I Submitted A Poem To A Literary Contest And Won

As part of its Gender and Development Program, the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP) held a Literary Contest anchoring on theme of the 2016 Women's Month, which is "Kapakanan ni Juana, Isama sa Agenda!", which roughly translates into women's rights being prioritized or talked about.

Source: NDCP Gender and Development Facebook Page

The aim of the aforementioned competition was to exhibit literary works from the defense workplace that can bring inspiration to Filipino women with five winners being chosen and rewarded with cash prizes. However, full copyright of their literary works will be surrendered to NDCP.

Being a writer, I jumped on the opportunity to take part in NDCP's Literary Contest. Although I am no stranger to these kinds of competitions, the fact that it has been a while since I participated in one made me worry a bit. The last time I received an award for a literary composition was back in 2007 for my column entitled "Lone Opinion", which is obviously where this blog got its name from.

After getting past the worrying stage, I had to decide what kind of literary piece I will be submitting for the abovementioned contest. With little time on my hands, I decided to write a poem. Fortunately, my entry entitled "Rightfully Hers" made it into the top five. The entirety of the said poem can be seen below and is being posted on Lone Opinion with consent from Ms. Joan Sayosa, Gender and Development Research Officer, NDCP.

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Rightfully Hers

Mother, daughter, sister and wife,

The very definition of a woman’s life.

Or at least that’s what it used to be,

Until the world started thinking differently.

Nowadays females can be so much more,

The passing of time opened more than one door.

Looking back, it has come a long way,

The rights of women then are different today.

In the past, some women cannot partake in elections[1],

Be it as voter or candidate, they had limitations.

There were societies where they were deprived of education[2],

And working strictly inside the house was a normal restriction.

But now, the human race has moved past such nonsense,

And realized that we underestimated a woman’s essence.

Because the jobs and tasks that can be done by males,

Can also be performed with ease by females.

In addition, education is now a must for all,

Regardless of gender, whether you’re big or small.

Aside from being able to elect their leaders,

Most women can now become presidents or rulers.

However, there are still things left undone,

And changes won’t occur if actions taken are none.

Some ladies are still discriminated,

While others are abused and violated.

And even in modern times, there are still societies,

Where women are treated as properties or commodities[3].

When talking about a woman’s rights, one thing is evident,

They may be better now but they still need improvement.

We must keep working at it though the order seems tall,

For such rights are rightfully hers after all.

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[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage_in_the_United_States

[2]https://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/rightsforwomen/introduction.html        

[3]http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/apr/24/women-human-beings-equal-rights-men  

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Although I did not finish in the top three, I still feel pretty good about my work since this was the first time I entered a poem to a literary contest and it won. My thanks to Ms. Sayosa and the people at NDCP for recognizing my efforts and for initiatives that promote not only women's rights but literature as well. More power to NDCP and to women around the world.

(A reminder to anyone who wants to post or share Rightfully Hers on social media, you have to seek consent from NDCP before posting it. As mentioned above, the copyright to the said poem has been surrendered to NDCP)