Showing posts with label ateneo human rights center. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ateneo human rights center. Show all posts

Sunday, 4 March 2012

Transpinay human rights defenders go to bed with famed photographer

For many women, the "bedroom" is not just a room but represents a multiplicity of meanings. It can be a site of struggle for power, pleasure and personhood. To others, it can be a place of vulnerability, where personal issues are dealt with--those that pertain to the body, health, sense of well-being, sense of belonging, sexuality, gender, pain, lust and love.

On International Women's Month, the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP), the pioneer organization of transgender rights advocates in the Philippines, revisits the idea of the "bedroom" as a complex space. Collaborating with renowned photographer Niccolo Cosme, transpinays (transgender/transsexual Filipinas) figuratively go to bed with Cosme to produce black-and-white images of transgender women confronting the issues that they face daily: discrimination, hate, the struggle for equality, identity, their place in public/social institutions, social roles and relationships, kinship, sisterhood and community.

These photographs are not only meant to showcase the diversity, beauty, and strength of the transpinay but also to trigger a reflection on the power of self-determination and how in the bedroom the personal is also the political.
The exhibit will run from 5-9 March 2012 at the Law School of the Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU) Professional Schools and is co-presented by the Ateneo Human Rights Center (AHRC) Women’s Desk. 


Written for STRAP by Chairwoman Ms Naomi Fontanos

Sunday, 26 February 2012

STRAP turns 10: A decade of support, sorority and sisterhood

The Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP), the pioneer support group and human rights advocacy organization of transpinays (transgender/transsexual Filipinas) turns 10 in May 2012. To celebrate a decade of support, sorority and sisterhood, STRAP will hold three major events in three months (March, April & May 2012).

In March, in time for International Women's Month, STRAP will hold a photo exhibit at the Law School of the Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU) Professional Schools in cooperation with the Ateneo Human Rights Center's Women's Desk. To be held on 5-9 March 2012, the exhibit will feature black-and-white photographs showcasing the beauty and diversity of STRAP members shot by renowned photographer Niccolo Cosme.

In April, STRAP will hold a social responsibility activity to benefit a charity of their choice. STRAP's 10th year anniversary celebrations culminate with the 2nd Sybil Awards on 19 May 2012. The Sybil Awards is named after one incarnation of the Great Mother, a goddess whose worship dates back to the Stone Age. Known by different names, she was called Sybil in various cultures. The Great Mother Sybil was venerated by transgender priestesses in pre-communal societies. STRAP's Sybil awards honor individuals, organizations, establishments, activities, programs, and other entities that, in their own way, promote the equality, acceptance, empowerment and dignity of transgender Filipinos.

For more information on these events, please contact Ms Naomi Fontanos, STRAP Chairwoman at strapmanila@gmail.com or through mobile +63920.2697607.


Written for STRAP by Chairwoman Ms Naomi Fontanos