Moro women urged to help thwart extremism

BULUAN, Maguindanao – Local and foreign officials, who were here on the occasion of the province’s celebration of National Women’s Month, issued appeals, Tuesday, to Moro women for them to help fight religious fanaticism or extremism and other social ills.

Led by Maguindanao Governor Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu, female speakers from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the moralistgroup DAKILA, and the Maguindanao Women for Peace and Development Organization, Inc. (MWPDOI) acknowledged the role of women, particularly mothers, in the fight against extremism and illegal drugs.

“We should not allow extreme minds to (contaminate) our youth or households. Mothers have bigger and persuasive role to play in guiding the families to a better path of life,” said Mangudadatu, who for the nth time touted his being an “honorary woman.”

“As mothers you have the moral obligation to guide your children so they will not be influenced by extremists who are preying on the weaknesses of our fellow Maguindanaons,” the governor told hundreds of women gathered here for the two-day celebration of the National Women’s Month.

Mangudadatu noted that religious extremism was being espoused by the jihadist Maute group of Lanao del Sur, the Abu Sayyaf guerillas in the Sulu region, and the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in this province. All three groups had earlier pledged allegiance to the leadership of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

“We often say that knowledge is power and we say this because it’s true. But beyond having knowledge it is equally important to share it or mingle with other groups so that people can tell the whole truth about their experience,” said Tara Dermott, an American IOM program leader.

She also underscored the need to intensify prosecution efforts against illegal recruitment, saying that the OIM has recorded more than 70,000 cases, involving some 47 million victims worldwide.

However, only about 7,000 of the cases are being prosecuted, she lamented.