The gender gap

When my niece got pregnant when she was 14, she had to stop going to her old Catholic school because getting pregnant was against the rules. After giving birth, she tried to enroll in another Catholic school. When asked why she transferred from her other school, she told them the truth. They refused her admission.

The father of her child did not have to go through a similar ordeal.

I mention this real-life teenage drama in light of the results of The Global Gender Gap Index and the debate that always seems to be on the heels of a “gender-sensitive” law.

The Global Gender Gap Index is a report conducted by the Swiss-based World Economic Forum. It measures and examines the gap between men and women along four major categories:

1.    Economic participation and opportunity
2.    Educational attainment
3.    Political empowerment
4.    Health and survival

To put it simply, the Global Gender Gap Index ranks countries according to the equality of men and women in their society.

In 2008, the Philippines ranked 6th in this study which is conducted among 130 countries. It was the third year that the Philippines ranked 6th in the Global Gender Gap Index.

The country that ranked first was Norway followed by: Finland, Sweden, Ireland and New Zealand. Other countries that had slipped down on the list, but remained in the top 20 included the United Kingdom and Spain.

In a press statement on the website of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRW), it says that this consistent ranking is because “the Philippines has made significant progress in closing the gender gap through the implementation of gender-responsive laws, policies and programs for women’s empowerment and gender equality.”

The Philippines is the only Asian country in the top 10 of the Global Gender Gap Index, but surely, the Philippines would have ranked even higher if . . .

• The contraception ban known as Executive Order 003 in the City of Manila, (declared by former Mayor Lito Atienza) were repealed. Because of this ordinance, the marginalized women of Manila are flat-out denied modern contraception devices like pills and condoms, which they used to get for free at the government health clinics. Of course, they can still buy these devices at any drugstore, but that would be a bit too much considering that they need to make their daily wage of P200 fit to feed 6 children. The zealot, former Mayor Lito Atienza, used to give out sacks of rice to his constituents who had large families. Now that Atienza is no longer mayor, there is no one to continue his charity work.

• We had equal access to reproductive health information and services so that no Filipina would ever have to say, “I want to stop getting pregnant, but I don’t know how.”

• Maternal deaths were reduced so that 11 Filipinas didn’t have to die everyday due to childbirth-related complications. In this day of modern science where people can order a myriad of cosmetic surgery options during lunch, 60 percent of childbirths in our country are not attended to by a qualified health-care provider.

• The legal definition of infidelity for men and women were standardized. Women may be charged with adultery, in fact, merely on suspicion of it. Men, however, can only be charged with concubinage, which needs to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

• If the drafting of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Magna Carta, a law meant to guarantee women’s rights against any form of discrimination, didn’t meet such opposition from the male sector of society, namely the Bishops of the Catholic Church.

While the passage of the Magna Carta is another indicator of “closing the gender gap through the implementation of gender-responsive laws,” it is, even before its formal implementation as a law, another subject of controversy for Church.

Section 13 of the Magna Carta guarantees equal access and elimination of discrimination in education, scholarship and training and thus, prohibiting any school from dismissing and expelling students and teachers who become pregnant out of wedlock.

The Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) is seeking an exemption to this provision of the Magna Carta, citing their religious and academic freedoms.

The CEAP is fighting for selective compliance to a national law, whilst the President of CEAP, Monsignor Gerardo Santos, is appealing for higher subsidies from the government for Catholic schools. Santos appealed for a subsidy of P12,000 for Metro Manila students (from P10,000) and P7,000 for provincial students (from P5,000).

So, the CEAP is asking for an exemption to a national law promoting gender-equality, but requesting for larger access to national budgets?

Certainly, if we had a true separation of Church and State; of religion and legislation; of dogma and government policy, then the Philippines would rank even higher on the Global Gender Gap Index?

Then, we as a country, would be able to rightfully boast about among first world nations in topping a measurement of gender-equality. Now, that would be a noteworthy title to add to our other illustrious country titles such as: texting capital of the world; 12th most populous nation in the world; among the most corrupt nations in the Southeast Asian region; and the 14th happiest country on earth according to the Happy Planet Index.

Then, women and girls like my niece would not have to be shamed and denied their basic right to education because they are considered “a bad example” while their partners are completely exonerated from such humiliation.

Then, we can start closing in on the gender gap. –Ana Santos, Manial Times