BARMM women leader: “No women, no genuine autonomy”
BANGSAMORO NEWS UPDATES • 10:30 AM Wed Mar 9, 2022
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By:
Edwin O. Fernandez
COTABATO CITY – A Moro leader of women’s commission in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has said the role of women in the region in terms of governance and peacebuilding is crucial.
Speaking during the launching Tuesday of religious rulings on women in line with the celebration of National Women’s Month 2022, Bangsamoro Women Commission (BWC) chairperson Bainon Karon stressed that women in the region now play major roles, including decision making.
“There have been numerous change stories, told and untold, about women’s participation,” Karon said in her speech during opening salvo of women’s month’s celebration activities here.
“Let us sustain this, for without us contributing to the process and outcomes of any policy and decision-making, there can be no genuine autonomy,” Karon stgressed.
“Let this day be a celebration of who we truly are — as active agents of peace and development,” she added.
Karon said the women’s month celebration in BARMM showcase the contribution of women in the transition, specifically in the implementation of the peace agreement and in the normalization.
BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim admitted that the success of BARMM was not possible without women’s participation.
“Just like our previous celebrations, I am always proud to say that the Bangsamoro as an identity, as a people and now as a political entity, would not be possible without the sacrifices and contributions of our Bangsamoro women.”
“This celebration, as manifested in its theme: “We make change work for Bangsamoro women,” speaks of our need to strengthen institutional mechanism to bring in enough numbers of women in the government, to save those who are trapped in domestic violence, to provide equal opportunities, and to make sure that our dear mothers, sisters, aunts and daughters are given the respect and the highest regard that they deserve in our society,” Chief Minister Ebrahim said in a statement.
During the program, the Bangsamoro Darul Ifta and BWC jointly launched the “fatwa” or Islamic rulings on gender-based violence (GBV).
The “fatwas” focused on violence against women, wife desertion and abandonment, husband forcing sexual relations with his wife, rape, and human trafficking.