C. Article 14 : : Rural women
The report provides information on access to livelihood and support services
(paras 156 – 155) including tenure for women. It is however silent on indigenous
women’s access to or security of tenure in relation to ancestral lands. Even with
the IPRA (paras 150 – 151) that allows for the titling of ancestral land, there are
a lot of ancestral land claims to be recognized yet through a complicated and
expensive process. Meanwhile, projects and programs continue to enter and
create conflict on indigenous territories.
Documentation by civil society
organizations point to some 45 incidences of displacement among 9 indigenous
communities from 12 provinces in Mindanao from June 2010 to March 2012.
This does not yet include the well-publicized recent Lumad evacuation to the
UCCP compound in Davao City, Philippines, following the brutal murder of
community leaders in front of the whole community in September 2015.
As inferred from the results of the project earlier mentioned, indigenous women
are disproportionately affected when displaced from their ancestral domains
and/or lands whether by armed conflict, landgrabs, disasters or calamities. Food
security is a primary concern for indigenous women when displacement occurs.
Deprived of their basic source of production, economic base and participation,
indigenous women’s decision making spaces shrink as options become limited.
This is anti-thesis to empowerment.
Minda "Dindin" Dalinan, 36, from the Blaan indigenous tribe is a mother to
eight children, ages 1 to 17. Dalinan left her children under the care of her
husband and relatives to participate in a month-long campaign against
militarization of Lumad communities. She didn't want to leave them but
she knew that joining the protest was something she had to do to try to
give them a peaceful life.
"In 2004, the military killed my father. My father is a member of the tribal
council in our community. He was stubborn. He did not want to give up our
ancestral land so armed men killed him. I just want the killings to stop. My
dream is to see an end to human rights violations," Dalinan said.
"Why would a mother like me leave her eight children?" she said. "It's
because the human rights violations in our community are so rampant. I
have to join this protest. It's too much." 19
Much have been said about resolving land and tenure for women but Bai Ellen
Manlimbaas, 55 years old and a Matigsalog community leader from Bukidnon,
whose community evacuated to Davao City due to military atrocities, says it
simply :
19
http://womensenews.org/2016/03/indigenous-‐women-‐in-‐philippines-‐are-‐fighting-‐for-‐their-‐
way-‐of-‐life/
19