Women Heroes

“Justice is rooted in God’s character and creation.” (Corinne Sulliven, Womansday.com, August 4, 2022)

A simple way of explaining God’s love is His emphasis on justice, on the belief that all human beings are created equal. Justice for our God is fundamental such that compassion could be appreciated only after justice is done first. Jeremiah 22:3 says: “The Lord proclaims: Do what is just and right; rescue the oppressed. Don’t exploit or mistreat the refugees, the orphan and the widow. Don’t spill the blood of the innocent in this place.” This love for justice spilling to compassion compelled very special Filipino women to become restless until they dedicated their lives that justice will reign in our beloved country. This love for justice must be so overwhelming for many specially blessed men and women to sacrifice their lives and their families to relentlessly pursue it. Hear how haunting our songs are when we sing them during programs and rallies for just causes: “Ang bayan kong Pilipinas, Lupain ng ginto’t bulaklak…” Martyrdom and heroism are top gifts from our Lord to some chosen human beings! He himself was a martyr par excellence!

For this particular column, we shall be dealing only of women heroes. Are our women heroes similar to our male heroes? In what way? Are they different? In what way? All of the heroes, men and women, lived their noble lives working for justice at the time the country was suffering from oppression of invaders or of the local abusive and tyrannical leaders. Both men and women heroes exhaustingly worked and for a large majority of them, they died while the country was still in the midst of the fight, as what a famous saying states “without seeing the dawn”. That is how strong their belief was. Our known women heroes lived during the time of the Spanish revolution, during the fight against the Americans, and during the Japanese invasion. These wars called for military prowess and leadership which the women heroes exhibited. Later, I will mention the excellent job done by our women heroes.

Since women are given the unique grace to bear children and nurture life, this nurturing gift from the Lord came handy for them to give food to the soldiers and to heal the sick ones. In a few words, the best of a human being, man or woman, with God’s grace shines when the situation demands for it. Taken from Google.com/search, only a few women heroes could be mentioned here. Their specific heroism must ignite in us what could we offer too for our fellow countrymen starting with those near us.

Gabriela Silang was a military leader who led the longest resistance against the Spaniards in Ilocos Norte. So defiant and brave she was which led to her death, hanged. Teresa Ferraris Magbanua was the Visayan Joan of Arc, the only woman commander of the North Zone in the Visayas. She was able to participate in all the three wars: Spanish, American and Japanese. Melchora Aquino, Tandang Sora, Mother of the Philippine Revolution, so kindhearted as to nurse the wounded soldiers. She was banished to Guam. Trinidad Tecson who excelled in fencing, signed her name with her own blood in a solemn pact signing ritual called Sandugo. She was the Mother of “Biac na Bato” and also of the Red Cross. She seized the firearms of the enemies and sneaked food to the guerillas. Josefa Llanes Escoda, the founder of the Philippine Girl Scouts, a leader, a social worker, and a feminist, worked for the woman suffrage. She was executed. Agueda Kahabagan is the Tagalog Joan of Arc. She is the only officially listed woman general during the Spanish revolution.

‎This beautiful Filipino saying “Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan” is a timely reminder of remembering our great Filipino women heroes while appreciating them and drawing inspiration from them. Consciously or unconsciously, their lives of persistently courageous dedication to our homeland must have come from a deep belief in our God who will let justice prevail in the end. What bravery, what persistence, and what hope they have that justice and at last freedom will reign someday. We chorus with them “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness…” 2 Timothy 4:7.

As we end, there are few questions which God may want us to ponder on; does our ‎present condition call for us to think of justice for our country men and women? What injustices are we experiencing nowadays which need to be wiped out? Could we begin to be a hero to a member of the family, then to a bigger group and to a larger community? (Ma. Iris Melliza, Ed.D.)