Women against war in Mindanao

An incredibly massive congregation of Muslim women – some 45,000 of them from all over Mindanao, Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi – attended the first Bangsamoro Women’s Assembly held at the People’s Park in Camp Amai Pakpak, Marawi City.

Our reporter says this was the first time the Bangsamoro Women’s Assembly got together "to express themselves". The women’s assembly is part of the larger Bangsamoro civil society movement of which the Bangsamoro People’s Consultative Assembly (BPCA) is at the forefront.

Saquira Pendalida, chair of the women’s assembly, said the assembly was "a culmination of the long series of consultation and consensus-building meetings among the women sector of the Bangsamoro people. The women who participated represented the entire spectrum of Muslim society as well as the different areas and provinces of the Bangsamoro homeland".

* * *

The participants touched on a wide range of issues, from gender discrimination to political concerns, particularly the current plight of Muslim women in the context of the present situation of the Bangsamoro people and the ongoing war in Mindanao.

Our reporter says most of the speakers decried the difficult conditions that the Bangsamoro women find themselves in, "particularly so at this time when the peace process between the MILF and the GRP has been at a standstill and hostilities continue to worsen. Speakers highlighted the fact that the Bangsamoro women are the foremost victims of war and violence".

* * *

A Declaration was read and was approved unanimously on the last day of the assembly. Our reporter said the Declaration embodied "the common principle and consensus that the participants adopted. Foremost among these was their reaffirmation of their faith and belief in Islam as the only complete system of life that brings true liberation to women and mankind".

The Declaration said the Bangsamoro people are currently "in the process of an extremely difficult struggle for their right to self-determination, freedom and independence from Philippine colonialism (thus they) are being subjected to brutal and inhuman wars of aggression".

It further said that the Bangsamoro women "not only share the sufferings of the rest of the Bangsamoro people but they are the ones that truly bear the brunt, both physically and psychologically, of the colonial oppression and violence that the Bangsamoro homeland has invariably been experiencing since the first colonizers set foot on Moro soil more than four centuries ago."

The Declaration declared that only through the peaceful and democratic process of a UN-supervised referendum in the Bangsamoro homeland could provide the solution that would appropriately address and restore the right of the Bangsamoro people to self-determination, freedom and independence and thus bring lasting peace in Mindanao."

* * *

In a related development, yesterday, in Makati City, a group of mothers alarmed by the escalating violence in Mindanao announced the launching of a national campaign for peace on Mother’s Day, May 11. The Mothers for Peace Campaign will bring together Muslim, Christian and indigeneous women leaders for a common cause.

"War and terrorism have made mothers more and more fearful for the security of their children and their children’s future." Irene Santiago, chair of the campaign steering committee, said. "What is happening in Mindanao is not just a problem for Mindanaoans. War hurts the entire country."

* * *

The campaign will advocate the return of the government and MILF negotiators to the peace table. Campaign co-chair Margie Floirendo said, many innocent people are dying daily in the violent incidents, so they have to ask them to stop the widespread violence, for "that’s what works to bring about peace."

* * *

The campaign launch will be held at 5 p.m. on Sunday at the Liwasan ASEAN at the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex on Roxas Boulevard. Mothers in the conflict-affected areas in Central Mindanao will show their solidarity by wearing a blue kombong (headdress) and a blue ribbon with the dove of peace, symbols of the campaign. All through May, an educational road show will go to various cities in Luzon and the Visayas to discuss the main issues of peace and development in Mindanao.

Mothers are urged to undertake a text barrage to President Arroyo and the MILF, write letters to editors, call their congressmen, appear in TV talk shows, participate in radio call-ins, and organize public forums.

Women’s organizations in Luzon and Visayas are joining the groups from Mindanao for the campaign. People interested in joining may fax or call the Mindanao Commission on women, 298-4031 or 4032 or e-mail [email protected].

* * *

My e-mail address: [email protected].