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NEWS BRIEFSWomen peace leaders laud Pope Francis’ call for greater women participationMANILA — Two of the top women leaders in the peace process extolled PopeFrancis’ call for greater women participation and representation in societywhen he spoke to the Filipino youth at the University of Santo Tomas onSunday, January 18.Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos Deles andGovernment of the Philippines chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer bothsaid that they “love the pope” especially for championing the rights of women.“In his attention to the peripheries, he did not miss the women,” Deles said.“It’s so important that he notes that men are a factor in the problem.”In his speech during the meeting with Filipino youth, Pope Francis noted thelack of women representation. “Women have much to tell us in today’s society.Sometimes, we are too machistas (chauvinistic) and we don’t allow enoughspace for women,” the pontiff said.“Women can see things from a different angle [from] us, with a different eye.Women are able to pose questions we men are unable to understand,” PopeFrancis added, responding to 12-year old Glyzelle Palomar, a street kid whorelated how her life has been exposed to the ills of drugs and prostitution.Coronel-Ferrer noted Pope Francis’ compassion. “He is with us in our struggle for peace and justice—in Mindanao, in oureveryday life, among the poor and dispossessed in our society.”Clinton lauds PH for gender-inclusive peace processIn a speech at Georgetown University in Washington, former United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clintonlast December lauded the country for its gender-inclusive peace process led by Teresita Quintos Deles and MiriamCoronel-Ferrer. The two women were cited by Clinton for making inclusivity the guiding principle in peace negotiationswith the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which has resulted in the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on theBangsamoro (CAB), the final political settlement ending one of the longest internal conflicts in Southeast Asia. Theproposed Bangsamoro Basic Law, the agreement’s legal iteration, is currently under deliberation in both chambers ofCongress.“Consider what has happened recently in the Philippines,” Clinton said. “Hope for peace was all but gone when twostrong women, Teresita Quintos Deles and Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, took over the negotiations. They made inclusivitytheir mantra. And thanks greatly to their efforts, finally a peace was brokered in a historic deal.”Clinton shared the story of the Philippine peace process with women peace leaders from various countries who weregathered at Georgetown’s Institute of Women, Peace, and Security, and emphasized the important role of women inpeace-building around the globe, noting that with women involved in the peace process, “entire societies enjoy betteroutcomes,” and “often-overlooked issues—[such as] human rights, individual justice, national reconciliation, economicrenewal—are often brought to the forefront.”Clinton also said that “women leaders, it has been found, are good at building coalitions across ethnic and sectarian linesand speaking up for other marginalized groups… It’s important to underscore this overriding fact: Women are not justvictims of conflict. They are agents of peace and agents of change.”March 2015KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN39