the Manobo community at that time. When the Tribal Filipino Program for Surigao del Sur (Trifpss) opened an alternative primary school, she trained and became a parateacher. Later, a secondary school was established, the Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development (Alcadev). “It is this development that they (military) continue to attack, they want to destroy, because they said the NPA is behind all these,” she said. Because of the schools, more Manobo youths were able to finish secondary education, eventually becoming parateachers. Pagalan decided to leave the school, to take care of her growing family. 14 Already historically marginalized due to poverty and lack of access to education and social services, women from conflict-ridden areas, indigenous women are put in a helpless situation impinging on their right to full development and a life with dignity. Conflict, militarization and development aggression creating multiple forms of human rights violations from harassment, displacement to outright killings disables the social and cultural system that ensures physical, psycho-social and spiritual well-being that ensures healthy and full development of indigenous peoples, particularly the youth and children. Indigenous women’s inability to perform primary reproductive and productive roles erodes self-confidence. This is exacerbated by the weakening or loss of community solidarity and support systems. At the outset, these may not necessarily fit into the ‘gender-based violence’ category but crass violation of human rights and collective rights. Understanding VAW from the perspectives of indigenous women involves broader lenses that captures the intersectionalities of their diverse identities and circumstances. Historical discrimination has lead to the current marginalization of indigenous peoples, especially women. Poverty, lack of basic services nor the access thereto, coupled with geographical isolation and state’s lack of political will has put indigenous women already at a vulnerable situation. Such vulnerabilities are galvanized when conflicts from policies and programmes arise without the full and effective consent from the community. Recommendations : 1. VAW penetrates to the core of the individual and social psyche. Appropriate information on VAW prevails as a need for indigenous women. Along with this is the need to capacitate them to get a fuller understanding why VAW occurs, how they and their communities, as a whole, can prevent it and what mechanisms are there at their                                                                                                                 14  http://bulatlat.com/main/2015/03/25/lumad-­‐women-­‐our-­‐place-­‐is-­‐in-­‐the-­‐struggle/     11