Allusion and Broken VAW: The Hermeneutics in Cebuano-Visayan Feminist Poetry

Abstract

Violence against women (VAW) is a global stigma. At least two conditionsstirred the global community: Malala Yousafzai who took a bullet in 2012 andwho advocate girl’s education to date, and the 2014 reported kidnap of 300Nigerian girls by Boko Haram. There are oppressive stereotypes of women.Violence can come in different forms. These can come as verbal abuse, intimatepartners violence, non-intimate partner violence, trafficking, forced prostitution,exploitation of labor, debt bondage, physical and sexual violence, sex selectiveabortion, female infanticide and femicide, deliberate neglect and girl’s education,rape in war, dowry murder, (child) pornography, dating violence, female genitalmutilation/circumcision, and acid attack. With the aid of Hermeneutics, therich allusions and strong Feminist voices that exhume the elements of VAW areinherent characteristics of the Cebuano-Visayan Feminist poetry. The poemsconvince women to reclaim femininity, regain self-worth, challenge patriarchy,defy social prescriptions and conventions for women’s behavior. The four selectedCebuano-Visayan poetry with sound Feminist voices are support systems forwomen. Further studies on VAW in Cebuano-Visayan poetry are recommended. Keywords: Hermeneutics, poetry, Violence Against Women (VAW), descriptive research,Cebuano-Visayan language, Philippines