The Role of "Occupy for Reproductive Health" as a Political Tool for Women's Rights and Empowerment

On September 17, 2011, thousands of protesters marched and camped out in Zuccotti Park, New York to protest social and economic inequality in a movement known as Occupy Wall Street (OWS). In the Philippines, the Reproductive Health (RH]) Bill (House Bill 4244), which seeks to promote responsible parenting, maternal and child care protection, funding and equal access for health facilities, and responsible sexuality education among the youth, is still pending in Congress, ten years since the first RH Bill was filed. On November 21, 2011, pro-RH individuals from various women's non-government organizations marched to the South Wing Gate of the House of Representatives to stage "Occupy for RH" (ORH]). This paper seeks to explain how women's groups appropriated this particular mode of protest and how ORE-I has not only challenged prevailing patriarchal institutions in the country, but has also reaffirmed that collective and active participation is still a powerful tool in asserting one's political rights.