(The following essay, written by Monique Naranja, senior bookkeeper of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, was adjudged as winner during the Essay Writing Contest conducted by the DSWD Field Office VI as part of culmination of Women’s Month celebration)

You can describe women in many words. You can call them beautiful , intelligent,

loving, weak, martyr, sensitive, submissive and moody. Those were adjectives given to you by this stereotypical world. You seem to forget that some of them are also tough, dominant, powerful, intimidating and strong. All these descriptions give us an idea how versatile Filipino women are. You can bend them but you can never break them and that’s where “resiliency” comes in.

Resiliency is the ability to bounce back after experiencing a big blow. It’s the will to fight again after every defeat, and determination to stand after every fall. Filipino women are indeed mirror of resiliency in times of crisis and disaster. Why? Let’s begin with the population statistics.

We all know that nowadays men are already outnumbered by women. There are more women living in this planet than men. More women are experiencing poverty, abuse, discrimination and injustice. And because of these not-so-good experiences, women are becoming something they are least expected to be weak: weak becomes strong, submissive becomes dominant, sensitive becomes tough, coward becomes brave and even a mother becomes a father.

Do they have a choice? Yes, they have! They certainly have a choice to give up and let everything to fall right on the ground. They can just walk away and leave everything behind. But do you know what keeps them going? It’s LOVE. Love is when a widowed mother becomes both a mother and father to her children, a social worker sacrificing her time and life for public service, an eldest sister becomes a breadwinner after losing their parents, a woman soldier fighting for her countrymen. All of these are examples of unconditional love that women undoubtedly possess.

It is said that women have softer hearts than men. They can easily understand, pity, forgive and trust that make them appear weak and fragile. What you don’t know is that, that’s their secret weapon. That’s what keeps them going and fighting in times of crisis and disaster.

Women are known as the light of the home. They are the ones who enlighten and guide the family. It is even said that “in every successful man, there is a woman behind.” Women are men’s strength that push and encourage them to fight and believe in themselves. Women know how to fight, maybe not physically but they know how to find ways to keep going. They know the right words to say to keep you fighting and to make you feel better. In times of crisis and disaster, they break down, cry their hearts out and even become hysterical but after letting those unwanted emotions out, they become better and stronger.

It’s true that in order to be stro

ng, you have to accept your weaknesses first, and that’s the reason why Filipino women are mirror of resiliency in times of crisis and disaster. They accept their weaknesses, learn from their mistakes, use their heart as their weapons and use failures as their stepping stones towards success./dswd6/Monique Naranja