EDITORIAL — Empowering women

In a country that has a woman president for the second time, the only thing surprising about the recent promotion of a woman to star rank in the Philippine National Police is that it took so long to happen. Yolanda Tanigue had reason to be proud when she was promoted last week to the rank of chief superintendent in the PNP. The rank is equivalent to a brigadier general in the military. Tanigue heads the PNP investigating arm handling complaints involving women and children. Her promotion should make the PNP brass take notice of the achievements of other women in the service.

Tanigue is in fact the second policewoman to achieve star rank. Before the creation of the PNP 15 years ago, Luisa Dimayuga became a brigadier general of the Philippine-Constabulary-Integrated National Police. That it took nearly two decades for another woman to follow in her footsteps gives you an idea of the hurdles Tanigue had to surmount.

Filipino women continue to break glass ceilings in many fields, but such achievements are mostly for the educated and those who enjoy a measure of financial independence. Around the country, millions of women continue to suffer from gender discrimination and various forms of abuse.

The Philippines has passed some of the toughest laws to promote women’s welfare. Impoverished and poorly educated women, however, are largely unaware of the rights they enjoy under the law. In many communities, a culture where women are regarded as second-class citizens continues to prevail. Poor, uneducated women are vulnerable to abuse and suffer from gender discrimination. Many women are battered wives.

Education, health care, and access to credit and livelihood opportunities go a long way in empowering people. In the case of women, these could be tickets out of second-class status and a lifetime of abuse. Women must be given the chance to achieve their full potential. They must not be deprived of the means and opportunities to become a police general. Or even president of the Republic.