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Julio D. Cartera Reading and

Writing

Fritz Rhod A. Azuela Academic Paper

#4

FeMENism: Woman Empowerment in a Patriarchal Society

Feminism is a political ideology that was a biggest problem that the world is facing at

the past up until now. Over the past 50 years based on the cultural context of Betty

Friedan, “Women traditionally have always been thought of as inferior to men. They are

expected to keep the household, nurture the children, attend to their husband’s needs

and remain faithful to them.” (Azarcon, cited in Tarrayo et al. 2005).This type of

perception is now being debunked for the reason of this circumstance, women are

capable of doing the things men can do. However, Feminism focuses more on

movements in sexism, sexist exploitation, oppression and to achieve full gender equality

between male dominance and female empowerment. In this paper, we will imply our

strongest opinion against the women empowerment in a patriarchal society.

As we all know, feminism has had a life-changing impact on everyone, especially

women. If we look at history, we see that it is what gave women the right to vote. It was

no small feat but was achieved successfully by women. Moreover, feminism constantly

questions patriarchy and strives to renounce gender roles. It allows men to be whoever

they wish to be without getting judged. It is not taboo for men to cry anymore because
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they must be allowed to express themselves freely.

Further, men are not the only one who’s hard working nowadays, even women are

already joining the heat. If we talk about feminism in the Philippines, there are a lot of

changes when it comes to gender equality. We can see that women are evolving

throughout the years, for example, they can do the jobs that man can only do before,

like driving transportation vehicle for the public. That is a very difficult job and yet

women still intended to join inside the community. Even in politics, if we are going to talk

about Leni Robredo, she’s the most powerful runner up in line with candidacy for

President of the Philippines. Even thou she didn’t win the throne, she symbolized that

not only men can lead thousands of people and convince everyone to vote for her, Leni

only needed to give the wants of the Filipino people.

In addition to politics, women have also led our beloved nation, served as its mother,

and done everything in their power to beautify and enhance it. The two female

presidents of our nation, Corazon Aquino and Macapagal Arroyo, showed us that

women are capable of doing anything men can do. This expanded our understanding

that men and women in our country are treated equally.

Republic Act 9262, it is hereby declared that the state upholds the human rights of all

people and values the dignity of women and children. The VAWC law is the one that

protects women and kids; it works as an ally when a man endangers women and kids

and, if proven, punishes him with imprisonment ranging from one month and one day to
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twenty years, a payment of P100,000 to P300,000 in damages, and mandatory

psychological counseling or psychiatric treatment.

The key message of feminism must be to highlight the choice in bringing personal

meaning to feminism. It is to recognize other’s right for doing the same thing. The sad

part is that despite feminism being a strong movement, there are still parts of the world

where inequality and exploitation of women take places. Thus, we must all try to

practice intersectional feminism. Women empowerment is at the core of this movement

and it is crucial to creating a society where women have equal opportunities and control

over their lives. Feminism challenges the patriarchal structure of society, aims to create

a world where gender-based discrimination and inequality no longer exist. So, let's keep

in mind that everyone in the world we live in is equal; no one is above or below anyone

else. We also need to band together and work for the good of our nation because it is

not difficult to accept and support one another's abilities. Instead of escalating our

arrogance, which does nothing to help us grow, remember that by supporting one

another, you can more fully express your true self.

"Feminism isn't about making women stronger. Women are already strong, it's about

changing the way the world perceives that strength."

~G.D. Anderson
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