BY ASANGAN T. MADALE
Dr. Sahanee Macarumpat Sumagayan Schools Division Superintendent of Lanao del sur 1 Division has joins the nation celebratin the 2023 National Women’s month.
In an official statement furnished to the Manila Times, Sumagayan said the 2023 National Women’s Month Celebration marks a juncture in the advancement of women’s rights as it launches a new recurring theme from this year to 2028:
WE for gender equality and inclusive society. It sparks a renewed commitment to the advocacy and banks on the gains achieved during the 2016-2022 theme, WE Make CHANGE Work for Women, which emphasized the need for compassionate and harmonized networks towards gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE).Sumagayan said.
Adding, the recurring theme also aligns with the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, which aims for “deep economic and social transformation to reinvigorate job creation and accelerate poverty reduction by steering the economy back on a high-growth path.” The plan also highlights that growth must be inclusive, building an environment that provides equal opportunities to all Filipinos and equipping them with skills to participate fully in an innovative and globally competitive economy.
ELEMENTS OF THE THEME
Sumagayan explained that our elements of the theme we stands for Women and Everyone emphasizing the role of women themselves and everyone in the pursuit of gender equality.
WE also stands for Women’s Empowerment, which can only be achieved when agencies, mechanisms, institutions, private partners, and duty-bearers from the national to the local level provide women equal rights and opportunities, and women take these opportunities to further themselves. With women and everyone in synergy, WE can make gender equality a possibility.
Gender Equality. Gender equality is the first half of the GEWE advocacy, and it is the ultimate goal when we advance the rights of women. Thus, the theme bearing this is a call for urgent action to double the efforts toward this absolute aspiration. In the Global Gender Gap Report, at the current rate of progress, with the global gender gap being closed by only 68.1%, it will take 132 years to reach gender equality worldwide, a stark difference from the figure of 99.5 years in the 2020 report. Hence, this means that none of us, or most likely many of our children, will see gender parity in our lifetimes. But not all hope is gone because our right for gender equality today is for a better and more inclusive tomorrow, albeit not in the next generations.
The term gender equality is also preceded by the word “for”, signifying our call to women and everyone to vote for, take action on, and promote equality and inclusivity.
Inclusive society. This is a call not only for a gender-responsive society but an inclusive one. A society that overrides differences in SOGIE, class, ability, generation, status, and culture; a society where every individual, each with rights and responsibilities, has an active role to play. Equality and inclusion go hand-in-hand in the GEWE advocacy, Sumagayan said.
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