DEFEND THE SACRED

103 external norms – that is, not to eat too much, to always have a friendly smile, to suppress our anger. Over the cen- turies, we have internalised these teachings. We have al- lowed them to pervade our cultures and our political in- stitutions. But today we are seeing a new development in women’s movements. We women are beginning to awak- en a deep memory of a past in which we were allowed to freely express our sexual nature. In the traditional, Indigenous culture of the Philip- pines there were female shamans and leaders called ba- baylan . A babaylan was a priestess but also a warrior, healer, educator and artist. You can imagine how the babaylan resisted the Spanish colo- nists! In order to conquer the land, the colonists began to destroy the reputation of the babaylan , to per- secute and kill them. That was the witch hunt that happened in our latitudes. Not only do we women have to fight for our public rights today, we also have to struggle to gain access to our memories. The power of a ba- baylan is still preserved as a memory in our bodies. We can remember the power to heal, to teach, to create and to lead. This memo- ry is reappearing today in many other cultures, too. Much of it is the sexual life force in us. I do not think we will succeed without healing our sexuality. If we continue to hide our sexuality in the dark, it will find no place and no recognition in society or in the world. That’s why we first have to work on the rebirth of our sexuality. We cannot separate our fight for the environment and the Earth from the fight for the liberation of sexual- ity. If we consider the Earth as a body, what is fracking, drilling or mining other than a rape of our Earth? Women are raped and injured in the same aggressive ways. They are treated with the same disrespect. The system gov- erns and controls women to the same extent that it con- trols the Earth. I think the liberation and emancipation of us women will lead to a resurrection of our sexuality. And this resurrection is a big part of the sacred we must defend. What would the world be like if women lived in this power? If their sexual vitality was no longer withheld? If we understand our sexuality, if we understand what is sacred about it, our understanding will feed into our ac- tions. First and foremost, when we have our full life force with us we can use our bodies to protect na- ture, which is threatened with de- struction by oil and mining compa- nies. If we know what is sacred in us then we can defend what is sacred in the world. There is still a lot of work ahead of us. It has a lot to do with allowing pleasure and the joy of life again. After twenty years as an activist, I see that patriarchy has done two things above all else. First, it has al- ienated the man from his heart and turned his tears into bullets. The big task for men today is to reconnect with their hearts so that they can feel compassion and love. Second, it has split the original unity of women. Just as it has divided nations and cultures, so it has pitted women against each other. It has imposed the paradigm of capitalism on women and taught them to compete with one another. We women have to recognise that. In- stead of competing with and condemning each other, we need to reunite. Overcoming the separation can be pain- ful because we need to think about what once separated us. Sometimes these were very personal things like jeal- ousy or the fear of not being heard. As an actress and singer from the Philippines, Monique Wilson brought the ‘Vagina Monologues’ by Eve Ensler to the stage in many Asian countries 20 years ago. Through this experience she became an activist for women’s rights. For seven years, she has been the global coordinator of ‘One Billion Rising’, a women’s movement that brings together millions of people, in more than 200 countries, in artistic flash mobs to dance for the end of violence against women and girls – and increasingly for the protection of Mother Earth herself. Patriarchy has imposed the paradigm of capitalism on women and taught them to compete with one another. We women have to recognise that and reunite.