MARCH 8, 2023 – Abante, Babae! March is International Women’s Month. As we celebrate the triumphs and progress of women all over the world, the Pambansang Koalisyon ng Kababaihan sa Kanayunan (PKKK) joined the World March of Women (WMW), iDefend, and many others last March 8, 2023 (International Women’s Day) to call for the government to address the multiple agricultural crises such as: Lack of subsidy for farmers onion farmers, especially for storage facilities & for after calamity response, reclamation of municipal waters, and recognition of rural women as farmers and fishers.
The mobilization took place in front of the Dept. of Justice (DOJ), where eight women farmers from Hermosa, Bataan sought aid to have the unjust charges of syndicated estafa against them dropped. While the charges were not dropped, the farmers were released. In line with this, the demand for action against the criminalization of farmers and human rights defenders was also called by feminist activists.
Ms. Daryl Leyesa of PKKK hosted the mobilization program and offered a heartfelt poem in honor of the rural women agricultural workers suffering from the effects of climate change.
