Central Mindanao University Academic Paradise of the South
The National Women’s Month was celebrated at the University Convention Center on March 01, 2016 with the theme “Kapakanan ni Juana Isama sa Agenda” sponsored by the University Center for Gender and Development in cooperation with the Behavioral Sciences Department, College of Arts and Sciences.
The celebration was intended to discuss gender equality and to emphasize women’s role in the community which was graced by Dr. Nicole C. Curato from the University of Canberra, Australia as speaker.
Students from various colleges and Laboratory High School, faculty, and staff participated in the program. “We have reasons to celebrate every year because first, women these days accomplished a lot in the community. Second, we are looking forward to the fact that there are still a lot of things women can do,” Dr. Curato said. She added that women should be remembered because until today many of them are still unsafe and discriminated.
The speaker emphasized that biases are evident in various types of media which communicates that women should be more of being beautiful than active. “Women are assessed based on beauty, whereas men are assessed based on their job and how active they are,” she compared. Aside from that, she added that women are expected to portray a sexual image and be static. “Sexism is still very much present in our country,” she stressed.
There were also art exhibit, make over, and free counseling services offered to women who worked hard and contributed a lot in the community during the celebration. She ended her speech by challenging, encouraging, and inspiring women to teach men by example how to respect women and “nobody should be oppressed based on gender preference.”
Contributed by: Trixy Vania D. Ricablanca
