LAOAG CITY — Hundreds of women from the 21 towns and two cities of Ilocos Norte showed their strength as they occupied the main streets of Laoag for the “Kinni-Kinni” (swaying hips) Parade to highlight National Women’s Month Thursday.
Governor Ma. Imelda Josefa Marcos failed to attend this year’s celebration but she made sure her fellow women’s rights advocates attended the annual event, now on its seventh year.
Purple was the motif of the parade, being the official color of International Women’s Day, which was founded more than a century ago after some 15,000 women marched in New York City to demand better working conditions and voting rights.
In the Philippines, National Women’s Day is marked nationwide during National Women’s Month to celebrate women’s social, economic, and political achievements and to call for gender equality.
Over the years, the Ilocos Norte government, under the administration of a lady governor, has strengthened programs and services for women, such as the provision of livelihood assistance, skills training, and promotion of women’s health and welfare.
Among the major innovations for women empowerment in the province are the establishment of Pink Hotlines to address reports on violence against women and children in coordination with the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, Gender and Development Office, and Women’s Desk Office.
The same government offices sheltered under one roof at the Provincial Capitol also conduct seminars on teenage pregnancy, sexual harassment, rape, and other gender and development issues among barangay communities.
For Marcos, the women of today play an important role in the society as they have the heart of a leader. (Leilanie Adriano/PNA)
