RPM-M Women comrades held the First Women Cadres Conference at Camp Tommy of the RPA (Revolutionary Peoples Army) a few days ago. The conference decided to extend the party’s feminist work.
Attended by dozens of representatives from the regional units, lines of works and machineries. The Conference elected the RPM-M Women Commission in included discussions and sharing on EcoFeminism; Women, Culture and Religion; International and Local Situation reading; Women and the Mindanao Peace Processes, among others.
The Conference also offered tribute to a comrade woman who was assassinated by State agents (seven bullets).
Regional Conferences are planned for the future.
All other line of works will also be having their respective conferences. (Harrison Mariano, RWJM, June 2013)

First RPM-M Women Cadres Conference Held

With the aim of strengthening the women’s movement inside and beyond the Revolutionary Workers Party of Mindanao (RPM-M), the 1^st Women Cadres’ Conference was launched on June 17-20, 2013 in Camp Tommy.

With a delegation of around 50 women and some men cadre from different regions the conference enabled a healthy debate and critical analysis by the women cadres on international and national issues, the Philippine and Mindanao women’s situation, history of women’s movement, feminist theories, ecofeminism, and women, religion and culture.

Knowing that it was the first ever Women Cadres’ Conference in Mindanao, the Revolutionary Peoples’ Army (RPA) also gave their full support by providing security and other practical, technical and logistical support. It has been a call of the RPA to the leadership of the Party/RPM-M to intensify the Party building among women in the rural areas which in turn helps in the continuing efforts for gender-fair awareness and practices at the rural areas.

The discussions of these issues resulted in various recommendations on how to address the current plight of women in the Party, in the communities and in society as a whole. These are the following:

1. to flesh out further the Tri-People Women Framework based on the actual struggles of the Lumad, Bangsamoro and Migrant Settler Women in Mindanao;

2. to review and assess party policies on relationship, gender-based violence and sexual opportunism;

3. to launch a graduated course on feminism and gender awareness and sensitivity among party members;

4. to define the framework of the Party on LGBTQ;

5. to establish support mechanism for victims and perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence victims Strengthen Gender Work (Party Work) among the IP and Moro women;

6. to launch women conferences per people (indigenous peoples, Moro and migrants);

7. to form an open, above-ground political women organization;

8. to discuss on current gender issues in the national debate like divorce, reproductive health and abortion; and

9. to strengthen the Womens Commission and the women collective per area.

These tasks will be done by the newly-organized RPM-M Women Commission among the following:

1. to ensure the proper and just implementation of gender-related policies inside the party;

2. to ensure/bring the voices of the women in the lobbies of decision-making within the Party from the areas up to the Congress;

3. to strengthen the political organization of women both in the party and in the open mass movement at the regional and national spheres;

4. to lead the women campaigns;

5. to ensure women representation at all levels of decision-making bodies in the Party;

6. to represent the women members in the party to the national and international networks; and

7. to help facilitate the formation of the LGBTQ Commission and movements.

Indeed, it was a success!

Long Live the Socialist Revolution!

By: Mayang Malaya and Maya Mandanawi

June 2013