Women’s Month Celebration 2023
We always celebrate the sacrifices and achievements of all women that contributed a lot to our country every month of March. The observance of International Women’s Day (IWD) was a result of the organized activities of women in the early 20th Century. Between 1909 and 1911, working women in the United States of America participated in organizing strike activities of the National Women’s Trade Union League and other concerned groups. They were protesting against low wages, lack of protective legislation, and the very poor working conditions to which women workers were subjected during that time. (Philippine Commission on Women, 2023)
As part of our celebration of Women’s Month Celebration 2023, all teachers of Alapan 1 Elementary School are required to wear their Gender and Development Polo shirts every Thursday. This simple act will symbolize our advocacy to promote equal opportunity to both men and women across all aspects of life, especially in career and skill development. Ms. Vanessa Malat, the head of the school’s National Women’s Month Celebration 2023, shared the details regarding the activities in connection with this celebration. This year’s theme is “WE for gender equality and inclusive society”.
See Also: Tara, i-Zumba Natin ‘Yan JUANA!: National Women’s Month
We can’t ignore that somewhere in our history, women are treated to be less competent and with very limited privileges. However, due to their sacrifices and bravery to change our social views towards women, we developed the idea of “Equality and Respect”. As per the record, 75% of teachers and personnel in our school are women. They are always satisfactorily performing their expected duties that need to be recognized. Women’s Month Celebration has since served as a venue to highlight women’s achievements and discuss continuing and emerging women’s empowerment and gender equality issues and concerns, challenges, and commitments.
Legal Mandates for National Women’s Month 2023
The passage of the following laws serves as the legal bases for the celebration of National Women’s Month:
Proclamation No. 224 s. 1988, “Declaring the First Week of March of Every Year as Women’s Week and March 8, 1988, and Every Year Thereafter as Women’s Rights and International Peace Day.” Signed by former President Corazon C. Aquino on March 1, 1988, it affirmed our solidarity with the United Nations and recognized Filipino women’s contribution to the struggle for national independence, civil liberties, equality, and human rights.
Proclamation No, 227 s. 1988, “Providing for the observance of the Month of March as ‘Women’s Role in History Month’” Signed by President Aquino on March 17, 1988, reinforced the earlier proclamation by emphasizing the role of Filipino women in the social, cultural, economic and political development throughout our history. It provided for a month-long nationwide observance with appropriate ceremonies and activities to be spearheaded by the Commission.
R.A. 6949 s. 1990, “An Act to Declare March Eight of Every Year as a Working Special Holiday to be Known as National Women’s Day” was signed by President Aquino on April 10, 1990. The law further strengthened the impetus for the celebration by declaring every March 8 as a special working holiday and enjoining employees from the government and private sector to participate in activities conducted by their offices.