Dubai magazine releases film on empowered Pinays

A lifestyle magazine in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has released a new mini-documentary film that shows courageous Filipino women in rising above experiences of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and unplanned pregnancies. The online release of the documentary titled “The Filipina on Top: Deconstructing Maria Clara" is a sequel of “The Empowered Filipina" produced last year by Illustrado Magazine, according to a report of Yahoo! News Philippines. “The Filipina on Top" premiered during Illustrado’s annual Women of Substance event held last month at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai. The film “The Filipina on Top" creates “awareness on the harsh realities" that Filipino women face, the report said. The film addresses questions like: “Is the modern Filipina well-informed enough not to fall into bad situations? Or are they unknowingly contributing to their own problems?" The report quoted Illustrado Magazine’s publisher and editor in chief Lalaine Chu Benitez as saying that the issue of women empowerment cannot be tackled without discussing women's issues and problems. “Female empowerment is not only about being independent, or landing a good job, or having a voice. Empowerment is also being able to make the right decisions for yourself. It is being able to control your own situation and to control your own future," Benitez said. Women and sex “The Filipina on Top" tackles the lack of sex education in the Philippines, a factor in the problem of unplanned pregnancies, the report said. The film also shows the influence of the highly sexualized Philippine media on cultural attitudes, behaviors, and the choices Filipino that women make. The film likewise touches on the issue of sexual harassment. An Illustrado Magazine’s random survey said around 75 percent of Filipino women have experienced “sexual harassment of some form." The two documentary films produced by Illustrado Magazine were directed by Kamil Roxas, winner of the Hayah Film Competition at the Middle East International Film Festival in 2008. - VVP, GMA News