At the evacuation centres, everyone was at a loss but most especially mothers who were breastfeeding or had toddlers. Other Moro women related that female evacuees had to remove their hijabs to avoid suspicion of being extremist sympathisers.
By Daphne Padilla
In May 2017, Marawi City in the southern island of Mindanao, was the site of a five-month battle between extremist forces and the Philippine military. The war displaced some 500,000 residents and has put to fore the outbreak of violent extremism in the region with the Philippine army fighting the Maute brothers and Abu Sayyaf.
As in any conflict, it’s the women and children who always suffer most. To better understand the experiences of women caught in the conflict, UN Women conducted two listening processes that gathered women’s narratives, map out interventions and generate recommendations.
UN Women’s listening sessions revealed that loose talk among women before the siege spoke of early warning signs. Rumours spread about text messages announcing that the ISL was coming.
Prior to that, ambushes and violence have been escalating but the people in Lanao del Sur were ironically “used to” such activities. When the siege finally happened, an evacuee declared that the women did not know where to go. “Not even one spoon…” declared an evacuee when asked if they were able to bring anything in the rush to evacuate Marawi City.
Bombing of Marawi City (Credit: Mark Jhomel)
At the evacuation centres, everyone was at a loss but most especially mothers who were breastfeeding or had toddlers. Other Moro women related that female evacuees had to remove their hijabs to avoid suspicion of being extremist sympathisers.
To make matters worse, some sectors cited that when the Maute matriarch was captured in Masiu, Lanao del Sur, she was still in hijab. Farhana Maute or Ominta Romato was believed to be the heart of the IS-inspired Maute group and directed the movement and operations and took care of finances and international networking. This suspicion further harmed the dignity and religious freedom of the Moro women as they were initially seen as subservient to their husbands.
Since they fled with only the clothes on their back, most have lost essential documents for identification. Without proof of identity, women found it difficult to claim lost possessions and even seek employment. Without a home and without identity, Moro women in the evacuation centres felt their “pasts have been erased” and have become “prone to marginalisation and discrimination.”
Many of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Marawi were women and children (Credit: Angelo Dologmandin/PIA)
In 2018, the need for sustainable livelihoods became a pressing concern along with the call to return to their homes in Marawi City. Yet despite a year after the siege, Ground Zero of an estimated 250 hectares comprising of 24 barangays was still in ruins and around 70,000 individuals still lived in tents. Even the gory vestiges of war were still vividly etched in the ground’s quiet ruins.
In 2019, a plebiscite changed ARMM to BARMM. The MILF-led government was seen by the internally displaced persons of Marawi City as the agency that may fast track the city’s rebuilding. Among the government agencies working closely with groups like UN Women is the Regional Commission on Bangsamoro Women (RCBW) with the hopes that in rebuilding the community of Marawi City, the Moro women may also have a stronger voice in the decision-making of BARMM.
The women IDPs of Marawi have called for memorialisation of the events to ensure that the stories of the survivors are heard and recorded and passed on to future generations; teaching of the Marawi siege in schools that highlights the struggle for survival and resiliency of the people, accountability processes for the perpetrators of the siege, justice processes for property destruction and repatriation which would include education opportunities and replacement of properties.
Though there is no guarantee of non-recurrence, women see that regular discussions and participation of women may protect the Moro community from violent extremism.
(Writing by Daphne Padilla, contributor for Rights Corridor; Editing by Henri Abenis-Macahilo)