Women's Rights Laws in Place

By Stephen de Tarczynski
MANILA, Oct 28, 2009 (IPS) - Although the enacting in August of the Magna Carta of Women
(MCW) - a major law aiming to end discrimination against women across the archipelago - was
well-received here, there remain concerns about whether the legislation will be fully implemented.
Mary Joan Guan, executive director of the Centre for Women's Research, a Manila-based advocacy and
training organisation, says that the efficacy of the MCW relies on its implementation going against the
trend of previous women's rights legislation.
The Philippines "already has 27 laws concerning women's rights[but]
in reality these laws are not implemented at all," she says. It ratified
Common Concern
The National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women - a statutory body soon to be renamed the Philippine
Commission on Women - is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Magna Carta for Women, while the
Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is the gender ombudsman under the law.
Luz Rodriguez of UNIFEM says that the Magna Carta broadens the protection of women by shielding them from any act or
omission which directly or indirectly excludes or restricts their rights.
People "should know that there is also indirect discriminationif they stand back and let things happen without asking
about or correcting [the situation] then they can be just as liable," she says.
Government agencies, offices and individuals who violate the law will face sanctions handed down by the CHR, while
private entities and individuals will be liable to pay damages, with corresponding punishments for perpetrators in both the
public and private sectors in cases where violence is found to have occurred.
But while the Magna Carta relates solely to the rights of Filipino women, their masculine counterparts - particularly men in
the marginalised sectors - are also being encouraged to support the law's implementation.
According to Mary Joan Guan of the Centre for Women's Research, men are not the problem when it comes to women's
rights: rather, they need to be part of the solution.
"The transformation or the change among women, especially [regarding] their welfare, can only be fulfilled if all or the
majority of Filipinos will also fight for it. It's not just a womens issue," she says.

the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1981.
The Magna Carta is the end product of two separate bills introduced in Congress in 2002. After years of
debate and opposition, it was finally signed into law by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Aug. 14.
While Guan welcomes the MCW, she remains circumspect regarding its implementation, due to occur
following the formulation of the rules and regulations of the MCW by February next year.

"We hope that it won't be, again, more lip-service from the government," she says.
Under the terms of the legislation, the Philippine government is the primary duty-bearer for implementing
the law. It is charged with protecting women from discrimination and upholding and promoting their rights.

Luz Rodriguez, national coordinator of UNIFEM - the United Nations Development Fund for Women agrees that the proof of the MCWs worth will be in the proverbial pudding.
She regards the enacting of the law as just the end of the first phase of the struggle. The second phase that of the MCW's implementation - is yet to come.
"We have won a battle but not quite the war," says Rodriguez.
The MCW nonetheless represents a considerable success for the cause of women's rights in the
Philippines.
Included among its provisions are that Filipino women are legally protected from all forms of violence and
from discrimination in employment, education and training; that women are guaranteed security in times
of disaster or other crises; that they are provided with comprehensive health care and information; and
that women are afforded equal treatment before the law and in matters relating to marriage.
The MCW also has a particular focus on marginalised Filipino women. It guarantees the rights of women
such as small farmers and rural workers, informal sector workers and the urban poor, indigenous women
and those with disabilities, as well as older women and girls.
These guarantees include the right to food security, affordable and secure housing, employment, the
recognition and preservation of cultural identity, and to women's inclusion in discussions pertaining to
development and peace issues.
Rodriguez supports this highlighting of marginalised Filipinas. She says that while the Philippines is often
"touted to be some kind of a model of gender responsive practice in the region" the experiences of many
women in Asia's only predominantly-Catholic nation is very different.
The Philippines rates relatively well in terms of gender parity. According to the United Nations' 2009
Human Development Report, the country is 40th out of 155 nations - ahead of the likes of South Africa
and Australia - when the gender-related development index is compared directly to the human
development index.
Filipino women also rank better than their male compatriots in regards to life expectancy, literacy rates
and education.
But Rodriguez argues that in a country where women can aspire to become president - MacapagalArroyo is the second female president of the Philippines; the late Cory Aquino was the first - the majority
of women here remain particularly vulnerable.
"Indeed, there are women who can make it to the top but they're just a minority," she says.
"We should recognise that even among women there is what we might call 'layered levels' of
discrimination," adds Rodriguez.
Guan supports this view, telling IPS that most Filipino women live on the fringes of society, where many
undertake low-skilled irregular or contractual employment.
"The opportunities for women are still limited and even though their labour-force participation is increasing

- but still less than men's - they are not given the opportunities in the higher levels," she says.
Guan views the MCW as "an additional help" to CEDAW, the landmark international treaty on womens
rights which was adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 1979.
The Philippines was the first of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to ratify CEDAW,
and it has also adopted the convention's Optional Protocol which came into force in December 2000.
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