The Trans Community in the Philippines Fights for Rights

In a new documentary series called A Woman’s Place, Refinery29 and We Are The XX media company founders got together to highlight empowering stories of female activists working for real change in their communities. In this particular video, we spend 10 minutes receiving information of what it is like to live as a transgender woman in the Philippines today.

While the trans community is quite visible in the Philippines, they are not legally acknowledged nor protected. This means that they cannot change their gender marker through official documentation and identification. This lack of gender recognition by the country makes it difficult for the community to have proper access to public spaces specifically for women.

Currently they are working towards an anti-discrimination bill that will allow them to self-identify. In order to do so, they need more trans women to report their identification to add to the data and prove the necessity for this change in legislation. It’s not easy, though, when the country uses the word bakla is used to describe both gay men and transgender women. Some brilliant activists are empowering each other to make a difference in both national law and the culture stigmas that surround the transgender community in the Philippines.

Check out the video here to learn more!

Cover image courtesy of Autumn Eakin and Refinery29.

By Rachel Shippee on October 8, 2015
Rachel Shippee is a writer, editor, and coffee enthusiast. Her most recent work can be found at Your Coffee Break, with previous bylines at Her Campus and College Lifestyles. With an international affairs background, she has a global journalistic view on women's rights and aspires to write on the intersections of gender, social justice, and the media. Follow her on Twitter."