No kids, no husband: the Filipino women defying society and embracing who they want to be
- In the Philippines, a growing number of women are going against what’s expected of them by society and their parents
- The idea that a woman can have a child-free existence is still considered taboo in the country, particularly among older generations
She is just 22, but Adrienne Onday already knows she probably will not have children.
“I feel like it’s not compatible with what I want for myself,” explains the Filipino researcher and feminist activist.
“What I really want is to teach and research sociology. And for me, that might entail a lot of travelling. Having a family – a baby – would mean that I have to take into consideration a child who would exist in that kind of reality. And unfortunately, that kind of situation is not suitable for children.”
Onday admits she thought about motherhood when she was growing up, even coming up with ideas on how she would raise her child. But her experience taking care of her three younger siblings and her younger cousins, coupled with her family’s high expectations that she would become a mother, changed her mind.
Dr Nathalie Verceles, director of the Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of the Philippines, says it’s natural for older Filipinos to have firm beliefs about the importance to a women of having children. “They grew up in an entirely different context from ours, and we need to understand that,” she says.
