10,000 Nueva Ecija women hit 'Marites' tag, push gender rights

By Celso M. Cajucom

SAN JOSE CITY, Nueva Ecija -- Members of a newly formed women's association based in San Jose City in the province of Nueva Ecija seemed to have had enough of the derogatory "Marites" that many Filipinos, men included, attach to their name.
Celebrating International Women's Day on Tuesday, March 8, nearly 10,000 women paraded around San Jose City under the banner of "Maretes."
    As early as dawn on Tuesday, around 9,476 Maretes members stood wearing white shirts along a stretch of the Maharlika Highway in San Jose City.
    Maretes, which stands for Magkakasamang Aksyon para sa Repormang Electoral Talunin ang Epal at Sinungaling, is headed by its chairman Leah Hortizuela and vice chairman Yolanda Noguera.
    Marites, on the other hand, refers to a woman, in particular, who engages in gossiping, mainly in social media and other online platforms.
    Hortizuela, in a news conference here, said they had secured the city government's permit on Monday before lining up at the city's Barangay Sto. Tomas on their way to Barangay Tayabo, also in San Jose, that are 30 kilometers apart.
    San Jose City, which is in the second district of Nueva Ecija, is regarded as the turf of Rep. Micaela "Mikki" Violago.
    Violago, noting the success of the event, said health and safety protocols against Covid-19 were observed during their celebration of International Women's Day.
    Third District Rep Ria Vergara and Palayan City Mayor Adrianne Mae Joson Cuevas, a gubernatorial candidate in the May 2022 elections, lauded members of Maretes for forming the women's association to counter Marites.
    Vergara, in an interview with The Manila Times, said she had been inspired by mothers, sisters, aunts and other women during the Covid-19 pandemic who continued to cook meals, do the laundry and help their children cope with modular learning, among other chores and adjustments under a health crisis.
    Hortizuela said she wants all women in Nueva Ecija to be united even as she added that she is appalled with the "degrading" Marites.
    Maretes, presumably, faces an uphill battle against Marites.
    Among other gender-based epithets that also many Filipinos, men and women, use to discriminate against women, the     Hortizuela group will have to contend, too, with "Mosang" (short for tsismosa or female Marites), "Marisol" ( Mare taga-sulsol or intrigue spreader), "Maris" (Mare, ano ang chismis? or insatiable Marites); "Maricon" or gossip verifier (Mare confirm),     "Mariposa" or social media addict (Mare, i-post mo na), "Marissa" or unsinkable Marites (Mare, may isa pa), "Marian" or Marites-in-waiting (Mare, ayan na), Mariposa or can't-wait Marites (Mare, pasa muna chika) and Maribeth or salacious Marites asking about other people's marital affairs (Mare, sino kabet?).
I    nternational Women's Day, according to online reports, is a global holiday celebrated annually every March 8 to commemorate the cultural, political and socio-economic achievements of women.
    The reports say the day is also a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights and violence and abuse against women.