It is no surprise that the more poverty, economic strain and danger that exists for women further decreases their ability to access quality healthcare. Gender and Conflict in Mindanao, written by Leslie Dwyer and Rufa Cagoco-Guiam at Mindanao State University, assess this issue and others acutely affecting the lives of women in Mindanao.
This conflict, fueled by religious and ethnic discrimination, has inadvertently increased the burden resting on women’s shoulder in Mindanao. At this time, men are no longer able to move freely in their villages in fear of threats of violence. This increases women’s mobility which, at first glance seems to improve women’s socioeconomic status, but actually forces them to be responsible for both male and female gender roles. Moreover, when violence erupts in Mindanao, all members of the family are restricted to their homes or, even worse, forced into IDP camps or to migrate into other parts of the country.
Being a government-registered internally displaced person (IDP) allows for access to IDP camps.This status can severely hinder women’s access to healthcare and decrease her overall quality of life. Furthermore, the camp itself becomes a harbor for the spread of disease, malnutrition and danger. “Diarrheal illness and pneumonia are the major causes of IDP deaths,” as written by Dwyer and Cagoco-Guiam. These two diseases, especially in young populations, are preventable and considering well over seventy percent of all IDPs are usually women and children, something can be done to stop these disease from spreading.
Gender and Conflict in Mindanao has been, by far, my favorite reading that relates to this conflict. I look forward to furthering my knowledge on the conflict as a whole and especially how it relates affects women’s health.
