Growing up in this patriarchal society, I didn’t want to become any other girl. From a very young age, I already knew that I wanted to be different. I pursued this path by rebelling against what was taught to me as feminine.

When my preschool teacher asked me what my favorite color was, I purposefully chose the color blue knowing that it’s what’s usually associated with the opposite gender. Rather than wearing skirts, I wore shorts. I played traditionally masculine sports like basketball and hung out with boys rather than girls.

I must admit that there were many times I wished I were a man, and maybe my past behavior is reflective of such thoughts. It’s not because I don’t love being a woman, but rather because often it feels like my very being as a woman already puts the odds against me.

Over time, I have realized that what connects me to other women is that we often face the same struggles. Ironically, this International Women’s Day served as a huge reminder of the many things left to do in pushing for equality and women’s rights.

That day, I made eye contact with a truck driver who lasciviously eyed my body up and down like a piece of meat while waiting at a bus stop. As I rode back to the dorm, I kept my head down and became wary of any man who came near me. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the luxury of space on the bus especially during the rush hour traffic.

The issue of sexualization and objectification of women did not escape me even as I scrolled through social media. I saw pictures of Israeli soldiers posing with the underwear of Palestinian women who they had forcefully displaced from their home, as if these women’s lingerie were war trophies. I watched a video of Congolese women tearfully retelling stories of brutal gang rape and sexual assault by the occupying military forces. I read that Sudanese women in conflict zones, especially those who are pregnant, are especially vulnerable due to the lack of operational hospitals.

And in our own country, women are still not free from abuse by imperialist forces, most especially under administrations who condone and sometimes perpetuate the same behavior. I can vividly remember our government’s inability and incompetence to seek just reparation from the Japanese government to the Filipino comfort women who were abused in World War II. Meanwhile, our military continues to commit sexual abuses against women in far-flung communities under their watch.

So, as we celebrate International Women’s History Month, we must recognize that the path forward remains arduous. Let this month serve not only as a reminder of the oppression women continue to face across the globe, but of our capacity to struggle for genuine and lasting change as well. ●