Changing all the rules.

Princess Nemenzo has been a leader of the struggle for womens rights and political freedom in the Philippines since the 1960s. Despite the recent failures of socialist experiments she remains committed to a vision of society that minimizes inequalities in the access to and control of economic and social resources. Nemenzo has struggled to apportion her life between her family and her political activism and to survive decades of political persecution and imprisonment. As a researcher at the Ateneo University of Manila she worked on land reform issues and population policy. While in political exile in Australia she worked with the international peace movement and contributed to discussions on the impact of development on Third World women. After her return to the Philippines in 1985 Nemenzo became active in the League of Women for Freedom (KALAYAAN) which emerged from the anti-Marcos struggle and was elected chairperson of the General Assembly Binding Women for Reform Integrity Leadership and Action (GABRIELA). She was influential in persuading KALAYAAN to add reproductive rights as a new dimension to the womens struggle. In 1987 Nemenzo founded Womens Health to promote defend and advocate womens reproductive rights and self-determination. The organization addresses reproductive rights within a comprehensive culturally sensitive womens health framework.