Women in the Asian region faced several challenges during the past couple of years. Economically, they were one of the hardest hit during the 2007 global economic financial crisis because of the massive retrenchment in industries that hire mostly women. Disaster after disaster attacked the region caused by climate change that made women and children more vulnerable. On top of all these, political repression and gender discrimination victimized hundreds of militant and activist women in the region.
Yet, women persist. They are natural survivors. Existing in a region where people are mostly poor and oppressed, women live through the challenges. Living in a society where gender discrimination continues, women endure the hard times. They resist.
So how did Asian women survive the crisis? What are the mechanisms available to them? How did they resist their pathetic situation?
Although Asia is a multicultural region, women display commonalities in surviving a crisis. There are also aspects to be considered on how they cope, such as their personal capability, the governments’ response, and other resources available to them. As women start to handle the crisis through their personal capacity, many women are discovering the merit of collective effort to change their situation.
Some of the mechanisms opted by women are, in the long run, detrimental rather than beneficial to them. Some even resort to anti-social strategies such as drug dealing and prostitution
Triple Threats
The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) stated that countries in Asia and the Pacific are hit hardest with a triple whammy of food and fuel price increase, climate change, and the global economic crisis1.
The triple threats can be traced to imperialist globalization that perpetually haunts Asia and the rest of the world. Women, together with their children, receive severe blows because of their status as one of the most marginalized sectors in society. The International Labor Organization calculated an increase of 50-120 million in the number of Asians living under the poverty line during the period 2007 to 20092. Crisis means more hardship for the poorest and marginalized sectors in society. Approximately 70% of those who live on less than a dollar each day are women3.
The triple threats exacerbate the vulnerability of women, through (1) increased unemployment especially among those working in export-oriented countries, (2) aggravating exploitation in the workplace, (3) lower remittances to their families, (4) insecurity on food and other resources, (5) vulnerability to sex trafficking and prostitution, and (6) lesser opportunity for education and lesser access to health and other social services.
Coping Strategies
Crisis magnifies existing inequalities. Access to basic needs and services becomes a challenge. As part of the marginalized sectors, women make an effort to look for means on how to survive, always taking into consideration the wellbeing of their families. Such consideration puts a lot of pressure to women.
Women in the region, particularly in Southeast Asia, have common mechanisms in responding to the crisis. Women reduce their own and their family’s consumption on food, reduce the number of meals and buy non-nutritious food. They also resort to borrowing from loan sharks, affluent relatives and friends, and finance institutions. Many of them have multiple jobs or have been confined to informal employment.
Some of the mechanisms opted by women are, in the long run, detrimental rather than beneficial to them. Some even resort to anti-social strategies such as drug dealing and prostitution, just like in Thailand. Women, especially those belonging to the lowest income bracket, could not afford to be unemployed. They have no savings and no social security to fall back on. Especially when the crisis intensifies and the cost of living rises, women pursue to work even more and accept any work available, regardless of the conditions and consequences.
On the other hand, constructive strategies have also been worked out by women. One significant example is the mechanism used by Vietnamese women, who maximized the spirit of sharing and collectivism. They did not only think of themselves when jobs are available but instead, shared with others, bearing in mind that every one of them needs to give remittances to their families. In this way, the insecurity and depression of the workers are lessened.
Women discuss the impacts of the ecological crisis in Indonesia.
Support from others is an important factor why women can cope even with the most depressing situation. The social cost of the crisis includes increased breakdown in family relationships. In Indonesia, women who lost their jobs have faced divorce and domestic violence4. They were able to survive through the social networks that support them through cash loans, provision of food and care for the children5. Although only Thailand and Indonesia have articulated about prostitution as the last recourse for survival, prostitution has been a long standing issue in each of the countries in the region. It is indicative of a feudal patriarchal society that considers women as commodities and sex objects. Women who have fewer opportunities to get jobs become more vulnerable to become victims of prostitution. In the Philippines alone, as climate change reduces income from farming and fishing, there are reports of some women driven into prostitution. Small brothels reportedly appeared near the coastal areas where transient seafarers hire women for sexual favors and often, the women are ferried to bigger ships by their pimps6.
Employing Different Tactics and Strategies
Through mobilizing, women show their collective power to make clear demands, strategizing each move. They have taken different kinds of strategies, from simple to sophisticated approaches in redressing their grievances.
Women prepare simple petition letters from the concerned stakeholders sent to the decision-makers or state officials. In the Philippines, women usually do petition signing against price increases. But it does not end with letters.
Mass demonstrations, assembly, or rally occur to make clear their demands. An organization in Sri Lanka,
the Praja Abhilasha Network, sets up a people’s tribunal this July 2010 to compel the government to act for the people displaced by war and tsunami. Reportedly, the government has done nothing for the 450 families displaced by civil war and for the 17,000 people stuck in refugee camps after being displaced by tsunami7.
Women’s resistance can also be in the form of a parliamentary struggle, participating in the legislative arena to design laws that will be advantageous for women.
For the workers, it can come in the form of organizing a strike, especially if management is not receptive to the demands of the workers during negotiations. It can be any collective protest action with the objective of getting the message across especially if the target audience refuses to listen. The 3,000 Chinese workers in the Japanese-owned factory that produces electronic components are on strike to demand wage increases. The strike is the latest in a series of protests by the Chinese labor movement to demand better working conditions and wage increases. The workers are encouraged by the successful result of strikes in some factories belonging to Honda and Toyota that resulted in wage increases of between 20 and 30 percent8.
As women’s involvement for social change progresses, they realize that their experiences should be consolidated through service, immersion, and education. In this way, one can learn the more appropriate solutions for the community’s problems. It can also be the means to organize communities.
In the Philippines, Samahan ng Maralitang Kababaihang Nagkakaisa or SAMAKANA (Organization of United Urban Poor Women) always requests Center for Women’s Resources to conduct education and training activities, as part of the members’ consolidating activity. Through these activities, the members figure out the correlation of their plight with the existing policies in the country. These activities likewise facilitate their plan of action.
Women’s resistance can also be in the form of a parliamentary struggle, participating in the legislative arena to design laws that will be advantageous for women. For instance, in the Philippines, through women’s active participation in the elections for nine years now, women have been able to field sectoral representatives through the Gabriela Women’s Partylist (GWP) in Congress. GWP promotes the politics of change, which deviates from the patronage style of traditional politicians. Through the painstaking struggle of Filipino women, certain laws were passed such as the Anti-Rape Law or Republic Act 8353, the Anti-Violence against Women and Children Act or Republic Act 9262, the Anti-trafficking in Persons Act or Republic Act 9208, among others.
Writing about the realities is also a form of resistance. It can be a powerful tool to arouse the sentiments of the target audience. Articles that stir debate result to writers being harassed or worse, being killed. The Philippines was dubbed as the deadliest country for journalists in 2009 by the Newseum, a museum of news history located in Washington, counting 33 journalists killed in service for the year 2009 alone9.
While some resist through the pen; others do it with arms. Liberation movements in Asia have made the region a threat to the global powers especially to the United States. Former US president George Bush even called the southeastern part of the region as the second front of terror. The US’ cry on the “global war on terror” has served as a political leverage to Asian authoritarian governments to adopt repressive programs that curtail civil liberties and violate human rights. Despite the various means of suppression by authoritarian governments in the region, the revolutionary movements in the Philippines, India, and Nepal persevere because of continuing impoverishment of the people.
Whatever form of resistance women in collective action takes, it still shakes the status quo. This is because organizations and movements change the balance of power and create new power bases. Organizations serve as pressure to change the way things are. They get the attention of the populace, shape the terms of the decision-making process, and frame the issue in terms of the desired solution.
Commitment as an Ingredient
For a women’s movement to last, the zeal to carry out the basic precepts of their organization is the ingredient for success. Commitment stirs action. Commitment means to pledge to a certain purpose and to practice the beliefs consistently.
As women’s involvement for social change progresses, they realize that their experiences should be consolidated through service, immersion, and education.
It was the commitment of our toiling foremothers a century ago that started to uplift the condition of women. Yet, the welfare of women has still a long way to go. It is now the duty of the contemporary generation to continue the struggle.
The road may not always be easy. Resistance invites repression. Yet throughout history, women have had to unite in order to build a stronger shield against oppression and crisis. This time, women can see the crisis as a challenge and an opportunity to address systemic imbalances and to cultivate a gender-sensitive culture that nurtures women, children, and men.
NOTES[1] Amelia Gentleman, Global Financial Crisis Hits World’s Poorest Hardest, The Guardian, 27 March 2009[2] Yada Praparpun, Women Paying the Price: The impact of the global financial crisis on women in Southeast Asia, Oxfam Research Report, February 2010[3] Training Manual on Gender and Climate Change, IUCN, UNDP, and GGCA, March 2009[4] Miller-Dawkins, Irwansyah, and Abimanyu, loc. cit.[5] Ibid.[6] Joseph Holandes Ubalde, GMANews.TV, www.gmanews.tv, 19 November 2009[7] Melani Manel Perera, A people’s tribunal for people displaced
This article is an abridgement of “Women in Asia: Surviving and Resisting the Crisis,” presented by Mary Joan A. Guan of the Center for Women’s Resources in a conference entitled Women Resisting Crisis and War held in Baguio City, Philippines, July 19-21, 2010.
