"Now you can participate as a whole person"
The women's movement in the
Philippines used to be dominated by the hypercentralised policies of the
Communist Party of the
Philippines (CPP). After a difficult period of discussions, crises and splits, a number of post-
CPP groups have integrated ideas and practices from
"new social movements,"
the ", particularly feminism. Penny
Duggan discusses this process with Fatima (People's
Communist Party in
Mindanao), Luisa and Mila
(Revolutionary Workers'
Party in Visayaz), and Lorena
(Marxist-Leninist
Organisation of Luzon).
IV: What issues have women mobilised around?
Mila: In the recent past the women's movement has been initiated and led by the
[Communist] Party. But recently, due also
8 International Viewpoint March 1996 to international influences, a number of women's organisations like Gabriela have taken up the question of sex trafficking Another issue which has developed into a campaign which has been adopted by Gabriela and other women's organisations such as Asian Women for Human Rights is the question of the 'comfort women'. These are women who were forced into prostitution by the Japanese occupation forces during World War II. Their organisation is called Lola ['Grandmother'] Filipina. Those women still alive are all grandmothers now. They are fighting for justice, and compensation. The main political significance of their campaign is the exposure of the extent and effects of fascism, especially against women, during World War Il.
They also agitate around sexploitation and sex-trafficking of women today, but most of their work is still at the level of institutions. There is not yet a strong women's protest movement against sextrafficking. Beijing did not produce any solid results for women's interests and organising in the Philippines.
1V: Have the prostitutes from around the former US bases articulated any demands?
That they should be included in the reconversion programmes, or receive other help or treatment?
Fatima: Batis and other organisations of prostitutes attend to the rights and welfare of the base prostitutes. They tried, unsuccessfully, to have themselves included in the remit of the priorities for the US bases conversion plan. These are not really very big organisations. They're linked to NGOs. Prostitutes are working for themselves for health reasons. It's not really a feminist movement
We are not the only people who help prostitutes organise! One priest, in particular, has organised prostitutes to defend themselves as prostitutes. Not to be forced to perform painful or sadomasochistic acts. To force their clients to use condoms, and so on.
IV: What are your various parties doing?
Mila: The general tendency has been for the Party to organise women work around general political issues to isolate the class enemy. And then on the specific political objective of organising women to perform revolutionary tasks. So perhaps that's the reason why there's no strong women's movement which takes up the concrete questions of women in a sustained way.
Lorena: The Party conception is that, by working with the peasant sector on the struggle for agrarian reform or working with workers fighting for higher wages, benefits, better working conditions, and nationalist industrialisation, you improve conditions for the whole class. There is perhaps less attention to the gender questions that are particular to women within these classes.
Our political movement has tried to protect or to promote women's rights alongside the people's struggle, the people's revolution. In our view, of course, there has to be a balance between political and gender questions. But today we have come to realise the need for a socialist feminist movement, impregnated with the particular character of the Philippines as a people.
The struggle for national liberation, and beyond that, for socialism, will not automatically resolve all problems of gender oppression, unless gender oppression is consciously studied and oppressed. Gender liberation cannot be achieved without the radical transformation of the entire society. So in
Women and political organisations * tackling the women's problem we consider that there has to be radical change within the Philippine society.
In taking up gender questions, we should look in particular at oppressed and exploited women such as peasant and working class women and all the other marginalised groups of women.
We have just founded Sorilaya, a new socialist feminist peasant organisation. Over the next year we will be organising sectoral organisations, working closely with peasant organisations and developing projects that will help women and children in their communities, such as livelihood projects, child care, socio-economic projects, and education classes for the children. For example, if there are sexual harassment cases among peasant women, among the workers, Sorilaya will struggle along with them.
Luisa: We work in "Women," an organisation of working women and urban poor women. For March 8 we are planning for an action which will focus on the plight of women who are being laid off as a result of the Philippine 2000 programme. What we want to see is an action or a solid mass women's movement that can really develop a consciousness of fighting, struggling women who would like to take positive action, collective action to make a difference in their lives. Of course this campaign will be on workers' issues: but these are also women's issues. IV: What are the specific demands of these campaigns?
Luisa: Women workers are the last ones to be hired and the first to be laid off. Many garment factories have been closed. And this is a sector where women form most of the workforce. Then there is the problem of sexual harassment at work. And other women's rights to which the government should give particular attention.
There are three sources for a women's movement; women workers, poor urban women, and overseas workers and their relatives in the Philippines. In the first two sectors we already have structures and activities.
Fatima: In Mindanao, in the old days, everything was prepared for us, prescribed for us [by the Party]. The orientation of women's work was decided for us, on our behalf. The party national bodies prepared orientations on behalf of the entire party. They even prepared the orientation papers on women's work for the entire national movement. Not a very beautiful picture. But things are more promising now. At our last conference, in November 1994, we decided to make women's work an integral and important part of our work. And to produce new orientation papers on women. We have three kinds of women on Mindanao: the
Moro, the Filipinos and the indigenous women. We have already scheduled allwomen's conferences for each group (because each group has a different view of themselves). This is what we call the tripeople approach to our work. I'd like to emphasise that it is the women comrades, and the progressive women in the mass organisations who will participate in the making of this organisation. Another resolution adopted at our last conference called for the establishing of women's committees in the various organisations, in consciousness among women and also with
In the regional organisation, we have focused on the question of sensitivity. A substantial proportion of the women comrades are already in leadership positions. And discrimination by men comrades towards women comrades is not very widespread. Maybe because there is a tradition of assertive women being placed in strategic and vital positions. Discrimination can be contained. There are women guerrillas, and women in the party leadership. The most important thing is that not only the party, but also the mass organisations (which are usually legal [above ground] have also adopted gender sensitive planning in their discussions. We ensure that people are very sensitive to the gender issue. This is not only a question of conviction, but also of practice.
In some ethnic groups, women do not traditionally participate in political decision-making. But now they have their own women's committee. They conduct their own discussions, and plan what to do as women and as real partners of their husbands. And they can begin to make decisions without the consent of their husbands. Among the indigenous peoples, the Party facilitated the promotion of women to the leadership bodies. We argued that women are very capable for leading and making decisions for their communities, and that their skills are needed. After centuries of women's absence from the decision-making structures of the indigenous peoples, women took their place this year! This was all the more a success in that these women have been elected by their own people, and not by the party.
IV: How has your group's perception and activity in women's work evolved over the years, particularly following the crisis and split in the Communist Party?
Luisa: The early women's movement in the Philippines, 25 years ago, was clear and explicit about the socialist basis for feminism. But in later years, when we were struggling and trying to build the military, protracted people's war, our attention and priorities shifted. The lesson we have learned is that a definite socialist basis is foremost. This comes with the realisation that the party itself should be socialist: the best ally for a socialist women's movement.
Our criteria of success used to be how many women we could recruit to the New People's Army, and how many women commanders we had. Nowadays, we have different criteria and standards for accomplishing and evaluating the or the development of women comrades.
Milla: It has been a big realisation to recognise that women are a major social force: more than half the population, with concrete issues which, are also reflections of exploitation and oppression by the capitalist class. We realise that, in the past, we had elements of a utilitarian attitude to organising women for the anti-capitalist struggle. Though it must be said that they also contributed a lot to strengthening the revolutionary movement
Fatima: This has been a liberating process. Before, we were always the victims of 'prescribed' campaigns, which did not fit our local situation. National campaigns are based on the national picture, but in our region we have three peoples concentrated in one place! We were so obedient! Well, that's democratic centralism. Or, rather, centralised democracy: the campaign is decided nationally and then everybody toes the line. In our case the debate gave us a venue to think. Because even thinking and speaking your thoughts had become anti-leadership, especially if you talked outside of the prescribed notion of what the Philippine revolution would look like.
International Viewpoint n°275 9
* Women and political organisations
The debate give us more leeway to really study more which orientation best suits us. Before, our situation was analysed by somebody "up there". An artificial reading, followed by the imposition a corresponding strategy. Now we really put a lot of weight on the question of gender. We are not only discussing about women. We have also gay organisations in our region. And the indigenous peoples are also at the same level of exploitation and oppression as women and gays. Now we have the opportunity to discuss all these things openly, and to look for as a woman as well as a revolutionary. it used to be that there was one part of you that was not completely committed. Today you can participate as a wholly committed person. Including a commitment in aspects that previously you could not think about, because the ideas were prescribed from above. Or, rather, you yourself imposed limits on what you though about. Now, we realise that the highest level of being a revolutionary for a woman should be as a feminist revolutionary.
Lorena: The male comrades no longer accuse us of "sexism'. Which suggests that hey do not feel threatened any more.