The history of women’s struggle for the right to vote was born out of decades of militant and united action among women. It is through militant action that women’s basic rights can be achieved and legitimate demands be acted upon. It is also through militancy that these rights are retained, defended, and actualized.
Since the Spanish and American colonial periods, women have joined underground resistance movements in efforts to liberate the Filipino people from colonizers. From the Suffragists who campaigned for women’s right to vote and access education and from the Martial Law era, where women workers and leaders were martyred in the fight against dictatorship, to the ongoing struggles of thousands of women fighting for our rights and freedom up to this day. The struggles of Filipino women have always been linked with the struggles of the broad Filipino masses towards sovereignty and social justice from the exploitation of the ruling class.
In these 2025 midterm elections, we are bearing witness to a systematic attempt to silence women. We have seen how those who boldly resist political dynasties and big business interests—forces that have hijacked the Philippine party-list system—are met with blatant and normalized red-tagging, harassment, and unexplained anomalies during the election process. It hasn’t even been a century since women’s suffrage was won in the Philippines in 1937, yet the few genuine avenues for women’s political representation are already being deliberately targeted and forced out of the field.
It is without a doubt that women’s political participation does not begin and end during elections, but increased participation through genuine representation will help address gender disparities and ensure that laws address the needs of women and marginalized sectors. Thus, now more than ever, we must increase our tireless action, resist fascist forces, and hold accountable the perpetrators of this systemic repression to achieve our desired real change. We must take inspiration from the women who have gone before us, and we must not allow the hard-earned victories of our movement to be erased. Organize, mobilize, and demand accountability, transparency, and genuine representation in our political system!
