Last Sunday, I went to Luneta Grandstand with women and a man from the Smokey Mountain relocation site. I taught the women the song: "Tokatokatok" my composition which discusses the origins of the species. Did women come from the ribs of men, or did women and men arise from the bamboo shoot which a bird rapped on? "Saan nanggaling ang babae? Saan nanggaling ang lalaki? Saan nanggaling ang katauhan, Yan ang ating palaisipan."
As we were about to finish learning the song, I decided to ask the women if they agree that women and men should be equal. More than half said that equality is impossible, while two said that it is. When I was asked for my opinion, I said that there are two strands of thinking here -- one group talks of the present conditions of women -- that we are in a disadvantageous position to men; while the other group talks of the equality principle, that women should be assertive.
Then I explained to them why there is such a thing as a women's movement that we earned the right to vote only in 1937 from the Americans, that women before the Family Code was signed had to get the consent of their husbands before entering any business deals or agreement, that women were secondary in priority of education in families, that some abandoned unmarried women could not get support from the fathers of their children because they do not carry his family name.
I could see how their faces light up as I mention each particular instance of women's sad situation.
Were we free to talk because we were there in Luneta breathing fresh sea air? Luneta where Rizal met his death in the hands of a firing squad under the rule of Spanish civilian and military officers? Were we free to think because they were away from their homes which constantly reminded them of poverty?
How I wish we could continue having such discussions outside of their homes and feel free to explore many ideas about life.
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