President Duterte: Labeled as sexist

 

    Mayor Sara Duterte topped as the next in line for the presidency in the Pulse Asia Research Inc. results. In a televised speech of President Rodrigo Duterte, he advised his daughter, Mayor Sara Duterte, not to run as president. A site's headline refers Duterte as sexist due to his statement that woman is not for presidency. It got so many reactions, opinions, and even speculations that this is just a strategy to put her daughter in the limelight. So, here are some of my views and thoughts regarding this issue.

 

    Saying that woman is not for the presidency is like stereotyping that all women can't lead a country. It's also against the gender equality and woman empowerment that everybody is fighting for so long. This statement is against our dignity as a woman that we are too frail to do something great.

 

    On the other hand, when President Duterte said this statement, it was also understandable that he was overpowered by his emotion and concern for his daughter at that time. When he said that the emotional struggle that his daughter might encounter would be unbearable, it was not his president figure talking but his father instinct. It is a moral duty and a utilitarian approach of a father's intention to protect his daughter from all the physical and emotional difficulties he's been through these years. He knows how hard it is fighting for the nation and defending himself to his people who kept on protesting and jumping to conclusions in every decision he makes so he wants to minimize or prevent his daughter from experiencing this pain. But if Mayor Sara does want to have the responsibility, it means that it is her choice, and she believes that she is capable of something that she's got herself into. Being a woman won't let her be the less skillful and effective president that she can be. 

 

    Despite these different perspectives and opinions, I presented, it is still not right to underestimate what a woman can do. When the president said that his daughter couldn't do it, it doesn't mean that all women can't do it too. There are already two previous presidents who are a woman and overcome the struggles of being a president. Others might not be satisfied with how they ran the country during that time, but they are the living proof that a country can have a woman as a president. Women can also be capable of doing anything and should be given a chance to prove and develop themselves for our country's sake.