By Atty. Farah G. Decano

           

IT is sad, indeed, that the status of women in the Philippines has taken a downhill trend according to a recent Philippine Commission Women report.

Our country has tried various strategies for the empowerment of women:  Women In Development in the early seventies, Women and Development in the early eighties and now, Gender and Development Empowerment and Gender Mainstreaming approaches in the mid-1990s.  While the promotion and protection of women’s rights in the Philippines have consistently improved since the Beijing Conference in 1995, our country experienced a decline beginning 2016. The basis for this account was fewer women were taking decision-making roles.

The Philippines has been actively carving legislations that protect rights of women since 1995.  To name a few, we have the Magna Carta of Women, the Anti-Sexual Harassment law, Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act and the Safe Spaces Act.   Despite these laws and the presence of strong women’s rights organizations, we still encounter a deteriorating condition for women.

What went wrong?

Our continuous exposure to a culture of hatred, violence and ridicule by no less than the President of the Philippines has emboldened the return of chauvinism and misogyny.  The women’s rights movement has been knocked down by this ugly environment.

Women, of course, are resilient.  We want to regain our foothold, our balance and our power.   How do we combat this hatred around us?

I suggest Radical Love.

I know that some people may find the inclusion of love in the issues of human rights, justice, fairness, equality and truth as bit queasy, corny and overly sentimental.  I know that some people think that we should leave the discourse on love to priests and pastors, to families, to the poets, to the romantics and to the broken hearted. Unwittingly, we have applied a binary approach to women’s empowerment.  We address societal concerns of women with public processes while their personal affairs, with private measures.

Please observe however that this binary approach does not stand any chance if exposed to the kind of president-led hatred we are facing now.  Look at the downward trend in our status?

Let us remember one of the women’s battle cry before, “Ang problema ng babae ay problema ng lipunan.”   Hence, the binary approach to women’s issues is not any solution.

Radical love is the bridge between these public and private life aspects of women.  It talks about love being good in both public and personal domain.  Radical love encompasses harmony, forgiveness, understanding, equity, democracy, acceptance, lack of judgment and care.  It is a powerful concept that breaks the divide between the personal and the public in order that we may live as integral human beings.

What are some of the characteristics of radical love?

First, it involves growing from the roots or from the core.  Therefore, it starts with the individual.  Society, in turn, must provide for a milieu wherein radical love may develop.

It is universal. It does not agree to the exclusion of others.  Radical love expects schools, offices and businesses to foster love, unity, gentleness, compassion and teamwork.  It does not promote not ruthless competition.

Radical love is unconditional.  It does not mean unconditional consent to violence.  It is not keeping mum or staying still when action is action is required. It seeks to understand the cause of violence and harshness and addresses it with the same tough love it promotes.

Because radical love requires practice and commitment, society and government must ensure that the proper structures and systems are in place. Through radical love, we will defeat any resistance and transform most individuals from their very core.

Instead of gender, perhaps, it is time we mainstream love in our policies.

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