Vive la femme!

CHEERS! A hundred cheers! MARCH 8. 2011 is the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, and may I cheer loud and clear Long live the woman! or Vive la femme! as the French would have it, like when the French revolutionaries of ages ago (men and women in unity) shouted Liberte! Egalite! Fraternite! A surfeit of exclamations? Yes, because womankind has taken great strides in Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity with men. Nevertheless… Obstacles remain to be hurdled. Take the absence of equal opportunities in employment and in pay. Salesgirls we got to talk with in department stores tell how male job applicants are given the edge over the female job seekers as early as at the interview stage. And it’s just deplorable when female employees are generally given lower pay than their male counterparts occupying the same job. Tales of woe and cases of discrimination have filled up the labor courts where both the male and female of the species go to for redress of grievances. Worse cases of discrimination could be flagrant in other parts of the world than in our country, but that isn’t comforting thought. The fact that they have it worse in foreign shores is ground for condemnation for the whole of womankind. March 8 as International Women’s Day and March as Women’s Month — two proclamations to boost womankind. Nonetheless, these proclamations already bespeak unequal regard for women. The world’s acknowledgment of the obvious which, if I may say so, makes the following repartee relevant: Said a male acquaintance with snobby pride, “Okay, you have one month. We have eleven.” Huh? And my retort: “Oh, yes, we can abolish Women’s Month, but let us both, male and female, have all of the twelve months. That’s 365 days of pushing for human rights, men’s and women’s, yours and mine.” We Filipinos should be proud that the Philippines is among the countries where the presidency is an open playing field for both sexes. For proof, the country has had two female presidents. The first was not of the caliber we would have wanted. If to be recalled, Cory Aquino was praised for being good at making coffee and blending with the curtains. (Aray!) Another woman had made it to the presidency. But Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, a doctorate in economics, is an entirely different story. Stop now, before I detour to unpalatable subjects of corruption and human rights violations. In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has called for A BRIDGE EVENT and for participation therein. “We invite you to join tens of thousands of people coming together on bridges all over the world -- from the Millennium Bridge in London, the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, to the Grand Barriere Bridge joining Rwanda and Congo -- to show your support for women's causes and celebrate women's achievements.” Being ensconced here in South Carolina, I can just imagine how Iloilo will celebrate March 8 in praise of womankind. * * * On a lighter vein, we got some wishful thinking from the Internet about the Three Wise Women: “Do you know what would have happened if there had been three wise WOMEN instead of three wise MEN?” “They would have asked for directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the Baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole and given practical gifts.” Praise ye, the nurturing nature of womankind! * * * Do you know that what a man can do, a woman can do better? That statement has been a speech opener of many a woman president of a club or any organization, or any position for that matter. And almost always, she is attested right by her accomplishments to the amazement of the male of the species. Vive la femme! Long live womankind! (Email lagoc@hargray.com)/PN