BARMM women leader: ‘No women, no genuine autonomy’

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 9, 2022): BARMM women leader: ‘No women, no genuine autonomy’ (By Edwin Fernandez)

Bangsamoro Women Commission Chairperson Bainon Karon (File photo courtesy of Bangsamoro Information Office – BARMM)

A Moro leader of the women’s commission in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has described the role of women in the region as crucial in terms of governance and peacebuilding.

In a statement Wednesday, Bainon Karon, the chairperson of the Bangsamoro Women Commission (BWC), said women in the region now play major roles, including decision-making.

“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,” she said.

On Tuesday, Karon joined the region’s launch of religious rulings on women in line with this year’s celebration of National Women’s Month.

“Let this day be a celebration of who we truly are — as active agents of peace and development,” she said during her speech at the program’s opening rites.

During the program, the Bangsamoro Darul Ifta and BWC launched the “fatwa” or Islamic rulings on gender-based violence.

The “fatwa” focused on violence against women, wife desertion and abandonment, husband forcing sexual relations with his wife, rape, and human trafficking.

Karon said the women’s month celebration in BARMM showcases the contribution of women in the transition, specifically in the implementation of the peace agreement and in the normalization.

In a separate statement, BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim admitted that the success of the expanded Bangsamoro region 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,” he said.

Ebrahim said the celebration, as manifested in its theme: “We make change work for Bangsamoro women,” speaks of the need to strengthen the institutional mechanism to bring in enough numbers of women in the government.

“The celebration also calls for providing 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,” he said.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1169369