Karlo S.

Carpio
20212107294
PO2A

Gender Roles in the 19th Century Philippines

In the 19th century, women faced numerous restrictions. They were seen as being
under coverture when they got married, which meant that the man and the wife legally
became one person. As a result, their spouses basically devoured all of the women's
rights. females were discouraged from working outside the home, and when females
did, their pay were a small percentage of what men working in identical positions would
receive. They were also unable to vote, possess property, or have legal custody of their
children. They were nearly entirely reliant on men since they had to submit to their
husbands. This is why, in the early 19th century, many women supported the
temperance movement, or the effort to outlaw alcohol drinking. Women did not enjoy
how alcohol negatively impacted men's health and family lives. They asserted that
drinking contributed to domestic violence and poverty. This issue was particularly
important at the time because women did not have the legal right to leave their spouses,
even in cases of domestic abuse. Women were able to exert a small amount of
influence over their lives by supporting the temperance movement. Additionally, 19th-
century women used the occasion to warn against the dangers of alcohol because they
saw themselves as the keepers of virtue. Women were able to mobilize for the struggle
for equality in large part because of the groups they established within the church,
"where they learned to organize, raise money, and speak effectively in public."
After more than the needed 300,000 people turned out for the referendum, women were
granted the right to vote in the Philippines on September 17, 1937. 33,307 men voted
against the affirmative vote, whereas 447,725 women did. One of the first Asian nations
to grant women this privilege was the Philippines.