{"id":4150,"date":"2020-03-29T13:52:08","date_gmt":"2020-03-29T05:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/balaymindanaw.org\/main\/?p=4150"},"modified":"2020-03-30T10:16:44","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T02:16:44","slug":"more-than-the-woman-they-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/balaymindanaw.org\/main\/2020\/03\/29\/more-than-the-woman-they-know\/","title":{"rendered":"More Than the Woman They Know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WePeace Aleosan<\/em> <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Five months following the Women\u2019s Agency in Keeping the Peace,\nPromoting Security: 2019 Women, Peace and Security training, community women\nfrom Aleosan, North Cotabato talk about how they never imagined being able to\ndo monitoring and documentation in a former MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation\nFront) Camp. They describe the experience as \u201csomething we could have never\ndone before this training.\u201d A municipality in North Cotabato in Central\nMindanao, Aleosan faces recurring incidences of shootings, unresolved land\nconflicts, family feuds, petty crimes, cases of rape, and proliferation of\nfirearms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The women from Aleosan had been the first group trained by WePeace\nin Kidapawan, North Cotabato last 9-10 April 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing in and out their peace\ncircle<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Community women from five barangays\n<\/em>in Aleosan\u2014Tapodoc, Dunguan, San Mateo, Bagolibas, and Paganan, have been\nconstantly engaged in monitoring documenting conflict situations as a budding\nWomen\u2019s Peacekeeping Group.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the guidance and mentorship of Balay Mindanaw, they conduct\nregular recall sessions, reflecting on their shared field experiences, and\ndiscussing the two main roles they constantly perform: monitoring and\ndocumenting incidences, and mediating conflict. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have done site visits to conflict-affected barangays<\/em> facing boundary issues. They\nhave coordinated with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources\n(DENR) and worked with them to help address concerns on land ownership. They\nalso helped monitor the mid-term elections last May, validated blast sites, and\nsupported initiatives on health such as an information drive on dengue, and\nadvocated for Zero Open Defecation (ZOD). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The women proudly share they have learned how to document properly\nand precisely through constant immersion. They are now aware of the proper\nprocess of gathering data, making sure to collect detailed information to\nsupport their documentation. As a testament to their progress, the women now\nadd writing case reports, apart from monitoring and documentation, to their\nresponsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They emphasize that a critical step in meaningful field work is\nmaintaining their current engagement with the Peace and Order Council and Barangay<\/em> Peacekeeping Action Team\n(BPAT). \u201cOf course it remains the same \u2013 for issues concerning peace or security,\nthe groups who are called to be there are the BPATs and Peace and Order\nCouncil. We continue (to make our presence known) because we, women\npeacekeepers, know we can engage. Our goal is to achieve peace, which is  aligned to their goal and their work.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their presence and engagement enable them to draft and help\nimplement barangay <\/em>ordinances, making\nthem more aware, and puts them in a better position to take action on the peace\nand security concerns in their community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mediating for peace<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being a community mediator is one of the key roles of the Women\nPeacekeepers in Aleosan. Mediation skills come handy especially when dealing\nwith VAWC cases, and conflicts among neighbors and friends. The training on\nGender Sensitivity and Women\u2019s Rights has improved their capacity to run the barangay <\/em>VAWC desks.  They have observed that in the application of\ntheir mediation skills, they can even see an improvement in the relationships\nbetween patients and health workers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reflecting on their experiences, they share that the mediation\nprocess is different each time, and will always depend on the issue and\nsituation. Only two key action points remain constant in any case: data\ngathering and listening sessions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMediation is difficult because there is a possibility you can\ncause conflict. There could be buttons you are unknowingly causing the problem\nto be bigger, so we hope for more opportunities to learn more about what to do\nand what not to do when mediating.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bigger than their challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost as challenging as the work they do in monitoring and the\ndifficulty of weak cellphone signals as they perform their duties is dealing\nwith public perception of women doing peacekeeping work. Our women peacekeepers\nare often criticized for being \u201cpakialamera\u201d<\/em>\n(nosy) and just in for the \u201ctsismis\u201d<\/em>\n(gossip).  Sincerity and legitimacy have\nbecome both a challenge for the women to prove, and for their community to\naccept. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked if this bothers them, they just roll their eyes, laugh\nand share, \u201cWe need to humble ourselves because what we are doing is not for\nus; it is for them.\u201d They share that the issues of their community are bigger\nthan their personal concerns. They are also reassured to find support and\nallies in their husbands, who are also peacekeepers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the Women Peacekeepers in Aleosan, continuing what they do now\nis, and will be enough, to prove their sincerity and capability of meaningfully\ncontributing to building and keeping peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving forward and becoming more<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WePeace Aleosan is a diverse group composed of barangay<\/em> councilors, barangay<\/em> health workers, barangay <\/em>nutrition scholars,\norganization officers, and students. Striking the balance between their\npersonal lives, and being a woman peacekeeper is something they are still\nlearning. On one hand, they have learned how to properly approach people in\nconflict, even applying the skills they learned in their own families. They\nhave also become more strategic in resolving conflicts, taking a more proactive\napproach rather than reactive. And while they have experienced tremendous\npersonal growth in the past months, they are also very vocal about their need\nto develop self-confidence, to overcome personal fears and insecurities, and to\nimprove the skills they already have. As they raise the bar in doing active and\neffective peace work, the demands of the communities rise with it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there is only excitement as they look and move forward. They\nare excited to deliver the demands that result from the work that they do. They\nknow that with more training and continued guidance they shall be the capable\nwomen peacekeepers their communities need them to be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In engaging themselves in peacekeeping and peacebuilding, not only\nhave they become aware of the peace and security issues they face, but they\nhave also become more aware of the endless possibilities they have as women in\ntheir communities. They realized that what they once thought was\nimpossible\u2014women visiting conflict sites or monitoring cases on land issues, is\npossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experiencing a meaningful and empowering role in their community\nhas made them stewards of women\u2019s rights. They are not afraid to speak up and\nsay, \u201cNo, you can\u2019t talk to me like that because I have rights that protect me\nas a woman!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The women peacekeepers of Aleosan, North Cotabato are, slowly but\nsurely, proving to be more than the women they and their communities once\nbelieved they could be. From \u201cbeing expected to stay at home,\u201d they are our\nwomen mediators, women documenters; our women for peace and security.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Community women from five barangays in Aleosan\u2014Tapodoc, Dunguan, San Mateo, Bagolibas, and Pagangan, have been constantly engaged in monitoring documenting conflict situations as a budding Women\u2019s Peacekeeping Group. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":4151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[253],"tags":[],"series":[],"speaker":[],"class_list":["post-4150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-women-peacebuilders"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/balaymindanaw.org\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/WePeace-Aleosan.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/balaymindanaw.org\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/BM-Podcast-Logo.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"acast":{"key":"acast","url":"","label":"Acast","class":"acast","icon":"acast.png"},"amazon":{"key":"amazon","url":"","label":"Amazon","class":"amazon","icon":"amazon.png"},"anchor":{"key":"anchor","url":"","label":"Anchor","class":"anchor","icon":"anchor.png"},"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple 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More Than the Woman They Know<\/a><\/blockquote>