How U.S. Soldiers Described Filipino Girls in 1945 [Women's Month] - Filipina Women In History [VIDEO]

#WomensMonth #Filipina #FilipinoCulture Women’s Role in History. Filipina Girl / Filipino Women in 1945 as described by U.S. Soldiers - War video orientation for United States soldiers in 1945. The video also highlights the Filipino hospitality. Philippine old tradition and culture. The National Women’s Month Celebration (NWMC) every March is part of the worldwide observance of the International Women’s Day. Ang mga kababaihan / babae sa Pilipinas noong panahon ng Amerikano. Kasama din sa video na ito ang katangi tanging kultura ng mga Pilipino sa pagtanggap ng bisita sa bahay. Ang deskripsyon ng mga Amerikano noong unang panahon kung ano ang estado at kilos ng isang dalagang Pilipina sa Pilipinas.

Women’s Week and March 8 as Women’s Rights and International Peace Day

Pursuant to Proclamation No. 224 s. 1988 declaring the first week of March of every year as Women’s Week and March 8 as Women’s Rights and International Peace Day; Proclamation No. 227 s. 1988 providing for the observation of the Month of March as Women’s Role in History Month; and Republic Act (RA) No. 6949 s. 1990 declaring March 8 of every year as National Women’s Day, the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) is leading the observance of the National Women’s Month from March 1 to 31, 2020. With the theme “WE Make Change Work for Women”, the celebration shall highlight the need to empower women as harbingers of change and enable them to participate in and benefit from development efforts. 

Year 2020 is a turning point in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) in the Philippines. It marks the 45th founding anniversary of the Philippine Commission on Women, which is the national machinery on women, and the 25th year of the Beijing Platform Action (BPfA) which is global roadmap for the empowerment of women and girls. Thus, under the banner theme, the 2020 National Women’s Month Celebration (NWMC) shall celebrate and take stock of the progress made to advance GEWE in the country. In line with the global multi-generational campaign of UN women,” Generation Equality: Realizing women’s rights for equal future,” the celebration shall also endeavor to bring together women and girl leaders from various generations towards a collective agenda of empowering all women and girls. 

6 Qualities Of A Modern-Day "Dalagang Pilipina"  

1. Empowered 
2. Informed 
3. Open-minded 
4. Confident 
5. Stereotype-breaker 
6. Free Typical Filipina 

Woman’ Representation 

To all my fellow Filipinos out there, what does ‘dalagang Pilipina’ mean or a ‘Typical Filipina woman’?  Dalagang Pilipina noon at ngayon Dalagang Pilipina noon, ito yung mga babaeng pa-Maria Clara feels, mahinhin, di makabasag-pinggan. Ito yung mga tipo ng babae na taong-bahay lang, lalabas lang kapag kinakailangan. Their image as a Maria Clara ay ibang-iba na sa mga dalaga ngayon, some are mahilig sa galaan, party-goer, they just want to be lit, sabay sa uso. Even sa panliligaw, yung mga dalagang pilipina noon ay pinupuntahan pa sa bahay para haranahin, but then ngayon ang panliligaw nadadaan na through social media. Bihira na lang ang mga dalagang pilipina ngayon, baka nga endangered na sila lol, pero the way girls act naman is depende na rin sa tingin ng mga tao, may mga tao kaseng komportable sa mga dalagang pilipina, meron namang mas gusto yung kilos ng mga babae ngayon.

Kababaihan sa Pilipinas 

Ang gampanin ng mga kababaihan sa Pilipinas (mga Pinay) ay ipinaliwanag ayon sa diwa ng kalinangang Pilipino, pamantayan, pananaw at kaisipan. Nilarawan ang Pilipinas bilang isang bansa ng mga matatatag na mga kababaihan, na tuwiran at hindi tuwirang nagpapatakbo sa mag-anak, negosyo, mga tanggapan ng pamahalaan at mga hasyenda. Bagaman pangkalahatang pinakakahuluganan nila ang kanilang mga sarili sa isang tagpuan sa Asya na napapangibabawan ng mga kalalakihan sa isang lipunang dumaan sa kolonyalismo at Katoliko, namumuhay ang mga Pilipinong kababaihan sa isang kulturang nakatuon ang pansin sa pamayanan, na ang mag-anak ang pangunahing bahagi ng lipunan. Dito sa balangkas na ito - na may kayariang pangkahanayan, pagkakaiba-ibang antas sa lipunan, kadahilanang makapananampalataya, at pamumuhay sa isang umuunlad na bansa ng mundo - nakikibaka ang mga kababaihang Pilipino. Kung ihahambing sa ibang mga bahagi ng Timog-silangang Asya, palagiang nakakatamasa ng mas malaking antas ng kapantayang makabatas ang mga kababaihang nasa lipunan ng Pilipinas. 

Filipina Women in History

Those days in history when women had to take the back seat have passed.

This day, March 8, is not only an observance of International Women’s Day, and National Women’s Day pursuant to the issuance of Republic Act No. 6949 that took effect on April 10, 1990. Rather, this day should also stand for the assertion towards freedom from paternalistic culture, and a celebration of the recognition of women and their right to be empowered.

Leona Florentino, an Ilocana who was born in the city of Vigan in 1849, personifies the woman breaking away from paternalism and patriarchy by having taken the lead and excelling in her craft as poetess, despite not having been allowed formal education beyond that achieved from private tutoring within the limited circle of kins. Explaining why Florentino did not receive secondary education, Ancheta and Beltran-Gonzaga in a book in 1984 wrote that “(in) those days, girls were not meant for a higher education” which then also included high school studies, even if they were born to politically prominent and wealthy families such as Leona.

With an innate talent for poetry, Leona exhibited her writing ability early on, at the young age of 10, when she wrote her first poem. Social restrictions against women did not hinder Leona from enhancing her abilities. She read books while being tutored by her mother and local priest Father Evaristo Abaya, from whom she learned how to speak and write in Spanish.

Writing in both Ilocano and Spanish languages, her literary works embodied the popular as these incorporated local culture. At the same time, scholars in literature have seen the depth of her poetic lines and have interpreted them as those written by a woman ahead of her time, although her works were not known until after her death. Some of Leona’s writings could be viewed as expressions of defiance against norms that constricted women within limited social spaces. In 1887, her poems were presented in Exposicion General de Filipinas in Madrid, International Exposicion in Paris in 1889, and at the St. Louis International Exposition in Missouri in 1904. Her literary skills became widely known and recognized when she was included in the “Encyclopedia Internationale des Oeuvres des Femmes” (International Encyclopedia of Women’s Works) edited by Madame Andzia Wolkska in 1889.

Because of her exemplary skills and wit in writing, as well as her achievements, Leona is recognized as the “greatest Filipina poet of her time”.

At age 35, Leona passed away leaving a legacy of a woman with strong self-determination and perseverance to learn in order not to be confined within the dictates of society. By pursuing her passion and rising above prescriptions towards house-bound roles, she challenged the old-school perception of women stereotyping. Leona proved that every woman has her own potentials to face challenges and introduce social change, manifesting that women are co-equal with other members of the society.