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SECUYA, DELAIA ANN A.

COL. 7, RW. 3

FEBRUARY 3, 2014

TO THE YOUNG WOMEN OF MALOLOS

This letter was made by Dr. Jose Rizal for the good news he received from the young women of Malolos, Bulacan. He praised and honored these brave Filipinas for they emerge victorious in their demand for education and for they are no longer blinded by the fraud religious beliefs brought by the friars. The critical issues tackled in the letter are inequality between Filipino men and women, slavery done by the Spaniards because of ignorance, fraud religious beliefs brought by the friars, the roles and obligations of mothers in the family, and the abuse of the Spaniards because of the blind hospitality of the Filipinos.

The part that struck me most is that God, the primal source of all wisdom, does not demand that man,

created in his image and likeness, allow himself to be deceived and hoodwinked, but wants us to use and let shine the light of reason with which He has so mercifully endowed us . God gave us free agency and
the wisdom to pursue our task to seek the truth, to speak the truth, and to act and live it in our daily lives. Let us not allow ourselves to be trapped by the darkness of deceitfulness nor wickedness. Though how tougher and difficult the path in our times may seem, we can still attain the fullness of our life when we act out of love. It is our strength. We have to be brave, be prepared and pray all the time to overcome the deceiving power, worry and fear that clothed us. Take courage and be the change in the community we live in. Whatever the circumstances may bring, we know that we are on the path of righteousness.

As a woman, its fascinating to note that at that time, Rizal had already placed great value and high respect for women in our country especially on their vital roles as mothers and wives. As a wife, she must support her husband in every endeavor and problem he may be facing, inspire him, encourage him, love him and be always with him through his ups and downs. He also believes that women should have equal rights with men. He clearly believes that 'race' or even 'gender' is not a limitation for every individual to prosper less. He also mentioned in the letter that mothers should set as good role models to their children. Unfortunately, many mothers today arent acting as mothers in a way they should be or ought to do. They failed to be good examples to their children. In our country, the current crises pushed the mothers to also earn a living to supplement their husbands income. There is nothing wrong in working hard for the familys welfare but she should not be engrossed enough with her work that her role as a mother is prejudiced. For those who belong to a poor family, many forced their children to work or wander on the streets to ask for alms. How uncompassionate and unloving these kinds of mothers are! Being the foundation of principles and values in ensuring the progress of the nation, a mother should nourish her children with proper values, desired knowledge and shape them to become good, that is; maka-tao, maka-bayan, maka-kalikasan, at maka-Diyos. The indomitable role of the mother cannot be overemphasized as it is being characterized by the saying that the hand the holds the cradle, rocks the world. Mothers should take hold that cradle. Dont entrust it to others. Failure in the family cannot be compensated by any wealth and fame. Strengthen the family as it is the basic unit of our society and the strength of our nation depends on it.

It is also heartbreaking to hear that because of ignorance and lack of knowledge of their rights, women at that time are very fragile and be easily influenced and exploited by the Spanish friars. Rizal advised them to open their eyes and be freed from ignorance, for ignorance is the cause of their slavery.

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