Philippine E-Journals

Women, Media, and Human Rights: A Historical Approach to Gender Equality, the Cases of Korea and the Philippines

Gretchen E. Jao | Yujin Lee | Nicole Dominique A. Parado | Kevin Neil G. Tan | Jiyun Won | Jovi C. Dacanay

Discipline: Gender Studies, Media

 

Abstract:

Media, as it has become more indispensable to human lives, is often referred to as an effective and efficient tool that affects people’s view on social issues such as human rights education and monitoring. This paper studies gender equality based on historical accounts in the Philippines and of Korea as well as the categories of capabilities expounded by Nussbaum, Robeyns and Alkire.

 

Using the categories of the capability approach, which looks at the contribution of women based on characteristics such as educational, health and survival, economic participation, and, political empowerment, the human rights expounded by De Vitoria was incorporated to enrich the significance of the approach. These rights are the right to equal treatment and life, right to property, education, work, and socio-political participation. The results showed that the regard for women from pre-colonial to colonial times helped shape the high regard shown by men to women thereby closing the gender gap in the Philippines, while the gap is still in the process of being closed in Korea.