by PNA
Governor Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado on Wednesday hailed the courage, wisdom and the “free spirit†of the 20 women of Malolos during the 123rd anniversary of the well-known "Letter of Rizal to the Women of Malolos" at Casa Real, Plaza Rizal in this historic capital city.
Alvarado, in a speech at the Casa Real shrine,urged the people of Malolos to keep alive the legacy of the brave 20 women from prominent Filipino-Chinese families because their courageous act played an important role in the struggle to uplift the state of women, particularly on education.
He said the women won respect by demonstrating initiative, firmness of purpose, and a desire for education that was unexpected for Filipino women of their time.
Alvarado said that in Rizal’s letter to the young women of Malolos which he wrote in 1889, the national hero paid homage to the 20 courageous women of the town for their desire to educate themselves.
“It was, truly, a liberating action at that time,†Alvarado said as he praised the 20 young women of Malolos who “courageously refused to surrender to friar power and were successful in their struggle for their right to education and stop Filipino slavery.â€
City Mayor Christian D. Natividad, who attended the celebration, together with his mother Baby Dionisio Natividad, said the city government has lined-up activities and programs that aims to preserve the significant role of Malolos in the nation’s history.
On December 12, 1888, the women of Malolos presented a letter to Governor-General Valeriano Weyler requesting permission to open a night school where they could be taught Spanish.
The women’s daring action, which defied the authority of the town’s Augustinian friar curate, was lauded by reformists such as Jose Rizal, Graciano Lopez Jaena, and Marcelo H. del Pilar.
The incident caused a great stir in the Philippines and in far-away Spain.
Del Pilar, writing in Barcelona on February 17, 1889, requested Rizal to send a letter in Tagalog to the brave women of Malolos.
Accordingly, Rizal, although busy in London annotating Morga’s book penned his famous letter and sent it to Del Pilar on February 22, 1889 for transmittal to Malolos.
The celebration was also graced by Vicente “Bong†Enriquez of VSE productions; Diosdado David Santos, supreme auditor of the Order of the Knights of Rizal; Sarita Zafra, the granddaughter of Alberta Uitangcoy, one of the 20 women of Malolos; and Barbara Gonzalez, granddaughter of Rizal’s sister Maria Rizal.
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