MINDANAO PEACE, DEV'T HINGE ON MORO WOMEN, SAYS ALBERT
By Jerome Aning

August 2, 2004 - (Philippine Daily Inquirer) "As the wellspring of peace in the household, a woman is also the guardian of peace in society. A woman's experience and success in negotiations becomes the unifying force for peace," a top official of the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Albert made the observation when she presided over a three-day gathering of Moro women leaders and Mindanao organizations in Marawi City last week.

The conference-workshop tackled Muslim women's role in peace-building and development. Albert said Muslim women could be the paragons for peaceful change, like President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and former President Corazon Aquino, and have an important role to play in the future of strife-torn Mindanao.

"Women in the Philippines have always played a pivotal and crucial role in our everyday life. However, by engaging them more in projects and programs that empower them, allowing them to take charge of their lives, and promoting ways to serve interests to develop themselves, we make them actively participate in nation-building," she said.

Albert, the Philippines' and Southeast Asia's first woman foreign secretary, reminded Muslim women that they are exhorted by Islam to pursue education. Thus, she said, they are encouraged to seek knowledge to better their lives in order to be well-trained and competent in whatever endeavor they may choose to venture into, be it in government or the private sector.

Muslim women could do much to help eradicate poverty in Mindanao, she said.

There could be no discussion of peace and economic growth on the island without the involvement of its women and, therefore, their voices must be heard in matters of governance and development, she added.

Albert also encouraged the promotion of women's studies so that women could actively contribute in solving the problems that pervade Mindanao society, such as drug addiction, high infant mortality, poor health, illiteracy and environmental degradation.

The gathering was co-organized by the foreign affairs and social welfare departments and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Among those in attendance were USAID's Dr. Michael Yates, Indian Ambassador Navrekha Sharma, UN Development Program's Deborah Landey, presidential adviser on education Mona Valisno, National Anti-Poverty Commission chair Veronica Villavicencio, Amina Rasul-Bernardo, Marietta Goco and Ambassador Erlinda Basilio of the Foreign Service Institute.

The Mindanao Women's League, Millennium Women for Peace and Development, the Philippine Women's University Alumni Association's Marawi and Lanao del Sur chapters, and the Mindanao State University's Center for Women's Studies also took part in the conference.

From: http://beta.inq7.net/regions/index.php?index=1&story_id=1699