The Philippines

Cindy Uy

Sugarcane farming is the main source of livelihood in the Philippine town of Manjuyod.  Here, in the  Negros Oriental region, large families work the plantations under the traditional model of a hacienda, a labor exchange instituted during the coming of the Spaniards. Cultivating sugar cane for menial wages, the seasonal work does not provide enough of an income to feed a family three times daily. Due to the lack of financial resources, most individuals are not able to pursue high school or college education. Amongst these life struggles are social atrocities such as domestic violence and sexual abuse. Cases of failed marriage, rape, unfaithful spouses, sexual and physical abuse, and incest flood the Gender Watch against Violence and Exploitation (GWAVE) organization.  Many of these victims are socially and economically disadvantaged women and girls, some of whom have even been sexually abused by their own fathers. Frequently, not just one, but all girl-children in a family will be the victim of sexual abuse by their fathers, and as is often the case, impregnated.

Unfortunately, gender-based violence is not yet considered a concern by most local governments in the Manjuyod province and many mayors (who are mostly men) do not consider violence against women a development issue. This is evident in that a significant portion of the women who seek support from GWAVE have been denied welfare services by their local government units. Such incidents are exacerbated in towns like Manjuyod that do not see family planning as a top level priority.  On the contrary, parents believe that the more children they raise the more hands available to work in the sugarcane plantation, resulting in a higher income for the family.  However, this strategy has proven to be counterproductive and often disables a family, leaving women unable to earn an income while they are home pregnant or occupied with childcare.

Cindy Uy, executive director of GWAVE, listens to the varied experiences of these abused women every day, and explains that the suffering of these disadvantaged women is the motivation behind her continued fight for their rights.

“These are real-life situations that inspire me to work more to protect the girl-children from being victims of sexual abuse.”

Motivated from her youth and passionate towards aiding others, Cindy was destined to become a politician and advocate for family planning and reproductive health.  Cindy comes from a long line of politicians who have governed the town of Manjuyod for over two decades. From a young age, she witnessed the limited opportunities of her childhood playmates and the struggles of her neighbors’ survival.  At the age of 18, Cindy served as a youth member and later as a council member on the Municipal Council of Manjuyod, where she was involved with advocacy work on population issues, especially with adolescent health and youth development. 

During her time as a council member, Cindy became more exposed to topics such as contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, and human immunodeficiency virus. As a result, Cindy gained new insights on population issues and played a critical role in establishing the province’s first Gender and Development (GAD) Fund for advocacy and capacity building.  This initiative required each local government unit to allocate five percent of their funding to address gender inequality. The reserved funding was used for direct service in providing provisions for victims in need of legal, medical or shelter assistance, and for capability building for Barangay officials and local service providers. 

Cindy’s experience as a politician and dedication to women’s empowerment led her to her current post at GWAVE. Formally organized in 2003, GWAVE began as an informal group of women who came together to assist two young rural girls to file cases of rape.  During this time, women were faced with social and structural barriers when attempting to gain access to the justice system. To mitigate this obstacle, GWAVE was established, and today Cindy focuses on gaining justice and equality for women by helping them to exercise their rights. She teaches women to become empowered, versus passive and helpless victims of injustice and abuse.  The legal assistance program that GWAVE offers is not merely about winning cases for women.  Cindy and her team also work to increase the presence of women’s rights advocates in the courts and sustain interaction with the legal community to gain a better understanding of gender based violence.  For many of these women, their families, and their communities, the pursuit of justice is an education in itself. 

One of the biggest challenges for Cindy and GWAVE has been the social influence that the Roman Catholic Church has against the reproductive health program.  Afraid of the Catholic hierarchy, most politicians have withdrawn their support of the Reproductive Health Bill, a Philippine measure which aims to guarantee access to reproductive health information and methods of birth control, family planning and maternal care.  A personal struggle for Dilith’s family is that the Catholic school her children attend does not support government family planning or reproductive health programs, and even campaigned against the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill. Cindy’s family members are devoted Roman Catholics and are advocates for the bill, agreeing that reproductive health is a right that has to be respected by the Church. Cindy notes, “anything that limits or deprives Catholics of their freedom to plan for their own family is a violation of every person’s right to live a life of dignity.” 

The need for policy is vital, and as a believer in political effectiveness, Cindy intends to run for mayor in the 2012 elections. “As I evolved as a leader,” Cindy says, “I learned that an abused woman usually accepts her fate, which does not have to be so.  If a woman lives in a violent situation which is tolerated, it breeds a cycle of violence.”   A woman’s inability to make choices regarding her own reproductive health often leads to unplanned or unwanted pregnancies and a lifetime of frustration, pain, and eventually domestic violence.  If elected as mayor, Cindy hopes to implement local reproductive health policies and inspire other political leaders to do the same.