Women, Politics, and a Room Full of Men

QUEZON CITY (MindaNews) -- Dear readers, tomorrow we vote for those who will lead us – either to a more secure future or to a weakened state. I have been following the presidential candidates’ promises on many issues. Education, for instance. Last month, Education Nation — a coalition composed of 35 organizations and 21 education experts — gave Vice-President Leni Robredo 10 out of 10 or a perfect score for her plans to address the ongoing education crisis in the country. The rankings were based on data-driven and fact-based research and monitoring of platforms and track records of presidential candidates on the 10-point education reform agenda.

“Each candidate earned a point for every initiative, stance, and platform that aligns with the coalition’s goal of ensuring good education governance, conducive learning environment, and facilitating the empowerment of teachers and schools, and high standards of learning for all,” the coalition said.

Senator Panfilo Lacson took second place with his fight for an adequate budget for education in the senate and his Edukasyon Plus platform. Mayor isko Moreno came in third with his “impressive” education aid and infrastructure projects and activities in Manila. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., on the other hand, ranked fourth with the education measures he was able to push for during his term in the senate. The coalition said, “While he has laid down some education plans, these lack the strategy needed to solve the education crisis.”

Why am I, a peacebuilder, focusing on education? Well, thousands of years ago, Confucius said “Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.” Wisdom for today, as stated by Nobel Peace Awardee Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan: You must fight others, but through peace, and through dialogue, and through education.”

I have also been tracking their agenda for women and girls. Sadly, not much coverage in the news.

Education and women. There is a proverb – I think from Africa - “If you educate a man, you educate an individual. But if you educate a woman, you educate a nation.” Education and women. Two important factors for peace and development.

(Note: I hope that the ASEAN initiative for a regional plan to implement the Women, Peace, and Security agenda, following the implementation of the Joint Statement on Promoting Women, Peace, and Security in ASEAN that was adopted by the ASEAN Leaders in 2017, will prioritize education. #WPSASEAN)

I am a member of the Board of Regents of the Mindanao State University, which was established by law in 1961. There are only two state universities in the Philippines – the University of the Philippines and MSU. MSU was mandated by the government to advance the cause of national unity and actively pursue integration through education in Mindanao, particularly for the Muslim and ethnic communities. Today, MSU has campuses in strategic areas in Mindanao: the main campus is in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, MSU-IIT in Iligan City, MSU-TCTO in Tawi-Tawi, MSU-Naawan in Misamis Oriental, MSU-Maguindanao, MSU-General Santos, MSU-Sulu in Jolo and MSU Buug in Zamboanga Sibugay.

With most of its campuses located in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao, MSU has proposed an amended charter that will pave its way to becoming the National Peace University. MSU will not only provide educational learning and employment opportunities to young people but also create and extend initiatives that will pave the way for a peaceful Mindanao.

I have been a vocal voice on the Board of Regents for MSU to do more outreach programs, particularly in peacebuilding. I have also frequently pitched for more involvement in the empowerment of women and girls as well as protecting our pluralistic communities, where all Mindanawons can live and work together as one big Mindanao family.

Two MSU academicians, respected for their work on peacebuilding and not just education, are our guests on “She Talks Peace,”

Bai Hejira Nefertiti “Popoy” Limbona is the Chancellor of the MSU-Maguinandao Campus. She has a PhD in Public Administration and an alumnus of the prestigious Bridging Leadership program of the Asian Institute of Management. She is one of the youngest Chancellors elected by the Board of Regents. I remember how exciting her election was.

Ms. Yasmira "Yash" P. Moner is the acting director of the Institute for Peace and Development in Mindanao (IPDM), and Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science. She earned her Master in Governmental Science from the School of Jusuf Kalla, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Her research interests include post-conflict governance, peace processes, social movements, and political dynamics in the Bangsamoro.

Both ladies wear many hats in their communities: educator, peace activist, and bearers of the Bangsamoro's cultural, political, and development aspirations.

We talked about the rise in comments that seek to prevent women’s participation in leadership, decision-making, and even in higher education. They shared their experiences as a woman in the academe and the challenges they faced.

A passionate Chancellor Popoy Limbona said: “Whatever engagement you have, at whatever level, it’s always a room full of men. When it comes to higher education institutions, politics, governments, engagements with LGUs, almost 100% of LGUs do not recognize the role of higher education institutions in their community, development plans, development programs, research. That’s the most challenging part – how to engage the local chief executives and make them realize the roles of universities in socioeconomic development, especially when it comes to uplifting the lives of their constituents.”

Popoy reflected that as a woman leading an institution, she often feels that she has to be twice as good to get half of what they have.” In a room full of men, there’s always been a whisper, “mag usap muna tayo.” She added that when people say that, it means “usap muna kaming mga lalake.” It’s a subtle hint for “let the men talk,” and then we’ll discuss with you the decision we’ve made.

Prof Yash, meanwhile, shared her experiences as a young woman from a minority and the challenge of gender issues in conflict-affected areas. Yash is in Iligan, Lanao del Norte, living in an area that is not part of the jurisdiction of the BARMM but has one of the largest MILF camps. She was in her first-year high school in 2000 when she first experienced the devastation of armed conflict. Yash, trying to understand her purpose, identity, and faith, said: “I did not understand why growing up in a heterogeneous community, during the war, people would discriminate against me and my family just because we wear hijab, say Alhamdullilah or Allahu Akbar.”

Discrimination was the challenge that became her opportunity to pursue her calling as an educator. She recalled that in 2008, when the MOA-AD was challenged as unconstitutional, she became a staunch supporter of the peace process. Her experience of the very historically rooted conflict shaped her vision of becoming a peace educator.

Echoing Chancellor Popoy’s experience of a room full of men, Yash said: “That was for me a constraint that I want to break, where women are seen as supporters of the peace process and not direct decision-makers or becoming those that really try to challenge the politics we have -very parochial, ethnocentric. I challenge myself because I know we can break the glass ceiling. We are not just women, we are human beings, we are leaders, and we are peacebuilders.”

We talked about the role of the academe (in this case MSU) in peacebuilding and the prevention of violent extremism.

Chancellor Popoy has big dreams for MSU-Maguindanao. “The biggest role for me is to help the communities of MSU Maguindanao how to be part of peace-building conflict resolution. How to engage the government, to be part of the government, to work with the government, instead of contributing to more conflict. The people need to know that the government has programs intended for them. One of the remaining reasons there’s conflict is because people are not aware, especially those in the outskirts of town, are not aware there are laws passed to protect them, give incentives, rewards, and government initiatives they can acquire, apply for, intended for them.”

She adds: “A challenge in the university, especially when you have MSU ITT, Marawi, Gensan, who are producing topnotchers -- of course, you want to have topnotchers but you also need to carry as much as possible everyone, each and every one of your students to uplift their lives.” She sadly noted that there are only eight students from the Indigenous Peoples studying in MSU-Maguindanao out of 4,000 students. The IPs either have difficulty passing the entrance exam or have financial constraints that bar them from commuting to school. This is a challenge that she believes MSU has to address with more outreach programs.

Prof Yash, meanwhile, wants MSU to focus on critical thinking. “I believe the highest form of colonization is the inability to think for yourselves. Become slaves of technology. Nowadays, it’s so sad that people no longer use their brain.” She laments young people’s tendency to google everything and not validate what they share. “Data per se will not speak for themselves. We need to make sense of data. Insight is very important. It is through education, formal and non-formal, which is what we do in Iligan in collaboration with other centers we have here.” She believes evidence-based peace education programs are “very important so we can have more allies not just in gender-responsive peacebuilding but looking at things in a systematic matter and not a myopic view.”

About young people just googling everything, Yash says: “We need to really educate ourselves on how to think about a collective future. Yes, history is very important, that would inform the person. The current problems we have are too complex that sometimes we get held back by our past. We need to maximize our technology in. a way that would not lose our humanity. I believe that peace education, education for the future is very important.”

“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved thru understanding.” Albert Einstein once said.

Do listen to Chancellor Popoy Limbona and Prof Yash Moner on “She Talks Peace” and you will understand why the next administration should ensure that the room is not just filled with men.