‘Not many people care’: No kiwis protesting for already abortion illegal countries
Countries where abortion is illegal are yet to have their stories heard, as Kiwis in Auckland and Christchurch protest against the Roe v Wade abortion ruling in America.
There are many countries around the world, including the Philippines, where abortion is currently illegal. But looking through an “American lens”, Kiwis are focused on the potential for abortion to be made illegal in America.
Alliyah Baluyot, Filipina Auckland University student couldn’t see Kiwis protesting for the Philippines abortion rights as for America. “Not many people care if you’re not in a westernised country.” She felt that “a lot of what we see in social media is done through an American lens anyway. I think it’s a little bit short sighted.”
Many worry that if abortion is made illegal in America, woman will turn to unsafe abortions. However, this is already happening in the Philippines. “There's definitely back-alley ways of getting an abortion.” Baluyot said hearing Filipinas’ untold stories about abortion would help people be more knowledgeable. “It is harder because people might be speaking in their native tongues but if people really care they can go out of their way to translate like they do for other things.”
Baluyot felt abortion and contraceptives being illegal in the Philippines shows how the culture treats women, and this effects Filipinas living in New Zealand too. “Just sexual health in general in the Philippines just doesn’t get spoken about at all.” She would like to see Kiwis showing support through education, “not just using western ideas of abortion but also culture-specific ones. There are other things that are important that aren’t just in the western lens.”
Maryana Garcia, Filipina NZME journalist said Kiwis would “definitely not” protest for the Philippines abortion rights as they did for America. “Whether or not people should be protesting about an American law change in New Zealand ... I’m not sure that’s a good use of our time.”
“I have problem any time it seems to me that only one side of any story is being told.”
“I don’t expect the Philippines to make the news,” Garcia said. “People have the unfair assumption that Asia is Asia, and it's not going to change. Third world is third world.”
She said, “People expect the Philippines and third world countries to be backwards, so when they see something that they think is wrong happening there, they're not surprised because it was backwards already.” Garcia said the lack of shock value leads to people not reading about the country and then not being educated about them. “It's not unexpected for drugs or illegal abortions to be happening in a third world country.”
Garcia said, “It is good to ask ourselves why is that unexpected? And why do I find Roe v Wade more interesting than other news?”
Micah Arias, Filipina Massey Design student said in terms of the Philippines being a third world country, “Some people don’t really care about the poor people, even in Wellington. They exist but not many people care about them.”
Arias wasn’t sure what Kiwis protesting would do to help America. “We should show more support to countries that actually need help, America has lots of help.”
Arias said the Philippines’ conservative culture affects Filipinas living in Aotearoa too. “They will judge you if you wear something revealing.” Arias said Aotearoa should include more diverse ideas in schooling as she never learnt anything that addressed the Philippines stigma around sex in high school sex education.
Arias could never see Kiwis protesting for the Philippines abortion rights. “They just don’t really care because the Philippines doesn’t affect their lives.”
