I AM WOMAN

If history has shown us anything, it's that women — far from being the "weaker sex" — have always been indomitable.

- RICARDO T. PAMINTUAN

The other day, while doing a crossword puzzle, I came across a clue about "March Madness." I immediately recognized it as the NCAA Men's Division I basketball tournament in the US. But then it struck me—March is also National Women's Month. If anything deserves to be called "March Madness," it's the relentless struggle of women fighting for their rightful place in a world historically dominated by men.

The battle for women's rights has been anything but easy, marked by triumphs, setbacks, and unwavering perseverance. From securing the right to vote to breaking corporate glass ceilings, from challenging deeply ingrained sexism to advocating for reproductive rights and protection against violence, women have reshaped societies worldwide.

For centuries, women have had to claw their way into spaces where men insisted they didn't belong. The suffragettes of the early 20th century faced an unjust system head-on. Films like Suffragette and On the Basis of Sex remind us of the legal battles for women's rights, while Mrs. America highlights the irony of women opposing their own equality during the fight for the Equal Rights Amendment in the US Constitution.

Despite progress, disparities persist. Women now earn degrees at higher rates than men, yet the wage gap remains a stubborn reality. Reports from the UN and Pew Research Center confirm that women still make significantly less than men for the same work.

Pop culture reflects these struggles. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Law According to Lidia Poët, and Hidden Figures depict the exhausting reality of being twice as good for half the credit, while