CIVICUS discusses women’s rights in the Philippines with Nica Dumlao, researcher and consultant for Asia Democracy Network, a regional organisation that works for a community of equitable, just and sustainable democracies in Asia. She’s also currently board secretary of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) SOGIE Caucus.

While the Philippines has progressive gender equality frameworks, abortion is criminalised and divorce is illegal due to the Catholic Church’s powerful influence over laws and politics. Despite widespread cultural acceptance of women in leadership roles, moral conservatism continues to block human rights reforms. Civil society is responding with strategic and incremental advocacy, working to decriminalise abortion and reform annulment laws, but women human rights defenders face persistent gendered harassment and threats.

How does religion influence women’s rights in the Philippines?

The Philippines has progressive legislation, such as the Magna Carta for Women, and institutions including the Philippine Commission on Women, ensuring every government agency allocates a budget for gender and development. In terms of the institutional framework, there’s commitment, structure and funding.

However, there are key issues that remain deeply contentious and politically blocked, particularly abortion and divorce. This contradiction – a government that funds gender programmes while denying women the right to make decisions about their bodies and relationships – reflects a broader tension between conservatism and progress.

Religion plays a major role. The Philippines is a deeply Catholic country, and the Church continues to wield enormous influence over public policy and people’s moral views. Politicians are very cautious: even presidents who have shown support for women’s rights, such as the late Benigno Aquino III, struggled to push through legislation on divorce and reproductive rights. Lawmakers are often afraid of losing the Church’s endorsement, and without it, they risk losing elections.

As a result, even when there’s broad social support for women’s rights, moral conservatism often overrides it. The Church’s stance against abortion and divorce has turned what should be health and human rights issues into moral battlegrounds. As the debate has shifted from justice and legality to morality, women’s rights reforms have become stuck in a cycle of political hesitation and religious pressure.

What progress has the Philippines made on gender equality?

In many ways the Philippines is quite progressive. Culturally, women are respected and it’s normal to see women in leadership positions in business, civil society and politics. We’ve had a female president and female mayors and senators. There are strong laws addressing gender-based violence, such as the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act and the Safe Spaces Act. Under the Safe Spaces Act, a woman who’s harassed on the street can file a report with the police. The legal framework is relatively strong.

But there are significant contradictions. A woman can report her husband for domestic abuse and even have him imprisoned, but she cannot divorce him. Legal separation and annulment exist, but both are long and costly processes. Progress on paper doesn’t always translate into real equality or freedom.

Abortion remains completely criminalised, but there’s growing awareness of how dangerous this is. Many women, particularly poor women, resort to unsafe abortions and end up dying or severely ill. Hospitals are obliged to treat these women, but public and non-religious hospitals provide care quietly, without reporting cases as abortions.

How is civil society responding to these challenges?

As a first step, it is pushing to decriminalise abortion. Civil society groups, feminist collectives and youth movements are documenting stories of women harmed by unsafe procedures to build public empathy and support. There’s still strong social stigma, but the fact people are talking about it more openly means progress is possible. Mainstream films now openly portray abortion, bringing the issue to the big screen.

Informal collectives and grassroots networks provide information that accessing safe abortion services is possible. Civil society groups also advocate for policy change. The strategy is to try and change existing laws, as passing new legislation is difficult and politically risky. For instance, they push for relaxing annulment requirements to make legal separation easier, and decriminalising abortion without yet legalising it. It’s a step-by-step approach that prioritises small, strategic wins while keeping women’s needs at the centre.

However, women activists face severe gendered violence and harassment. They are attacked for their advocacy and their gender. When women join protests or criticise the government, they are often subjected to sexist insults, slut-shaming and threats of sexual violence, online and offline. These gendered attacks seek to intimidate them into withdrawing from public life.

This hostility is part of a broader regional and global trend. Nevertheless, it’s particularly alarming in the Philippines because it often comes from powerful figures. During the 2022 election, when Leni Robredo ran against Ferdinand Marcos Jr, she and her supporters faced vicious misogynistic attacks. Similarly, journalist Maria Ressa was targeted for both her reporting and her gender and sexual orientation. For queer activists, visibility comes at a cost, and it takes immense courage to continue standing up publicly.

Despite these challenges, what gives you hope?

Hope comes from the movements themselves. Despite the risks, women and queer activists continue to organise, push boundaries, create safe spaces and challenge harmful narratives.

We know systemic change takes time. So the strategy is to win small battles, strengthen existing protections, open cracks in the system and use those cracks to build something stronger. Each amendment, each public conversation, each shift in public opinion matters.

The Philippines might not have abortion or divorce rights yet, but the conversation is no longer silent. And that, in itself, is progress.

This interview was conducted during International Civil Society Week 2025, a five-day gathering in Bangkok that brought together activists, movements and organisations defending civic freedoms and democracy around the world. International Civil Society Week was co-hosted by CIVICUS and the Asia Democracy Network.