Education/News/March 2022/Arte+Feminismo Pilipinas:Advocacy on Women Empowerment
Arte+Feminismo Pilipinas:Advocacy on Women Empowerment
This month marks the start of the campaign for bridging the gender gap across all wiki projects. The Art and Feminism in the Philippines as a part of this initiative has officially launched this year’s campaign at Raul S. Roco Library. This is the third time the Philippines will be joining the international campaign and we are looking at a more revamped and structured event through the collaboration of Wiki Advocates Philippines with the leadership of one of the Network Organizers of Art and Feminism. The kick-off event was attended by two community organizers, Imelda R. Brazal and Anthony B. Diaz, along with the local volunteers. Editors have created draft articles on Wikifundi, by way of a Kiwix device and have utilized the library references and resources in search of quotations from notable women, not only in the Philippines but all around the globe. Previously, the group has also interviewed several women in different fields and walks of life to answer the question, “Sain mo nahihiling an babayi bilang parte kan sarong sosyodad?” or "Where do you see the woman as part of a society?"
To quote two inspiring answers from a social activist woman and an artist:
Women, in general, have no fixed role in society. We, as women, refuse to be put in a box. We refuse to end up victimizing ourselves. It has to stop being the norm. Each and every woman has an individual journey to embark on and whatever or whoever they choose to become as long as it is not anchored on any forms of violence, they must be served respect, they must be heard, and they must be seen as human beings.
-Shanelle Escuro, Visual Artist
There's no limitation to what women can do. The truth is, we are taking the lead in different areas and this is no longer a surprise. But if a poor man is already being exploited, the greater the exploitation there is towards women. In the majority of the Philippine society that is composed of farmers, peasant women are at the forefront. We can see them in the thousands of organizations in the country, fighting for genuine agrarian reform. When it comes to workers, working women are part of the struggle for humane and sufficient wages. This is an essential role of women because the freedom of all genders is the freedom of all classes. To answer the question: a woman's place is in the struggle.
-Sasah Sta. Rosa, Jovenes Anakbayan Regional Secretary General / Kabataan Partylist Bicol Spox
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Wiki Advocates PH Art and Feminism 2022 Edit-a-thon -
Art and Feminism PH 2022 Call for Artist
In the upcoming days, a series of edit-a-thons will be conducted on two incubator projects, the Wikikawikaan and Wikisambit which are both local Wikiquote projects. An art exhibit centering on feminism and women empowerment will also be held to showcase the emerging artists to a wider community so they could also present their works to a more diverse audience. Artists will be invited to be active contributors on Wiki projects. We hope for more visibility of women in all areas of wiki projects and see them taking part in the advocacy of different Wikimedia groups in closing the gender gap.