Mujer LGBT Organization has officially concluded its Human Rights Caravan, a three-year initiative aimed at strengthening SOGIE rights and local governance across Mindanao. Launched in Zamboanga City in 2022, the project carried out human rights training workshops in 15 municipalities, cities, and provinces, focusing on outreach for gender-marginalized communities and capacity-building for local government units (LGUs).
Funded by Outright International and supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Philippine Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the caravan closed with a ceremony and workshop on September 25. During the event, CHR Commissioner Atty. Faydah Dumarpa said, “I emphasize that this is not the end. The Commission continues its partnerships and journey in advancing human rights with Lakaran [caravan]. And of course, together with Mujer, we will continue to nurture the seeds we have sown through the human rights caravan.”
Despite recent funding challenges, including the termination of USAID support, Mujer Political and Communications Officer Rhadem Musawa affirmed the organization’s persistence. “For 10 years, with or without funding support, Mujer has always stood still and will still keep on fighting,” Musawa said.
Among Mujer’s key achievements through the caravan is the passage of three anti-discrimination ordinances, including the first with SOGIE clauses in Bangsamoro, specifically in Panglima Sugala, Tawi-Tawi. They also successfully lobbied for additional gender and development measures in Magsaysay, Misamis Oriental; Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte; and Zamboanga City.
But the work must continue, the Zamboanga-based organization emphasized, as “many cases [in Mindanao] involving gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics remain unreported or are ignored,” while “grassroots communities often lack access to mechanisms for documentation, redress, or awareness of their rights.”
