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UST Hiraya, the pioneer Intersectional Feminist organization in the University of Santo Tomas recognized by the University of Santo Tomas Office for Student Affairs (OSA), invites the Thomasian
community for the launching of the first Women’s Week in UST from March 5-8, 2018.
Women’s Week begins with “Hiraya Talks: Feminism,” a 3-hour lecture on the history and development of the Feminist Movement. The lecture will be conducted by Atty. Ma. Golda Gigi Minoza, a lecturer at Mirriam College. It will be held on March 5, 2018 at the UST Tan Yan Kee (TYK) Student Center Auditorium from 12nn to 4:30 p.m.
Simultaneously, a 3-day hair drive dubbed “Project Tangled: UST Hiraya Share Your Hair Drive”
will be launched at the University of Santo Tomas Tan Yan Kee Lobby from March 5 to 7 at 10 a.m. to 5
p.m. Through Project Tangled, Thomasian students who wish to donate their locks will receive a free
haircut in time for summer. All proceeds will be given to Hair For Hope Philippines, a nonprofit
organization which manufactures medical wigs for women and children who lost their hair to chemotherapy and other medical reasons.
On March 6, 2018, UST Hiraya launches two projects at the University of Santo Tomas Tan Yan
Kee Auditorium: a self-defense workshop entitled “Grit & Grace” and a film-showing event entitled “Kababaihan Kulturang Pelikula.” Through Grit & Grace, participants will learn how to defend themselves in dangerous situations unarmed. The instructors will be provided by the UST Filipino Martial Arts. It will be held from 9 a.m. to 12nn. The self-defense workshop will be immediately followed by Kababaihan Kulturang Pelikula, which features a line-up of Filipino films that promote social awareness and women empowerment. The film-showing will run from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The following day, March 7, a forum and symposium will be held at the UST Thomas Aquinas Research Complex (TARC) Auditorium. From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., “Women of Science: A Forum on the Representation of Women in the Field of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in the Philippines” will commence to provide Thomasians a platform to discuss the lack of representation of women and microaggression experienced by women in male-dominated industries. Dr. Ma. Mercedes T. Rodrigo, PhD, a professor at the Department of Information Systems and Computer Science of the Ateneo de Manila University and Engr. Vina Marie O. Ignacio-Rivera, the President of Charte Consultancy Corporation, an Engineering consultancy and general contractor, will grace the event with their presence as the forum’s distinguished speakers. From 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., “Boss Babe: A Women Empowerment Symposium” will be held and will feature prominent Filipino women from various industries who will share their own experiences of empowerment in their respective fields.
To formally conclude Women’s Week, a concert entitled “#HERvolution: UST Women’s Week
Concert 2018” will be held at the UST Grand Stand and Parade Grounds from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Through
#HERvolution, Thomasians will be entertained by a concert featuring mostly Thomasian artists and a
special guest performer.
UST Hiraya hopes that through Women’s Week, there will be more safe spaces in the campus for the discussion of women’s issues in the university.
Women’s Week is supported by its official partners WhenInManila.com, WeThePvblic, Frappe la
Rue, the Thomasian Cable Television (TOMCAT), Sausage Alley, and DKD Metalcraft.
