Keeping in mind women’s rights

Everyone has heard this line before: “Men and women were created equally in the eyes of God.” It couldn’t be truer than that. Many people concur with the aforementioned statement now that women in this modern society have rights and privileges equal to men. Up to this day, however, there are still those who do not recognize egalitarianism when it comes to gender rights.

Gender-based violence is at this time considered the most widespread, but socially tolerated, human rights violation. People still seem to be thinking backwards on this one. The World Population Report of 2005 states that at least one in every five women will become the victim of rape or attempted rape. It also says that one out of every three women will be beaten or coerced into sex by a family member or an acquaintance.

The story is no different in the Philippines. In our country, police records show an average of 20 cases of violence against women every day in the National Capital Region (NCR) alone. Violence in the Philippines kills and disables as many Filipinas between the ages of 15 and 44 as cancer does.

Even literature gives proof of such acts against women. In the United States, Tennessee Williams, in his play A Streetcar Named Desire, shows how Stanley Kowalski, the tough and street-smart brute, has his way with his wife Stella as well as with her sister, the very neurotic Blanche Dubois. Closer to home, we have Jose Rizal and his revolutionary novels the Noli and Fili, in which Maria Clara, the symbol of all that is Filipina, suffers at the hands of men like Padre Damaso.

In promoting advocacy for women’s rights, the Zonta Club of Baguio held a poster-making contest with the theme “Stop Violence Against Women” in the SM Baguio mall atrium last May 22, 2007. The current president of the Zonta Club of Baguio, Ophelia Tiangha Flores, and the rest of the Zonta project committee thought it would be fitting to make this a youth-oriented event. “The club chose to involve the youth in this endeavor since they are the future homemakers, and making them aware of this problem will greatly influence their family life as well as friends and other relations.”

Truly, there is no better place to initiate change than with the youth. They possess fresh hearts and minds needed to address problems such as these. And a poster-making contest not only allows young artists to speak out through their illustrations, it also lets them exercise their artistic talent. Contests like these might awaken the talent of a future national artist, who knows?

With a total of 36 contestants the event was split into two age groups. Evaluated by Robert Joaquin from Brent School Baguio, Liza Ilagan and Milagro Lopez of the UP College Fine Arts Department, and Lili Pasion, Area 4 Director of Zonta International, the contest culminated with six top prizewinners. In the age 12-16 category, first place went to Kym Yambot, second prize to Nykel Abuan, and third place to Joanne Reantazo. In the age 17-23 category, first honors went to Dexter Paglinawan, with a tie for second place between Joseph Vilog and Anthony Mallari. Congratulations to all the winners.

The Zonta Club of Baguio is a subsidiary of a much larger, global group, Zonta International. Zonta International is a worldwide service organization of executives in business and the professions working together to advance the status of women worldwide. To do this, it is the goal of Zonta International, as well as its smaller groups, to reduce the incidence of violence against women through advocacy.

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