Madalag, Aklan – When women gather, it is all too easy to assume that they are gossiping. Indeed, this has become such a stereotype in the Philippine scenario which is commonly portrayed in local films and sitcoms, even exaggerated at times, to show the Filipino women’s fondness for this habit.
In this town, a group of women in their late 20s to their mid-50s, certainly love to gather and chat. However, these women do not just gather to gossip, instead, they come together for a common purpose: to serve as members of the Gender and Development (GAD) Council of this town.
Advocates
The women who were chosen to represent their barangay in the GAD Council are from diverse backgrounds, providing varied gender perspectives – from a barangay councilor to a happy housewife.
Forming the GAD Council was one of the requirements that the town had to comply with in order to utilize the Gender Incentive Grant (GIG) from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the foreign aid agency of the United States of America, through its partnership with the Millennium Challenge Account-Philippines (MCA-P) and the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS), a poverty alleviation program of the DSWD.
Utilizing the Kalahi-CIDSS’ community-driven development (CDD) approach, the implementation of the GIG needs volunteers from the different barangays, some of whom would form part of the GAD Council.
Barangay council member Herminia Nacuspag, 53, volunteered to be part of the GAD Council.
Herminia, who used to be a GAD focal person in her village for one of the programs of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), was excited to be part of the council.
Some, however, had ambivalent feelings about their new position when it was foisted on them.
Fifty-eight-year old Remedios Igo-igo, who describes herself as a simple mother and housewife, shared that she was hesitant because she was unsure if she can handle the responsibility.
She found herself thinking, “Bakit ako? Baka hindi ko makaya kasi high school graduate lang ako (Why me? I might not be able to do this because I am just a high school graduate).”
Empowering the advocates
Despite their initial apprehension as GAD council members, the women stepped up to the task of being GAD Council members. They all saw the importance of what their roles will bring to their community. The council members also realized that as they worked towards improving the plight of the women, they too found themselves learning.
Women empowerment is one of the lessons Rhea Katimpo learned from being a GAD volunteer.
She shared, “Hindi lang utus-utusan ang babae. Kailangan naming maintindihan na hindi kami basta babae lang, asawa lang, taga-alaga ng bata lang (Women are not just errand girls. We need to show that just because we are women, we are already confined to our roles as wives and as care givers to the children).”
Rhea added, “Kailangan naming mag-level up, maghanap ng pagkakakitaan, mag-develop ng skillsbukod sa mga gawain namin (We need to level up by looking for ways to earn money and develop skills other than our household chores).”
Gender Issues
The municipality was chosen as one of the two gender mainstreaming pilot sites, along with Torrijos, Marinduque.
GIG is considered as the continuation of the pilot, in which the funds will be utilized to address gender-related issues within the municipality.
The residents, through Kalahi-CIDSS, identified the lack of employment and livelihood opportunities of women here as being a prevalent gender issue that worsens the poverty situation of the residents within the municipality.
Rhea, a day care worker, shared, “Wala pong trabaho ang babae. Nakikita talaga na ang lalaki lang ang naghahanap-buhay (Women have no jobs. Only the men work).”
The GIG implementation seeks to help remedy the situation.
“Makakatulong ito kung paano magkakaroon ng additional na income ang pamilya sa pagbibigay oportunidad sa mga kababaihan na magkaroon din ng kita para maayos ang pamumuhay nila (This will help families have additional income by providing livelihood opportunities to women),” Rhea remarked.
The lack of economic opportunities also posed self-esteem issues for some of the women, as they believed themselves incapable of being productive.
Project for women
The first major hurdle the Council had to overcome as a team was the development of their project proposal for GIG. They were assisted through the process by the field and municipal staff, the Area Coordinating Team (ACT) and the Municipal Coordinating Team (MCT), respectively.
The Pantawid Pamilya Municipal Link and the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) Project Development Officer assigned here worked with the Kalahi-CIDSS teams to maximize the impact of their respective programs to the target beneficiaries.
The idea was all set. It was now up to the GAD Council to present this to the rest of the municipality to see if they would be amenable to the idea through the Municipal Inter-Barangay Forum (MIBF).
The women agreed to present their proposal by enacting a skit to portray the life of typical village women, particularly their struggles in terms of livelihood.
Some questions were raised after the presentation. Some asked why the priority was the Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries, to which they explained that the others will also eventually undergo training. When the questions were answered, the proposal was subsequently approved.
Princess Molas, also a member of the GAD Council and a barangay councilor, shared how happy the group was when the proposal was approved.
“Iyong tuwa namin hindi masukat, kasi makakatulong kami sa mga kasama naming sa barangay (We could not contain our joy because we know we will be able to help our fellow barangay residents),” she said.
Challenges, transformations
The approval of their proposal, however, was only the first hurdle that the GAD Council had to go through. Even though it was the residents who approved the proposal, the women were hesitant to actually be part of it, particularly for the training on plumbing and welding.
This was partly due to the fact that the majority of the residents still believe that women should be confined to their homes.
Stephanie Macalandang, Supplementary Feeding Coordinator and a GAD Council member, shared that one of the trainees from her barangay almost pulled out of the training because her husband did not want her to participate. She had to play the role of a mediator to convince the husband to let his wife continue with the training.
She said, “Sinabihan ko, ‘Dong, hindi naman ito para sa amin. Para sa ikabubuti ng pamilya mo iyan’ (I told him, ‘Sir, this is not for us, but for the welfare of your family’).”
Stephanie related that when the residents realized the value of their efforts, they eventually changed their attitudes.
A significant change is that women no longer gamble as much as they used to.
She said, “Dati madalas sila mag-tong-its. Ngayon hindi na (They used to engage in gambling a lot. They no longer play now).”
Another bad habit that disappeared was the tendency for the men to drink.
According to Herminia, “Mga lalaki hindi na umiinom. Parang natauhan na. Umuuwi na ng maaga. Kapag umaalis ang asawa nila, pang taong-bahay na sila, ginagampanan na ang trabaho sa bahay (The men no longer drink. They sobered up. They go home early now. When their wives go out, the husbands do the housework).”
Institutionalizing GAD Efforts
As GAD advocates, the council members try to share what they have learned with the other residents in their barangays to educate them.
These initiatives, coupled with the trainings already provided through GIG, have gained significant development in their community.
While lack of livelihood opportunities for women was the biggest gender-related concern in the municipality, there were also other issues in the community. Cases of rape, incest, and domestic violence were discussed in hushed tones, considered as taboo topics.
One of the areas that the GAD Council members felt strongly about was domestic violence, which they said was prevalent in the town.
As Rhea said, “Responsibilidad ng GAD focal na lumaban sa pambubugbog. Alam mo na yung tama e, kaya hindi dapat ginagawa ang mga iyan (It is the responsibility of the GAD focal person to fight against domestic abuse. You know what is right, hence, these things must not be allowed).”
These issues have impressed upon the women the need to continue to uphold the GAD Council. They are requesting, however, to be given further capacity building trainings so they will be able to take on their roles as GAD advocates more effectively.
Furthermore, they said that the Council has to have a supervisor overseeing it.
The women are also lobbying to have their positions as GAD focal persons formalized.
The local government released an ordinance about the formation of the GAD Council, but the members’ designation has not been made official at the barangay level. With an official designation, the GAD Council members will be able to perform their roles without fear of being ignored.
One thing is for sure: they have no plans of letting go of their responsibilities.
As Herminia said, “Kung iiwanan mo iyan, babalik iyong problema. ‘Pag andiyan ang mga GAD members, matatakot ang mga tao. (If you abandon this, the problem will just come back. If the GAD members are around, the people will be dissuaded from misbehaving). ###
