2023 International Women’s Month: Recognizing its importance

The purpose of this year’s commemoration is to highlight the accomplishments made in empowering women and girls, evaluate efforts toward gender equality, and look forward to the measures that must be done to guarantee further development. In commemoration of International Women’s Month in March 2023, we consider the relevance and value of the Filipino woman. Without a doubt, Filipinas contribute to the health of the Filipino family, the fundamental social unit. This celebration focuses on the emancipation of women, especially their quest for equality. We cannot ignore their significant position in the family, their discipline, or their financial support.

Origin of Women’s Month

The origins of the Women’s Month celebration may be traced back to the socialist and labor movements in the United States. The inaugural Women’s Day occurred on February 28, 1909, in New York City as a nationwide celebration organized by the Socialist Party. This was done to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the New York garment workers’ strikes, in which a large number of women marched through lower Manhattan to Union Square to fight for economic rights.

The same strike was also carried out to commemorate the 1857 protest, in which garment workers fought for equal rights and a 10-hour workday.

International Women’s Day was initially observed on March 19, 1911, not the subsequent date of March 8. One million women and men participated in a rally in favor of women’s rights.

On March 1, 1988, former Philippine President Corazon C. Aquino issued Proclamation No. 224 s. 1988, proclaiming Women’s Week and Women’s Rights and World Peace Day. On March 17, 1988, she issued Proclamation No. 227 s. 1988 declaring March Women’s Role in History Month and appointing the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW, now Philippine Commission on Women) as the secretariat.

To boost government and commercial sector participation in National Women’s Day, she signed Republic Act (RA) 6949 on April 10, 1990. The day has become the country’s biggest women’s event.

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Beijing Platform for Action, Millennium Development Goals (2000-2015), Philippine Strategy for Gender-Responsive Development (1995-2025), and Framework Plan for Women meetings and debates have been part of the celebration.

The purpose of the celebration is to follow the growth of Women’s Empowerment and utilize it as a platform to learn about the creation of the Magna Carta of Women and other legislation.

Women’s Right

For decades, Filipino women have fought for the right to vote and participate in politics. It took 30 years from 1907, when the suffrage movement was founded, before women were able to join in political advancement. Filipinos value a decent education, and lower-income families believe their children will be able to succeed in life if they study hard in school. Women and men are equally represented in academic institutions and exercise their rights to study and work in a range of sectors of expertise.

The Philippines continues to contend with a high incidence of violence against women despite its above-average development in gender equality. A quarter of women over the age of 15 have at some time in their life suffered physical violence. In addition, only around thirty percent of battered women file police complaints and seek help. Despite the presence of laws criminalizing this sort of violence, the incidence rate continues to rise, mirroring worldwide patterns.

This is one of the reasons why several countries decided to establish international celebrations of women and women’s rights, such as International Women’s Day, which serves as a reminder to people of how important it is to talk about and bring awareness to the challenges that women face all over the world.

During the countrywide celebration, events and activities are organized to honor women’s accomplishments and advance women’s interests. Women’s Month in the Philippines is an important time to recognize the obstacles women continue to encounter in attaining gender equality. It is a chance for people and groups to work together to create a more fair and equitable society for everyone.