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ON THE OCCASION OF
INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: VIOLENCE
AGAINST INDIGENOUS WOMEN SPRINGS FROM THE VIOLATION OF ANCESTRAL LAND
RIGHTS
Indigenous women in the Philippines joins the world-wide commemoration of
the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
(IDEVAW). BAI, a national network of indigenous women's organizations with
Asia indigenous Women's Network (AIWN) commemorates this day with
indignation over the intensifying plunder of our land, food and natural
resources, the militarization of our communities and the continuing human
rights violations which include harassment and threats of indigenous
leaders and organizations.
On 23-25 November 2008, BAI leaders held a workshop in Baguio City to
discuss particular and distinct violence against indigenous women in the
Philippines using the situation of 9 indigenous communities in Mindanao,
Palawan, Cagayan and the Cordillera. The case presentations showed various
forms of violence resulting from the violation of their collective rights
to include economic, political and socio-cultural rights and which are
rooted from the violation of ancestral land rights and self-determination
of indigenous peoples as a whole.
Based from the case presentations, the violation of ancestral land rights
and control of natural resources resulting from the imposition of
development projects like mining in the case of indigenous peoples in
Palawan, Mindanao, Cagayan and the Cordillera, corporate monocrop
plantations in the case of Mindanao and the declaration of their territory
as military reservation in the case of Tumanduk people in Panay.
The presence and serious plan of government and corporations to set up
these projects impact on the economic rights particularly destroying
traditional occupations of indigenous women and killing existing sources
of their livelihood. Of the case study areas, almost the whole area of
Conner, Apayao (81%), the whole community of Kinam along with several
other indigenous communities in Saranggani province in Mindanao, the whole
community of Siocon in Zamboanga del Norte and the whole community of
Mariwara in Princess Urduja in Palawan along with other areas, are covered
with applications by foreign mining corporations. Ongoing operation is
already happening in Siocon despite resistance of the affected communities
since the start of the application. The whole village of Colalo in
Mankayan Benguet (Cordillera) is also threatened with the expansion of
Lepanto mines.
The community of Tacayan in Tapaz, Capiz (Panay island) is one of the
communities covered by the 310,000 hectares of military reservation
declared by the Diosdado Macapagal government in the provinces of Capiz
and Jamindan. The village of Tungaw in Magpet, Cotabato is threatened by a
banana plantation and the whole village of Pag-asa in Alabel, Saranggani
province (Mindanao) is threatened by Jathropa plantation.
BAI leaders noted that hunger and poverty is already prevalent in these
communities. The situation is further aggravated by the lack of social
services like health, education facilities and basic infrastructure. The
full implementation of development aggression will surely mean deeper
impoverishment and dislocation, with the indigenous women displaced from
their traditional occupations and current sources of livelihood.
What is also noted is that almost all these areas are militarized hence
indigenous women who are part of the resistance suffer from threats and
harassment. Violence related to militarization as documented in these case
study areas include rape, sexual harassment and building relationship with
local young women and eventually abandoning the girls when the soldiers
move out from the community.
"We are literally fenced off from our own land and from our source of
livelihood with the declaration of our territory as military reservation",
explained Erlinda Pedroso, a Tumanduk leader. Curfew is imposed by the
27th and 12th IB from 8pm to 4AM. Land mines are installed by the military
during the curfew hours to ensure that the people will all be home by that
time. "This is a big threat to our security and limits us to work and stay
in our fields as much time as we like to catch up with the survival needs
of our families", Pedroso exclaims.
"Pests which we strongly attribute to the banana plantation, are attacking
the farms of indigenous peasant families", says Norma Capuyan, a Bagobo
woman leader from Cotabato and spokesperson for BAI in Mindanao.
Particularly in Tungaw, the banana plantation is asking the residents to
rent out their lands to the company for P12,000 a year for 1 hectare.
According to Capuyan, this only creates division among residents in the
community. "The people are able to generate more for their survival when
they till their lands than renting these to the company", says Capuyan.
In a similar situation, Lorna Mora, a B'laan woman leader from Sarangani
province says that a jathropa plantation which intends to expand to the
village of Pag-asa, Alabel is offering the indigenous residents a rent of
P20,000 per year per hectare. "This is as good as surrendering your land
to the plantation", says Mora. Until now, none of those who rented out
their lands are receiving any rental payment. Jatropha plantations for
biofuel production and run by corporations, are supported by the
government as a response to climate change.
Apart from economic violence, indigenous women experience cultural
violence. Their traditional knowldege is exploited for tourism and for
profit by traders in the handicraft business with the facilitation of
government. Catharina Estavillo of Amihan who did the case study among
Agta women in Sanchez Mira, Cagayan shared about the experience of Agta
women on commercialization of culture. For several occassions, the Agta
women were invited to showcase their handicrafts in trade fairs as far a
Manila through the Department of Tourism. Marketing of their products
however is in the hands of traders who pay them in installment and at a
very low price. The Agta women handicraft producers bear the burden of
going after the trader for the payment. "This is a clear form of
exploitation accompanied by deception", says Estavillo.
"These are the clear issues of violence against indigenous women that we
want indigenous women and the wider public to be aware of. These are the
violence against indigenous women that we want the Arroyo government to be
accountable and responsible", says Vernie Yocogan-Diano of Innabuyog and
national coordinator of BAI. The rights, welfare and survival of
indigenous women continue to be imperilled by development aggression and
state repression even if the Philippine government subscribed and is a
signatory to international human rights laws to include CEDAW and the UN
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).►►►►
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Dr. Jean Lindo from the Health
Sector |
The Moot Court was a
presentation of testimonies from VAW survivors who were victims of rape
and domestic violence and two victims of state violence.
Emily Diarog’s testimony was
about the killing of her husband, Datu Dominador Diarog. Emily and her 2
children suffered gunshot wounds.
Another testimony came from a
certain Micmic who was sexually harassed by 2nd Lt. Fernando Fernandez of
the Phil. Army when she and her father were interrogated by the said army
officer.
A panel of jurors was composed of representatives from the Integrated Bar
of the Phils.-Davao City, Sisters Association in Mindanao, Davao City
Social Services & Development Office, Health NGO, and KADAMAY.
The verdict of the jury was read by GABRIELA leader: “That Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo has committed gross violations against women and
children; that GMA should be ousted in Malacanang; that GMA cannot appeal
her case; that the decision is final and executory!” |
"The situation therefore requires the development of capacity of
indigenous women to be able to articulate their issues of violence,
present their recommendation to the government, corporations and other
concerned bodies including the UN and make use of other avenues like the
CEDAW to raise issues and concerns of indigenous women", says Eleanor
Bang-oa speaking in behalf of the Asian Indigenous Women's Network which
BAI is a member of.
Indigenous women's organizations in the Philippines through BAI will
pursue in addressing particular issues of violence against indigenous
women along with the general issues faced by indigenous peoples and women
in the Philippines. It is therefore necessary for indigenous women to
deepen their understanding on the various forms of violence that they face
as a special sector of women, build the strength and capacity of their
organizations to assert their collective rights to land , resources and
self-determination as well as their basic individual rights and against
feudal-patriarchal and commercial views that discriminate them as women
and limit their full participation in all spheres of engagement and
development.###
Innabuyog, BAI, national network of indigenous women's organization in the
Philippines and Asia Indigenous Women's Network (AIWN)
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