MARAWI
CITY, Lanao del Sur, March 11 (PIA) --- The Regional Commission on
Bangsamoro Women (RCBW) will mark the observance of the national women’s
month this March in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with
activities focused on giving assistance to women and children displaced
by the present military operation in Maguindanao.
“We
anchored our activities with the region’s call for peace because of what
is happening now in our region, especially in Maguindanao,” said RCBW
Chairperson Sittie Jehanne Mutin.
The military offensive
against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) has now escalated
to 11 towns in the province, displacing more than 60,000 people, mostly
women and children.
Mutin said women, children and the
elderly undergo tremendous ordeal in times of conflict. She said
conditions in evacuation centers can be very hard, with hundreds of
families having to rely mostly on relief assistance for food.
“We are asking everyone especially those affected to cling to hope and help each other,” she added.
According
to the RCBW, the women’s month celebration in the ARMM will feature
activities such as peace dialogues, lectures on women rights, trainings
on entrepreneurship, and other social activities including relief
operations and psycho-social intervention to women and children staying
in evacuation centers.
The celebration, which carries the
theme “Babae, ang desisyon mo ay mahalaga sa kinabukasan ng bawat isa,
ikaw na!” kicked-off on March 9 with a parade participated by ARMM
employees in Cotabato City.
A dialogue on the Mindanao
peace process was held in the afternoon with a representative from the
Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP)
discussing updates on the ongoing peace process between the government
and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and a lecture about the
proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law.
Mutin said they want to accelerate
the participation of Moro women in peace building, economic empowerment
and in enhancing gender development intervention for good governance in
the region.
She also appealed to elected officials and lawmakers to support the peace process to end the off and on conflicts in Mindanao.
Other
activities scheduled by the agency include an orientation on Republic
Act 9262 or the Anti-Violence against Women and Children Act, trainings
on economic and entrepreneurship in the five provinces and two cities of
ARMM, in partnership with the local government and CSOs, and relief
operation together with the region’s Humanitarian Emergency Action
Response Team (HEART).
The observance of National Women’s
month every March is in line with Proclamation No. 227 promulgated in
1988. The RCBW is the principal women development agency of ARMM.
(Bureau of Public Information-ARMM/APB/PIA-10)
- See more at: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1521425989341/armm-joins-women-s-month-celebration#sthash.y6cTdTp8.dpuf
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