The report is made to draw to the attention of the government and the public the reality of the lives of Mindanawon women, what their needs are, and more importantly, their contributions to building a peaceful and prosperous society for all. The report will show that many women are victims of poverty and conflict. But the women also hold the key to peace and development in Mindanao. Read more

The State of the Women of Mindanao Report 2003

Part 1 (Download as pdf file, 3 MB)
Forewords
Introduction
Mindanao at a Glance
Population
The Other Mindanao
Education and Literarcy

Part 2 (Download as pdf file, 4 MB)
Health
Labor and Employment

Part 3 (Download as pdf file, 3 MB)
Rural Women
Women in Armed Conflict
Women in Electoral Politics
Women, Hope of Mindanao

The Third Mindanao
Quick Glance on some Findings

Population
Mindanao’s population has two characteristics: it is fast growing and it is young. As of 2000, the total population was 18 million, accounting for almost 24 percent of the country’s 76 million population. Half of this population is below 19 years old. The combined numbers of the young and the elderly add up to a 75 percent dependency ratio. This means that only 25 percent of the population are economically productive.

Poverty
Among families, poverty incidence was highest n Mindanao compared to Luzon and the Visayas. While only 24 percent of the country’s population resided n Mindanao, its contribution to national poverty was approximately 31 percent. Poverty was deepest and most severe in ARMM and some parts of Western and Central Mindanano, regions with the largest proportion of Muslims and Lumads. Within Mindanao, the highest poverty incidence was in ARMM at 74 percent, followed by Region XII at 58 percent and Region IX at 53 percent.

Schools
Moro and Lumad children in school go through the same curriculum as other children. Where the worldview and cultural values are different from their own, Moro and Lumad parents have become increasingly suspicious of the perspectives and values imbibed by their children.

Health
Mindanao’s health budget remains dismally low. Over the period 2000-2003, Luzon, with seven regions, received the biggest chunk of the DOH budget. In 2003, Luzon’s budget allocation for health increased from 42,2 percent to 47.0 percent. On the other hand, Mindanao’s budget share was stagnant at 14.3 percent for the past two years. The disparity does not end there. Regional disparities also occur. CARAGA, known to have the poorest health performance among the six Mindanao regions, perennially received the lowest share of the DOH budget.

Work
Regions with the highest poverty incidence did not gain from the government’s policy of exploiting the international labor market. Luzon with a poverty incidence of 30.8 percent in 2000, had the highest percentage share of OFWs, 86 percent (can this figure be correct?) of which were males and 68 percent females. In contrast, ARMM, where poverty incidence is 57 percent (oh, on page 2 it was indicated as 74 percent ??), had only a 0.76 to 1.2 percentage share of OFWs. Women were 19 percent and men 10 percent of the OFWs from Mindanao.

There are approximately five million women in the rural areas in the farming and fishery sectors, commercial plantations, manufacturing, and the informal sector. Much of the work of women is non-monetized.

War
As in all wars, the direct victims are children, the elderly and the women. The Estrada “all out war” in 2000 brought untold suffering to the lives of 157,467 families or 827,699 persons. In the military assault on Buliok, Maguindanao on February 11,2003, more than 380,000 persons were displaced. More than half of the so-called bakwits or internally displaced persons were women. In the evacuation centers, women were responsible for ensuring that their children and elderly relatives were fed, had a place to sleep with a roof over their heads, and kept out of harm’s way.

Upon their return to their communities, if was the women who suffered most from the loss of property and livelihood, absence of potable water and health services, and the disruption of their children’s education. In the absence of their spouses, the women ultimately took on the complex responsibility of re-building a community ripped apart by war.

Historically, women have played important roles in peace-negotiation efforts. The Bangsamoro women regard themselves as “cleaners of the dirt of the community”, playing the role of mediators in conflict situations. In the Arumanen Manobo tribe, women were sent to the enemy to settle conflicts. More often than not, women were successful in the negotiation process and were able to prevent conflict from escalating. In the government peace panel, there are two women; none in the MILF panel.

Abstract
The data presented shows the existence of a Third Mindanao., where women in particular suffer from misguided of insufficient programs and policies because of their gender. Ethnicity and class were also factors in determining their condition and status. However, even under severe circumstances, women have organized their meagre resources to ensure the survival of their family. Many of them are providing inspiring leadership in the creation of new structures for sustainable peace and development in Mindanao.