong samabayanan at ang mga dahilan kung bakit kailangang tutulan ang niraratsadang pagbago ng konstitusyon.

Tumining ang tindig ng kababaihan kontra-ChaCha. Naging malinaw ang mga dahilan bakit nais itong isalaksak sa mamamayan. Ang mga diumanong pang-ekonomyang probisyong nais na maging bahagi ng konstitusyon ay dikta ng dayuhan. Ibubuyangyang nang lalo ang likas na yaman ng bansa at ang buong kalupaan sa neoliberal na imperyalistang imposisyon at maniobra na siyang adyenda ng dayuhan sa pagbago ng konstitusyon. Pero ang ekstensyon ng termino ng mga pulitiko kabilang na ang mga nasa tuktok ng kapangyarihang pampulitika ay maaaring ilusot sa pamamagitan ng pandaraya, manipulasyon at pagbubuhos ng pondo para sa higit na panlilinlang.

Kinatigan ng Konggreso ang opinyon ng election lawyer na si Atty. Romulo Makalintal na ang pagsasabay ng plebesito sa mid-term election sa 2025 ay ‘di-konstitusyunal dahil ang pagbago ng konstitusyon ay dapat idaan sa isang plebisito at hindi sa isang eleksyon batay na rin sa naunang desisyon ng Korte Suprema.

Batid ito ng kababaihan at nakakasa sila para muli’t muling labanan ang anumang hakbang ng Kongreso na siyang matigas ang pusisyon para sa ChaCha.

Ang pagkilos ay idineklara nilang tagumpay at muli nilang paghahandaan ang mga serye pa ng laban para sa kinbabukasan ng bansa. Handa ang kababaihan sa mga hamon ng pakikibaka at sasayaw silang muli sa bawat tagumpay na likha ng kanilang pakikibaka para sa mamamayang Pilipino. #

Nanay Mameng

Mother Mameng delves deep into the character of a woman who has experienced extreme poverty and domestic violence and rose from from it all to become the beloved personality, well-known to the Philippine mass movement.

Written and directed by Adjani Arumpac and produced by Kodao Productions, this 2012 bio-docu was the Gawad Urian Best Documentary that year.

Carmen Deunida passed away due to old age last July 19, still the beloved icon of the urban poor movement in the Philippines. (Featured artwork by Tom Estrera.)

‘No VAT on Pad’ protests prompt Bangladesh government to remove proposed tax

Hefty tax on sanitary pads called “disgraceful” and “anti-women”

By Pantha Rahmanrez / Translated by Rezwan

BANGLADESH–In June 2019, activists in Nigeria demonstrated over their government’s intention to reinstate a tax on sanitary pads in the 2019/2020 budget. Last year, amidst protests, India removed a controversial tax on sanitary pads, which was introduced in 2017. Now, Bangladesh joins the global debate on period poverty.

Recent protests called for a halt to the proposed 40 percent value-added tax (VAT) and supplementary duties on imported raw materials of sanitary napkins in the country’s new budget. Locally made pads are already subject to a 15 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) on the shelf price, so additional taxes on the imported ingredients would make these products out of reach for many — even those already using hygienic disposable pads.

Amidst calls to break the silence and widespread use of the slogan “No VAT on Pad”, the Bangladesh government, in an unprecedented move, scrapped the proposed tax hike on feminine products — but that doesn’t mean they are now affordable for women in Bangladesh.

The period taboo

In rural Bangladesh, women’s periods are still a taboo subject. Because menstruation is deemed impure, this imposes many restrictions on what women can do and where they can go. Even women who can afford these products rarely buy them at regular shops, mostly out of embarrassment.

According to 2014 Bangladesh National Hygiene Baseline Survey, during their menstruation cycle, 40 percent of girls miss school, for a median of three days a month.

Many girls miss school during their period. Photo by Firoze Ahmed, via Demotix.

Prohibitive costs

According to a report by the non-profit SNV Bangladesh, over 89 per cent of Bangladesh’s 78.4 million women still use old clothes or rags, as many cannot afford disposable sanitary napkins.

The annual market worth of the sanitary napkin industry (including adult diapers) in Bangladesh is around 3 billion Taka (US $35.5 million), 90 percent of which is supplied by local manufacturers. The per-packet price of sanitary napkins is 100-160 Taka (US $1.25-$2), so many in rural areas cannot afford them.

The cost of pads has remained high because of the need to pay existing customs and regulatory duties on the foreign-sourced raw materials needed for local assembly.

According to some manufacturers, the scrapping of the proposed increase in tax, however, won’t impact the current price. If the 15 percent value-added tax at the shelves is scrapped, manufacturers say, then the price will come down.

Old clothes or rags as alternatives

Many women are not aware of the health risks of reusing old clothes instead of sanitary napkins. The 2014 National Hygiene Survey discovered that embarrassment and lack of affordability contribute to women resorting to reusing rags and other available alternatives.

Noting that the use of rags instead of pads increases women’s health risk, Facebook user Shamima Islam explained that 73 percent of Bangladeshi women suffer from urinary tract and vaginal infections — which can lead to cancer — all because of a lack of menstrual hygiene.

Students of Rajshani University form a human chain June 29 demanding the scrapping of value added tax on sanitary pads. (The Daily Star through Global Voices)

On Facebook, Shahriar Shuvo recommended not only getting rid of the tax, but also introducing subsidies for sanitary napkins:

We have duty-free car facilities for our ministers and members of parliament. However, we impose 40 percent tax/VAT on essential menstrual hygiene products for women.

“Not only should the taxes be scrapped, I demand subsidies for these products to make them affordable to most women.”

Different sections of people also went offline and took to the streets to protest. Here in this video, a small section of university students are seen protesting the increase, forming a human chain in Dhaka’s Shahbag area:

Bangladeshi doctor, Sakia Haque, who traveled to all 64 districts of the country raising awareness about reproductive health and hygiene among schoolgirls, commented on the issue:

“[During my travels] I requested that every girl should use disposable sanitary pads instead of unhygienic cloths during menstruation. What can I say to them now?

“For those who were earning a mere 2,000-3,000 Bangladeshi Takas (US $25-$38) per month, disposable pads were a luxury. And now?”

On a feminist website called Nari (Women), Puspita Mondol shared a story about visiting a childhood friend in the Ashulia township near the capital, Dhaka:

“She (my friend) worked in a ready-made garment factory along with her husband. I realized it was the time for my period and I did not have sanitary pads with me. I asked her and she said that she doesn’t use (disposable) sanitary pads. So we went out to buy these. Usually, these are available in local pharmacies. I went to several pharmacies, and they didn’t have sanitary napkins on their shelves. The shopkeepers told me that they don’t keep the product on the shelves as (almost) no one buys them. I was immensely surprised as this is an industrial area where many women work. Nobody uses (disposable) pads! Maybe because of the high price, these workers cannot afford them and want to save money.”

Part of the challenge in making feminine products accessible is changing cultural norms. For women to realize their right to affordable supplies in order to stay healthy, menstruation must be seen as natural and normal. In an op-ed in the Daily Prothom Alo, Mohammad Syed Bin Abdullah, a law student at Dhaka University, said that a civil awareness movement is what’s needed to make the government keep the cost of supplies down, so that feminine hygiene product will finally be affordable for all Bangladeshi women. #

(This article was first published by Global Voices, an international and multilingual community of bloggers, journalists, translators, academics, and human rights activists. It is republished by Kodao as part of a content sharing agreement.)

One Billion Rising 2019 condemns abuse of women and children

Women’s groups Gabriela and Babae Ako, along with other progressive organizations gathered for the annual One Billion Rising (OBR) 2019 at Rajah Sulayman Park in Manila last February 16.

With the theme “Rise, Resist, Unite! Labanan ang abuso sa Babae, Bata at Bayan”, the event condemned what it called the Rodrigo Duterte administration’s misogynist and tyrannical attacks against women and people.

According to Gabriela, OBR 2019 was part of the continuing global campaign to end violence against women and to show solidarity with women from all around the world who are rising and raging against all forms of violence against women, especially those perpetrated by the state.

Through street dancing and protest, the groups vowed to intensify their struggle for women’s dignity, democracy and people’s welfare. (Video by Joseph Cuevas)

Human rights groups slam woman’s strip search

By April Burcer

Various human rights groups are calling for the investigation of the reported strip search of a female drug suspect in a police station in Makati City that went viral last week.

Gabriela and Karapatan released separate statements condemning the act as despicable, cruel and degrading.

“What the Makati Police did to the arrested drug suspects was despicable, including the act of doing a strip search on a woman and having her bend over in front of the male and female police officers. This is another case of abuse of police authority to trample upon the rights of the oppressed,” Gabriela said.

Karapatan also said that the superiors of those involved “should be investigated as well to look into their accountability, considering the principle of command responsibility under the said law.”

Both groups are calling for the investigation of the incident and to hold the involved police officers accountable, and should be meted out with punishment under the Anti-Torture Law.

Makati City police chief Rogelio Simon, however, claimed that the video was just a demo and that the drug suspect involved consented to the procedure because of monetary benefits.

The Commission on Human Rights also launched its own investigation of the case and categorizes this as a form of psychological torture, which is prohibited under Republic Act (RA) No. 9745 or the Anti-Torture Act signed in 2009.

Culture of torture

The incident was not an isolated case according to Karapatan as the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) also conducted strip searches of drug suspects during its so-called Greyhound operations in jail facilities in the region in May 2017.

“Despite these previous incidents, the practice continues. It is lamentable and infuriating that strip search is considered as “standard operating procedure” by the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP),” Karapatan’s statement said.

The practice should have been deemed illegal because of the Anti-Torture Law but authorities think that such acts are justifiable as long as they do it according to the guidelines and manual of operations, the group added.

Gabriela, on the other hand, blames this culture of “disrespect  and disregard of women’s rights” on President Rodrigo Duterte, ading  “it is not surprising that the fascist and anti-women culture among the police and the military also increases. “

In fact, even with the Anti-Torture Law, Karapatan has documented 248 victims of torture under the Benigno S. Aquino III administration and 94 victims of torture within the two years of the Duterte regime.

Gabriela is also appealing to other women who were victims of police abuse to come out and reveal whatever human rights injustices they have suffered in the hands of the police and military. #