AHRC, Ateneo Law highlight women as changemakers and disruptors in Women’s Month celebration

The Ateneo Human Rights Center (AHRC) through its Urduja Women and Gender Desk and the Ateneo School of Law joined forces for the month-long celebration of Women’s Month at the Ateneo Rockwell Campus, Makati. The celebration centered on the theme, “Investing in Inclusivity: The Power of Women Visionaries, Changemakers, and Disruptors.” Various in-campus activities were held for the entire month of March, highlighting women who make incredible marks in different industries.

JC Meer, AHRC intern and one of this year’s Women’s Month celebration project heads, explained the rationale behind the theme. “As a powerful rallying cry, the statement affirms our commitment to continue the fight against gender-based discrimination,” she shared.

Meer also added that the theme recognizes the active leadership roles that women play in various advocacies where they are often seen as just merely passive participants. “Women are also active leaders who are able to empower and influence other women into taking action,” she added.

While “disruption” may be perceived as a strong and negative term, the project committee used "disruptor" to emphasize how women today can use their individual capacities to disrupt the spaces they occupy.

“The theme also challenges the negative connotation behind the concept of disruption as something destructive and disorderly, and instead transforms it into positive and impactful action that effectively addresses urgent issues that continue to uphold the patriarchy,” Angelica Oidem, AHRC intern and co-head of this year’s Women’s Month celebration, emphasized.

The month-long celebration kicked off with a grand opening ceremony on 4 March at the Basement 1 Lobby of the Ateneo Rockwell Campus.  A flash mob was participated by the Ateneo Law community where everyone performed the One Billion Rising dance. This was eventually followed by the launching of a mirror exhibit that showcased women as changemakers and disruptors. The exhibit ran from 4 to 22 March in various areas in the Ateneo Rockwell Campus.

On 8 March, coinciding with the International Women’s Day celebration, a panel discussion called Spaces We Disrupt was held at the Justitia Room. A panel of women who made greater impacts in their respective fields were invited to share their experiences disrupting spaces and advancing women's empowerment. Among those who joined the panel discussion were former senator Atty Leila De Lima, and University of the Philippines alumna and Community Pantry founder during the height of the coronavirus disease pandemic, Patricia “Patreng” Non.

The AHRC-ALS Women’s Month initiatives also caught the attention of Rappler’s Facts First PH movement. Rappler partnered with AHRC for one of its community chats for Women’s Month. The panel discussion that transpired on 8 March continued to spark fruitful discussions as Rappler delegated the organizing team to moderate its online community chat on "Misogyny and misinformation: How we can break stereotypes of women" last 15 March.

The Rappler community chat, which was participated by various Rappler stakeholders from diverse institutions and civil society organizations, was moderated by AHRC resident interns and Ateneo Law students, Lei Pedrosa and Jerard Afable.

The AHRC Communications team also released a short reel video asking the panel discussion participants how they define women empowerment. Former senator Leila De Lima participated in the said short reel. “Women empowerment for me is more engagement in civil, civic, and political discourses for women in this country,” the former senator shared.

Concluding the month-long celebration was an Open-Mic Night, Boses Babae held at the APS Ground Floor Amphitheatre on the evening of 22 March.  Ateneo Law constituents and some guest artists came to perform their respective literary works. The performances varied from spoken poetry to monologues and storytelling.

Series of statements were also released as part of the campaign in celebration of Women’s Month. The first one was a statement of support for women with disabilities posted on 25 March on AHRC Urduja’s official Instagram account. A statement on the Transgender Visibility Day was also posted on 31 March.

AHRC through its Urduja Women and Gender Desk annually leads the Women’s Month celebration of the Ateneo School of Law community.