‘Women are vulnerable because men don’t value us’ – Ex-VP Robredo

Former vice president Leni Robredo speaks at the “Girl Talk: An Accession of Modern Filipina Hija,” on April 6 at the UST Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati Building

By Shaira Dennisse Sindayen

 

FORMER VP Atty. Leni Robredo pointed out that society is still highly patriarchal, and it puts more pressure on women than on men. “The unfortunate reality is that because we’re women, we’re vulnerable, and it shouldn’t be the case–we’re vulnerable because men don’t value us,” she said.

 

Robredo also noted that women are subjected to misogynistic remarks in the company of men.

 

Citing several examples, Robredo said that even though society has significantly progressed, the stereotypical expectations of women in households, the workforce, and even in politics are framing them in a set of higher standards than their male counterparts.

 

“If you look at all the attacks against me, they were not attacks because of the work that I was doing, but all of the attacks were gender attacks,” she said at a roundtable discussion on Saturday, April 6.

 

However, Robredo said there are more significant transformations in women’s situations than in the past.

 

Meanwhile, she reminded that in the households, parents should not contribute to gender stereotyping as it does not contribute to improving women’s status. “It’s very ironic if we look at the roles of women inside the homes; they are the key decision-makers,’ she said.

 

Robredo discussed that the problem is that women are unable to influence their society no matter how vital their value is inside the households since their actions barely get proper recognition.

 

“The appreciation of the value of housework that women do is already a big thing in improving their status in society,” she said.

 

“There is a mistaken belief that women empowerment is a battle of the sexes,” she said, clarifying that women and men have complementary strengths and weaknesses and how they should complement each other.

 

“Men should have intentional undoing or unlearning of misogynism,” Robredo said in Filipino. According to her, collective actions through education can help change societal predisposed mindsets that impede women’s empowerment.

 

The forum titled “Girl Talk: An Accession of Modern Filipina Hija,” held at the UST Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati Building, was spearheaded by the UST Asian Studies Society.