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Tuesday, January 28, 2003
Women lord over ComVal
By Ben O. Tesiorna
GONE are the days when women are plain housewives always at the beck and call of their macho husbands and faithfully fulfilling their duties in their homes and in the bedroom.
The women today are more unconfined, exploring wider horizons to fulfill greater things. More and more women are given the tasks and responsibilities, which used be for those who only have the "balls".
But now balls or no balls, we see women lording over in all aspects of society. We have women in male-dominated sports, women in space, women in the police and the Army and most specially women in politics.
We already have two women presidents -- former president Corazon Aquino and President Arroyo -- and in the rest of the world great women achievers are sprouting like mushrooms.
Back here in our own backyard a group of women are gaining popularity not only because of their achievements but also because of their unique bonding and dedication for the empowerment of women in their community.
Take for instance the Compostela Valley Provincial Council of Women. Organized last December 3, 1998, the group started with just about twelve members who were wives of the mayors with the province's First Lady Mildred Caballero, wife of Gov. Jose Caballero, sitting as the group's president.
After establishing the leadership core, organizational rules and parameters at the top level, backbone mass organizing came next.
Soon came the creation of different council of women's down to the barangay level as well as the organization of the same representing the different sectors like the farmers, fisher folks, miners, laborers, Muslim, tribal, government, professionals, police and the likes.
On April 12, 1999, four months after its inception, the first general assembly of the Council of Women was held with the attendance of 1,500 women from across the province. From twelve to 1,500 in just four months, the Council of Women is indeed a phenomenon.
In four year's time the group's membership swelled to over 50,000 across various women sub-sectors throughout the four-year old province with a population of a little more than 580,000 (based on the 2000 census).
Institutionalizing Women Participation
Republic Act 7192, otherwise known as the Women in Development and Nation-Building Act, provided the legal basis for the organization of women in the province. Interfaced by other laws, which encourage empowerment of sectors such as the New Local Government Code of 1991 (RA 7160) and the Magna Carta of the Farmers, the provincial government of Compostela Valley drew out short-term, medium-term and long term plans for the women sector.
Though the provincial government acts largely as the project funder, production base, material and technical assistance provider, the Council of Women acts as the proponent, conduit and inter-mediating women province-level organization for all partner-beneficiary women councils and community organizations in various geographical levels, sectoral and occupational groupings.
In fact, the province's Lamdag Panginabuhi Livelihood Program have been managed, implemented and run by COW members themselves, a proof that the province's anti-poverty strategy of tapping the potentials and participation of the women has been greatly enhanced.
As Gov. Jose Caballero once said, "In our process, there is no rich women who lead, nor poor women who follow, only the women (and men) as equals in development and nation-building". |
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