The Formation of A 'Filipina Feminism': Re- imagining Filipina Women's Movements in Conversations with Gabriela over Time

The women's movement in the Philippines is the product of a long history of struggle and participation in various historical conjunctures. As a nation troubled by a difficult colonial past, it is important to locate the role of women in the quest for independence. As a society characterized by unequal power relations between the masses and the ruling class, it is crucial to place the women's movement in the struggle for democracy, equality, and social justice. As part and parcel of the whole array of social movements in the Philippines, the women's movement developed and responded to the needs of the time. The changes in the nature of the women's movement from one historical period to another were apt responses to the social conditions and to the status of their struggle at different points in the past. Thus, this study explores the history and experiences of Filipina women in Gabriela, the largest women’s organization in the Philippines, as they build solidarity and shape women’s history over time and across the nation. This paper focuses on Gabriela’s shifting gender politics in different political terrains and remakes Filipina feminisms in dialogue with Western Feminism. We use Gabriela’s story as a case study to investigate the ways that internal fragmentation and constantly negotiated feminist agendas have affected the remaking of feminism. This paper observes the internal dynamics within women’s organizing through a processual lens, allowing us to join voices that unsettle false assumptions around Third World women's experiences and status. The stories we unveil in this study stress the importance of examining the grounded experiences of women's organizing with non-teleological assumptions. The conclusions we draw from the case study urges us to understand 'Filipina feminism' in its unique positionality which was influenced by anti- imperialism, nationalism, and centered around precarity and multiple temporalities