by PNA
On December 12, 1888, the so-called 20 Women of Malolos signed and presented to Spanish Governor-General Valeriano Weyler a letter requesting permission to open a night school where they could study the Spanish language.
The women from prominent Chinese-Filipino families or clans, such as Rufina Tanjosoy-Santos, appealed to Weyler, known to have liberal leaning and interest in education in the country, after their original petition was denied by the parish priest of Malolos, who argued that women should always stay at home and take care of the family.
Teaching of the Spanish language was not encouraged during that time, not just for women but Filipinos in general.
The friars feared that proficiency in the Spanish language would give the natives the ability to communicate directly with Spanish government officials and would expose them to liberal and progressive ideas then emerging in Europe.
Weyler, who initially denied the request of the women, eventually granted the petition which became the turning point of the status of women to have the right education.
Weyler permitted them to open the school the following year -- on February 20, 1889. They financed it themselves since the government had refused to do so.
Teodoro Sandico, who clandestinely gave them private Spanish lessons before the arrangement was legitimized, was the one who wrote the letter of petition and had it signed by the women.
In April 1889, Church officials accused Sandico of immoral teaching. Sandico went into hiding, then left the country under an assumed name on May 17, 1889, a week after authorities ordered his school to be closed down.
Meanwhile, many of the women of Malolos aided the Filipino revolutionaries during the Philippine Revolution and later on also got involved in socio-civic organizations.(PNA)
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