In celebration of women

By Marifi Jara

I am a feminist.  But that absolutely does not mean I hate men.

I love books by women writers, for example, but my top five favorite authors are all men: Irish Frank McCourt, Columbian Gabriel Garcia Marquez, global wanderer Pico Iyer and our very own Eric Gamalinda and Francisco “Manong Frankie” Sionil Jose from Rosales town here (not necessarily in that ranking).

I am proud that we are one of a few countries to have two women presidents, but I must say former President Corazon Aquino and GMA are not among my heroes.

At work, I have always found male bosses easier to cope with than women.

And at home, where I grew up with two brothers, I have always found it easier to understand my dad than my mom.

I wouldn’t want to go into the nitty-gritty of explaining why and how come.

What I am simply trying to say is, being a feminist does not necessarily mean being partial to women. That is a myth that still loops around feminism, even here in the Philippines where I believe women essentially enjoy their rightful place in society as compared with still many African countries and conservative Islamic nations.

And now that we are celebrating Women’s Month all over the world, it is a good time to stop for a while and draw our thoughts into some of our conventional understanding.

The concept – or we can call it a movement, or a theory even- of feminism has evolved from securing basic rights for women and their equal opportunities with men to a more fundamental cause towards self-fulfillment. Talk of feminism does not have to involve comparison with or in relation to men. Women in themselves are self-determining.

While there still exists a faction of radical feminism that practically believes that the world is better off without the male species, at the core of modern feminism is building up women as principal movers per se.

And I am glad that this is reflected in our celebration of Women’s Month.

KALIPI, our social workers, and local government officers deserve special recognition for focusing their efforts in developing the entrepreneurial skills and opening livelihood options for our women.

Productive women, in terms of the traditional roles in managing the family and home as well as the progressive position of contributing to family finances, develop a deeper sense of self-esteem. And it does help keep them away from the nasty habit of chismisan or the more disastrous evil of boredom.

Cheers to us women! And cheers too to the men who understand and respect women!

“Remember, no one can make you feel inferior without your consent,” the late American First Lady Eleonor Roosevelt once said.

(Readers may reach columnist at marifijara@gmail.com. For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/roots/
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