The 2026 National Women’s Month celebration shifts from honoring past achievements to restoring women’s power. Organizers say the event marks a “sovereign reclamation” of gender equality. They claim the country is “peeling back the colonial layers that taught us to be inferior, weak, and subordinate.”
The theme draws on the Babaylan, pre‑colonial healers, scholars, and leaders. The group says the Babaylan “was never a lost figure of the past, but the original DNA of who we are as leaders, social, economic and political authorities.”
Data the organizers cite shows the impact of this revival. Maternal mortality has fallen 51 % in the last two decades. Women now make up 58 % of tertiary‑level students. Women‑led micro, small and medium enterprises account for 60 % of all registered businesses.
The Philippines will chair ASEAN this year and lead the ASEAN Committee on Women. Officials say this position lets the country “lead like the Babaylan” in peace, security, and digital transformation.
A call to action appears in the programme. The organizers spell out “L – liberate yourself, E – empower, A – assert your voice, D – devote your talents.” They urge every Filipino woman and girl to join the effort.
“Mabuhay ang diwa ng Babaylan! Mabuhay ang kababaihang Pilipino! Lead like a Babaylan, Filipinas!” the statement reads.
The celebration aims to remind the nation that women’s empowerment is a birthright, not a foreign idea. It seeks to restore women’s rightful place in all spheres of life.
National Women’s Month 2026 Invokes The Babaylan Spirit
