Why women are strong
Last of 2 parts Some women in ‘herstory’
HISTORY has documented that more than 400 women disguised themselves as men and fought in the Union and Confederate armies during the American Civil War. Women’s wartime roles include pilots and snipers, garbage collectors and window washers, concentrationcamp guards and, of course, nurses.
In Philippine herstory, there are many women with marked vital roles.
Laureana Novicio y Ancheta was the mother of Juan and Antonio Luna, the nurturing mother who wrote “I have no ambition of making the names of my sons appear side by side with that of Rizal. I only wish that posterity would do them justice and that their memory would cause a tear to fall from the bottom of people’s hearts. I will die in peace, perhaps pardoning in my last moments their murderers.”
Teodora Alonzo was the mother of Jose Rizal. In 1907, when Rizal was declared the national hero, the American authorities offered her a lifetime pension as a token of gratitude. She politely refused it, saying “my family has never been patriotic for the money.”
Trinidad Famy y Valero, the mother of Emilio Aguinaldo, was widowed when Emilio was 9 years old but was able to send him to study. She was known as “Kapitana Teneng,” a former cigarette maker who rose to the position of teacher and directress of the factory. She sat in on important meetings of Aguinaldo’s government.
Melchora Aquino is regarded as the mother of the KKK (Kataastaasan Kagalang-galang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan). She was 84 when the Philippine Revolution of 1896 broke out. Her son, Juan A. Ramos, was associated with the Katipunan, the members of which were the ones who gave Aquino the nickname “Tandang Sora.” The American government offered her monetary rewards for her sacrifice but she declined them all, content that she had contributed to the revolutionary cause.
Purificacion Garcia Villanueva was the first beauty queen of the Philippines and a mother of Pura Kalaw, who organized a suffrage group, the Asociacion Feminista Ilongga. Her efforts led to the first suffrage bill reaching the Philippine Assembly in 1907.
Trinidad Tecson is known as the mother of Biak-na-Bato and mother of the Red Cross in the Philippines. She also fought with the revolutionaries in 12 battles and organized groups of women to nurse wounded Filipino soldiers. During the Philippine-American war, she joined the revolutionary forces. She also served in the Malolos Republic and was designated as the Commissary of War.
Other women in our history are Gabriela Silang (early revolution), Gregoria de Jesus (Revolution), Teresa Magbanua (Visayan Joan of Arc), Marcela Agoncillo (maker of the Philippine flag), and more.
In the culture and the arts, regarded as mothers are Francisca ReyesAquino (folk dance), Alice Reyes (contemporary dance) Leonor OrosaGoquingco (theater dance), Cecille Guidote Alvarez (theater), Damiana Eugenio (folklore), Engracia Cruz Reyes (Filipino cooking), Leonora Florentino (literature), and more.
In the professional world, also regarded as mothers are Anastacia Giron-Tupaz (nursing), Clare Baltazar (entomology), Mercedes Concepcion (Asian demography), Raquel Fortun (forensic pathology), Honoria Acosta-Sison (obstetrics), Fe del Mundo (pediatrics), Nelia Maramba (herbal medicine), and more.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. grew up with a steel-butterfly mother Imelda, a “Super Ate” Maria Imelda Josefa “Imee” Marcos with other sisters, and is married to an emerging superwoman, first lady Marie Louise “Liza” Araneta-Marcos.
Well, as Beyoncé asks, who runs the world?
Cheers to all the beloved women of the world!