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Inspiring Filipino Women

A Critique in the Life, Works and Teachings of Jose Rizal

PRECIOUS KHAY S. HIPOLITO BSAT3-2

PI 100 (Rizals Life, Works and Writings)

May 10, 2012

I.

Introduction Jose Rizal, the most documented and celebrated political figure in the late 19th century,

has been the inspiration of the youth since his proclamation as the national hero decades ago. He had portrayed extraordinary qualities such as his speech and writing skills. He was also a versatile genius as he was an anthropologist, botanist, businessman, cartographer, dramatist, economist, educator, engineer, essayist, painter, philosopher, physician, sculptor, sportsman, sociologist, and so on (Zaide, 1992). Some critics might say that he is somewhat overrated by our historians. Few even claim that Jose Rizal was chosen and promoted by the imperialist Americans as our national hero to pacify the Filipinos from revolting using violence. His legacy, true or not, had been an inspiration of the Filipino pride and liberalism for the youth. Rizals legacy was preserved by the law requiring all college students to study a course focusing on the life of Jose Rizal. His famous books Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo are studied by third year and fourth year high school students to inculcate their minds with the brilliance and social awareness of Jose Rizal. Some religions, though considered by the wider society as a cult, worship Rizal as one of their gods alongside with Jesus Christ and other religious figures. These groups emerged during the Filipino resistance during the American period and were called as Messianic movements. As the greatest Malayan ever lived, Jose Rizal gave the Filipinos their pride as Filipinos not as mere Indios or slaves. He is very much instrumental with the acquisition of Western liberalism from the Filipinos and their struggle towards independence. Truly, Jose Rizal like the GOMBURZA, have made more significant impacts in the revolution after their deaths. These personalities kept on inspiring nationalists for generations after generations. This article entitled, Inspiring Filipino Women: A Critique on the Life, Works and Teachings of Jose Rizal, will discuss about the analysis of the life, works, and teachings of the greatest person the Malayan race has ever produced.

Rizals Biography

Born on June 19, 1861, Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado has witnessed sorrowful things during his childhood namely the death of his sister, the arrest of his mother, and the execution of the three martyr priests GOMBURZA in 1972. The latter two have made him cynical on the Spanish administration. During his early childhood, Rizal has shown glimpses of his brilliance. He took his first education from his mother Teodora Alonzo who thought him how to read, write, and most importantly, to pray. When he was ready to take formal education, he was sent to Bian and later in Ateneo de Manila where he emerged as a genius. In Ateneo, he met many friends, participated in many extra-curricular activities, did sculptural works and even composed many poems. Shortly after he graduated, he met the first romance of his life, Segunda Katigbak. Despite his mothers objection of him further studying, he continued his studies in the Dominican owned University of Santo Tomas but there he was left frustrated. With the support of his brother Paciano and their father, he secretly departed for Europe where he would finish his studies. In Europe, he made many acquaintances, friends, and lovers. He could have lived the life of a rich kid in Spain but instead, he lived like a peasants son as he wanted to save some money because economic depression has hit their businesses in Calamba. He then acquired liberal ideas from his stay in Spain and he later joined the Free Masonry. There, he wrote the Noli Me Tangere and finished the El Filibusterismo. Rizal briefly lived in Hong Kong, Macau, and Japan before travelling across United States and Europe. In 1892, Rizal returned to the Philippines after a short stint as an ophthalmologist in Hong Kong and formed the La Liga Filipina. Few days later, he was arrested and sent to Dapitan, the Spanish stronghold in the south. In Dapitan, Rizal claimed that he lived the best years of his life. He met several friends, developed the town, and fell in love with Josephine Bracken to whom he had a son. Unfortunately, their son was premature so he lived only for three hours. Rizal was invited by the revolutionary movement of KKK or simply Katipunan to lead the resistance but he refused due to several reasons.

During the Spanish-Cuban war, Jose Rizal volunteered as a military doctor in the frontlines and that gave him permission to leave Dapitan. His intentions were pure in signing up for the war but he was arrested as evidence collected lead to his involvement in the Katipunans uprising. He was unfairly put into trial and sentenced to death. He was imprisoned in Fort Santiago, Intramuros where he wrote his famous poem Mi Ultimo Adios. He was executed through firing squad in December 30, 1896 at Bagumbayan.

II.

A Letter to the Young Women of Malolos (February 22, 1889)

This letter is written by Jose Rizal as a response to the request of Marcelo H. Del Pilar to write a letter to the twenty young women of Malolos, Bulacan. These young women petitioned an opening of a night school to the Governor General Weyler but were objected by the Spanish friar Felipe Garcia. The Governor General eventually turned the petition down due to the influence of the priest but the Malolos women fought for their right to be educated and they achieved it. This event was a headline in the Philippines and Spain. The letter calls for the rejection of the authority of friars by the Filipino women as Rizal said that not all friars are true to their preaching and it is not the dogmas which are important. He also asserted the ability of the human being to reason using the metaphor that God gave all human being each own torches which symbolizes owns judgments. It is a shame that a person will rely on other mans torch referring to the friars and that the will of God is different than of the priest. Rizal even enumerated what a woman should be as a mother. He said that a mother should not only teach her child to kneel, kiss hands, and pray to a friar as it will grow as a slave. The idea of offering to churches bothered Rizal due to his premise that everything in the world already belong to God and that not the God but the friars will spend all the peoples hard earned money. To strengthen his point, he emphasized that the God will not eat on a table in which the thieves, referring to the friars, prepared. He openly condemned the lavish spending of the priests for their own luxuries in expense of the poor. Jose Rizal obviously is a man of faith but not of religion. He even compared Jesus Christ to the friars of his time as Jesus Christ never seek his hand to be kissed nor be paid for his services unlike the Spanish priests who are robbers dressed in a holy scapularies. He specifically called out women to open their eyes and be reasonable as they are the first to influence the consciousness of the future generation. The letter also compared women of Europe and Americas to those of Asians who were enslaved by the oppressive culture. European and American women are illuminated by instructive books, liberal ideas, and most importantly, education further inspiring the Malolos women.

A message to unmarried women of the Philippines was revealed by the words that emphasize qualities such as intelligence aside from her outside beauty. The most important message by Rizal to the women who will later become mothers is that they should be more willing to offer their children for the aid of her country like a Spartan mother.

Significance of the Text

The letter has set radical standards on how women should be during the colonial period. It has inspired Filipina nationalists to pursue for their rights which are oppressed by the Patriarchal and oppressive Spanish regime. Jose Rizal had laid down several qualities which a mother should have and this letter might be the trigger for their further struggles. Rizal obviously wanted the Filipino women to continue their struggles against the chauvinist friars as the Malolos women have set example to the other Filipino women. They have fought for their rights to education and end up victorious. He saw the flame burning inside the hearts of these women, the glimpses of hope in their eyes, and their hunger for independence. The letter is not only significant for the Malolos women. It is also important to all the women in the Philippine archipelago and even the whole wide world. The condition of women in other parts of the globe are much severe than the Filipinas. As the most oppressive and hostile institution towards women, the church took the beating from the words of Jose Rizal but this letter is also significant for them as its leaders might probably read it and reform the system. The most important thing which Rizal emphasized in this letter for the Malolos women is to protect their dignity as a woman.

III.

Synthesis

Blind obedience is the origin of crooked orders and in this case both parties sin. Blind obedience was the reason for the 333 years of Spanish frailocracy. In this very long period of time, the Filipinos were manipulated and controlled by the friars. The Spanish priests took advantage of the Filipinos blind obedience and used the name of God in order to be benefitted. The problem with Filipinos during the Spanish regime is that they were too good and too obedient to all of the friars orders. They have been ignorant to the fact that it is God whom we should praise and worship and not the friars. Attending to the friars orders doesnt mean that we are serving and honoring Him. The Filipinos has been brain washed for they thought that doing this and that is all for the glory of God. Praying, kneeling, kissing the hands of the priests, rosaries and even scapularies do not define religion. It is through our actions, not just words, which define our true conviction to the will of the Lord. As what Rizal has said in his letter, God gave us the gift of reason. All are born free and each one of us has a mind of our own. We should not be hasty in making decisions especially the life-changing ones. Be it choosing your career, where to study and whom to marry, we must take into consideration all that has to be considered. Being carefree in decision-making makes us all ignorant. We can be easily deceived if and only if we allow ourselves to be. There were numerous times that a Filipino was deceived because of lack of analysis and blind obedience. What we must do is not to merely take the facts laid down to us as absolute truth. It is our own responsibility to scrutinize the information given to us to a certain occurrence and even the people who establish themselves with authority. If something is too good to be true, then most likely it is a scam or there is fraud involved. Isnt it true sometimes that we cannot even trust our own friends and relatives? It is left for us to take care of ourselves so as not to be fooled and blinded.

Maturity is the fruit of childhood and childhood is in the lap of the mother. In the upcoming mothers day, the whole world will pay tribute to the billions of mothers who risked their lives to bring us forth into this world, shielded us from harm, instilled in us the values by which we live, and helped shape our attitudes toward life. Some of them even gave up their careers and set aside their personal aspirations in order to rear and nurture us from childhood, through adolescence and sometimes even up to adulthood.

Rizal further discussed the importance of the role of the mother in the society. He tackled issues on a mothers real role on the upbringing of her children. Among the Filipinos, mothers are considered the ilaw ng tahanan because they are the ones, the first and foremost who guide their children, open their minds and influence them to the right path. We, as future mothers, must be reasonable and careful in raising our children so that they wont go astray. It is our job to instill values and provide moral guidance to them. Rizal said that we should teach our children to guard and love their honor and to perform their duties to their native land. A mothers influence on her child is immeasurable. It is in their nurturing hands where their future lie, and maybe also the future of our country. Rizal reiterated that a good mother should teach honor, honesty, love of fellowmen and most importantly, love for God. Being knowledgeable on religious activities and household chores is not enough. Womens role does not stop with that. She should also be responsible in her childs growth not just physically but also mentally, emotionally and spiritually. They should educate them in the right way. Strengthen them; fortify their minds so that when they face danger or any adversity, they would overcome it boldly and they would know what the right thing to do with clear judgment, honesty in act and deed and most especially faith in God. As a future mother, Rizal taught me a lot of things. Honestly, it made me nervous for it is only now that Ive realized that being a mother is a tough job, a difficult task, and a serious one too. Actually, Ive known this fact before but it didnt affect me this much just as it did now when I read Rizals letter. Well, Im just a teenager and honestly I dont want to think about these things about being a mother. Im scared that I might not fulfill my role in the right way if ever I become a mother in the future. Hopefully, this letter of Rizal would open up my mind and educate me when the time comes. When I become a mother, this letter would mean differently and more significantly to me. Thats the only time that I would be able to truly relate to all of these things that Rizal wrote. A mothers duty is not just cooking for the family, doing household chores or giving birth to her children. Theres so much more to it than just that. It is hard to put into words or communicate it to others. It is just simply what a real mothers role is. It is done for it is a task. It is not just simply a name given to women with children. Being a mother is a privilege, and a blessing as well. The word mother is actually a verb not a noun, an old proverb said. Because it is something you do, not something you are.

IV.

Biographical Sketch

On the 12th day of March 1992, a child named Precious Khay S. Hipolito was born to Florencio M. Hipolito and Melanie S. Hipolito. She grew up at Ramar Village, Malasin, San Jose City. She currently lives there with her parents, brother and her tatay (grandfather). Being the eldest of only two children, she would like to be a good role model to her only brother named Renzi. She finished her elementary education at BettBien Montessori and there her knowledge in vocabulary and mathematics broadened. She graduated Academic Excellence. She finished high school in University Science High School where she had experienced one of the most memorable experiences in her life. She is fond of watching movies, playing table tennis and playing shooting games. Reading books, especially fiction, has also became one of her hobbies since high school. She has a small collection of books written by her favorite authors. She also loves drawing portraits. She is now an incoming senior in the College of Business Administration and Accountancy, CLSU, major in Accounting Technology.

Khay Hipolito

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