Magna Carta of Women

1
Magna Carta of Women

• R.A. 9710
• 14 August 2009

Recognizing and protecting womens rights, and
banning discrimination against women
2
Highlights

• 7 years in the making legislative debates
  started in 2002 (12th Congress)
• Merger of 2 bills
• Magna Carta for Women
• Magna Carta of Women in Rural Development
• Landmark legislation on womens rights, passed in
  the 13th Congress
• Goal To ensure the equitable representation of
  women in all spheres of society

3
highlights

• Recognizes and protects womens rights
• At home
• At work
• In all spheres of society
• Toward developing all aspects of womens
  well-being
• Ensures the equitable participation and
  representation of women in
• Government
• political parties
• the civil service and
• private sector
• Guarantees the civil, political, social and
  economic rights of women in marginalized sector

4
highlights

• NCRFW MCW seeks to eliminate all forms of
  discrimination against women by
• Recognizing
• Protecting
• Fulfilling and
• Promoting
• All human rights and fundamental freedoms of
  Filipino women, particularly those in the
  marginalized sector.
• Equal opportunity for women is emphasized under
  the law in all fields and endeavors

5
MAGNA CARTA of WOMEN

• Ensures womens rights to
• Health
• Food security
• Housing
• Decent work
• Livelihood
• Social protection
• Preservation of cultural identy
• Spells out equal rights in marriage and family,
  including joint decision on the number and
  spacing of children

6
Womens rights ARE Human rights

• Sec. 8 All rights in the Constitution and those
  rights recognized under international instruments
  duly signed and ratified by the Philippines, in
  consonance with Philippine law shall be rights of
  women under this Act to be enjoyed without
  discrimination.
• MCW is the national bill of rights of women just
  as CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All
  Forms of Discrimination Against Women) is the
  international bill of rights of women

7
SALIENT FEATURES

• Increases the number of women personnel until
  they fill half of third-level positions in the
  government
• Sets up in every barangay a violence against
  womens (VAW) desk
• Provides incentives to parties with womens
  agenda
• Bars the derogatory portrayal of women in media
  and film
• Ensures womens equal access to education and
  sports
• Mandates the government to eliminate
  discrimination against women in the military and
  police

8
Provisions

• Mandates an incremental increase in the
  recruitment and training of women in the police
  force, forensics and medico-legal, legal services
  and social work services in the next 5 years
  until they make up half of the number of the
  personnel
• Provides for the incremental increase of women
  personnel in third-level government positions in
  the next 5 years to achieve a 50-50 gender
  balance
• Mandates that 40 of members of development
  councils in all government levels should be
  women, incentives to be provided to political
  parties with womens agenda

9
provisions

• Section 12 the State should amend or repeal
  within 3 years any law discriminatory to women
• Grants women the right to
• security in armed conflict
• protection from all forms of gender-based
  violence such as rape
• Prohibits the State from forcing women,
  especially indigenous women, to abandon their
  land or relocating them in special centers for
  military purposes under any discriminatory
  condition
• Mandates government personnel involved in the
  protection and defense of women to training in
  human rights and gender sensitivity

10
Civilian Arrest in VAW CASES

• Chief Supt. Yolanda Tanigue, chief of the WCPC
  MCW will pave the way for better enforcement of
  laws banning abuse of and discrimination against
  women
• MCW empowers civilians to arrest anyone caught in
  the act of abusing a woman

11
IMPLEMENtATION

• NCRFW is now the Philippine Commission on Women
  (PCW), the primary policy-making and coordinating
  body for women and gender equality concerns.
• Designates the CHR as the Gender and Development
  (GAD) Ombudsman to ensure the promotion and
  protection of womens rights (monitors compliance
  with the laws provisions)
• CHR Chair Leila de Lima The principles of Human
  Rights are therenon-discrimination, equality,
  participation, self-determination,
  non-exclusion...

12
National Agencies roles

• Mandates the DOLE and DSWD to strengthen the
  delivery of services to women migrant workers
  abroad
• As the gender and development ombudsman, the
  Commission on Human Rights has the major role of
  helping government agencies

13
education

• All educational materials and curriculums that
  tend to stereotype women should be revised.
• No educational institution will be allowed to
  expel or refuse readmission to women faculty
  members due to pregnancy outside of wedlock.
• No school would be allowed to expel or refuse
  admission to a female student solely on the
  account of her getting pregnant outside of
  marriage.

14
Workplace and family

• Women employees would be allowed to avail of a
  special leave benefit of two months with full pay
  after undergoing surgery caused by gynecological
  disorders, provided that she has rendered at
  least six months of continuous aggregate
  employment.
• In family relations, the law grants women equal
  weight in all decision making processes such as
  number and spacing of children and even
  nationality.

15
Migrant workers and health

• The law mandates the government to ensure the
  protection and promotion of migrant womens
  rights and welfare, regardless of work status,
  and protect them against discrimination in wages,
  conditions of work and employment opportunities.
• Mandates access to information and services
  pertaining to womens health.

16
LEGISLATIVE SPONSORS

• Sen. Jamby Madrigal, chairperson of the Senate
  Committee on Youth, Women and Family Relations--
  principal author
• Sen. Pia Cayetano -- principal sponsor

17
Sources

• Philippine Daily Inquirer, 15 August 2009
• http//www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId496
  127publicationSubCategoryId63