When women march
Manila ? Years ago in the Philippines , a male celebrity led a host of other young men who walked the streets of Manila wearing stilettoes . The celebrity , who also functions as spokesperson in a government youth affairs body , said the activity was meant to call attention to the plight of women , as it was March 8 , International Women ? s Day which makes March International Women ? s Month .
There have been other activities highlighting women ? s footwear to call attention to the situation of women and girls . There was even a stiletto race for policemen and soldiers who donned heels in one of the Philippine cities known for producing locally-made shoes . Last January prior to the country ? s hosting of the Miss Universe , pageant fans of mostly men held a stiletto run .
The United Nations organizes a host of global advocacies including the International Women ? s Month that it hopes its member countries would follow and campaign for through their governments and civil societies . There are hundreds of country-signatories to a host of UN covenants and treatises for women and girls .
The world of women has come a long way since the 1920s , the time when historians believe was the inception of feminism when women won the right to vote in the suffrage movement . In the 1960s , American women burned their bras to make a stand for women ' s rights and to symbolize their independence of men , the freedom to let their breasts hang naturally instead of clothed or pushed up .
It was also in that decade when women marched to protest the Miss America pageant as an oppressive way of putting women up to measurements and standards of beauty . They also threw things such as bras , girdles and high heels to stand against stereotyping women only as housewives and mothers and nothing else .
Then came stalwarts Betty Friedan and Gloria
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Steinem who fought for socioeconomic equality for women .
I won ? t go into the parade of names and events but it we fast forward to today , the only thing I can say is that all of these should not even be happening if there is equality . There would be no women ? s month , bra burning , stiletto stunts and neither of the underwear nor footwear protests to draw people ? s consciousness to the sad circumstances of women and girls .
I am not for equality at the price of men . I believe that men and women who are given the responsibility to raise boys should nurture them into being strong , not to be soft when they are supposed to talk hard ? the same way girls are taught ? assertive and strong if they need to be , but both must be raised to be respectful of each other .
I have my own versions of Gloria Steinem . There ? s this woman in the indigenous tribe of Teduray in Mindanao in the Philippines who advocates for respect to indigenous peoples ? options to practice their own home-birthing and natural health practices and for respect to their land from mining companies . There ? s this girl who invented light in her town without electricity through the use of salt and water , and said that better lighting would help stop violence in the community , especially on women and children .
These females may not have joined the massive women ? s marches over the years to protest the unjust treatment of women in all spheres of life , but they certainly provide a fresh perspective of how feminism or equality should be , without even mentioning these labels .
I live in a city that implements a law that penalizes street harassment of women . Also known as the anti-catcalling ordinance , it imposes a fine and jail term for acts considered as sexual harassment of women in public spaces . The primary objective of this law is to change the cultural mindset of males toward females while empowering women at the same time .
This is a great development from the world I knew as a little girl many years ago . But there are also new threats to the otherwise peaceful equation . That is why women continue to march . I don ? t think I will ever see an end to women marching .