Pia: Teachers, students who get pregnant out of marriage
to get protection from Magna Carta of Women

Women faculty members and students who get pregnant out of marriage can now look forward to getting protection from discrimination under a landmark law signed Friday, the Magna Carta of Women (Republic Act 9710), Senator Pia S. Cayetano said today.

A principal sponsor of RA 9710, Cayetano said Section 13 ("Equal Access and Elimination of Discrimination in Education, Scholarships and Training") of the new law will prohibit schools from expelling or refusing female students and members of their faculty who get pregnant outside of marriage.

"For years, women's groups have been asking why is it that when an unmarried female teacher or student gets pregnant, the school immediately expels her? And how come the same penalty is not applied when an unmarried male teacher or student impregnates a female partner? Doesn't that constitute an obvious act of discrimination against women?" she asked.

The full text of the section reads: "�Section 13 (c) Expulsion and non-readmission of women faculty due to pregnancy outside of marriage shall be outlawed. No school shall turn out or refuse admission to a female student solely on the account of her having contracted pregnancy outside of marriage during her term in school."

"It's time we rectify the wrongs committed against our women. We cannot allow the vestiges of our chauvinist past to continue to rule over us. We hope to specifically address these issues with the passage of the Magna Carta of Women," emphasized the lady senator, who is also President of the Committee of Women Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

She said that while several laws have been passed to address different women's issues like the Anti-Trafficking Law (RA 9208) and Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act (RA 9262), the Magna Carta of Women is the first national law to define the human rights of women and the various acts of discrimination against them as enshrined under CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women).

"This law is long overdue actually, because it has been almost three decades since our country ratified CEDAW," added Cayetano, noting that the treaty was signed by the Philippines on July 17, 1980, while the Senate ratified it on July 19, 1981.

RA 9710 recognizes the right of women to health (Section 17), including access to maternal care and comprehensive health services, and information on breastfeeding and family planning methods.

The new law will also grant a special leave benefit of two months with pay for women employees following surgery caused by gynecological disorders. This is on top of the two-month maternity leave that female employees can avail of upon giving birth.

The Magna Carta of Women likewise recognizes the specific circumstances of women in sports (Section 14); the military (Section 15); those belonging to marginalized sectors including women in especially difficult circumstances (Section 30, includes victims of sexual and physical abuse, trafficking, prostitution and armed conflict, etc.), girl-children (Section 32) and women senior citizens (Section 33).