Filipina heroes find a home: Tandang Sora Women’s Museum opens in QC

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

‘Sa wakas, the stories of our women now have a home,’ says Senator Risa Hontiveros

MANILA, Philippines – The Tandang Sora Women’s Museum in Quezon City officially opened its doors to the public on Wednesday, February 19.

The museum located in Pasong Tamo, Tandang Sora, is said to be the first women’s museum in the country. It is named after Filipina revolutionary Melchora Aquino, a native of Quezon City.

“Sa wakas (Finally), the stories of our women now have a home,” Senator Risa Hontiveros said during the opening night.

“Having this physical display and documentation of our women’s stories is an essential part of keeping our heritage alive, of protecting our collective memory as a people,” she added.

FACADE. The women’s museum is located in Barangay. Pasong Tamo in Tandang Sora, Quezon City. Photo by Jire Carreon/Rappler

On the ground floor of the museum the “Babaylan Ascending” exhbit which It features artistic interpretations of a woman: the grandmother that carries the weight of memory, the victim turned rebel, the Maguindanaoan black weaver princess.

Upstairs, the exhibit attempts to place the Filipina’s through the years history, until the present when the law has become more inclusive of women.

Among the Filipinas celebrated in the museum are revolutionaries Gregoria de Jesus and Teresa Magbanua, and feminist leaders Concepcion Felix de Calderon and Pura Villanueva Kalaw.

One corner features working class women in Manila from the 19th century — tobacco packers, shopkeepers and vendors, embroiderers and seamstresses, and teachers.

There is a plaque thanking women’s organizations and women’s rights advocates such as Princess Nemenzo, and academics Ma. Luisa Camagay and Marie Aubrey Villaceran for their contributions to the building of the museum.

The opening night was a celebration of women and girls. Women performed dance and song numbers, as well as spoken word poetry. With Hontiveros during the launch was Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte who said in her speech that a women’s museum is an “integral part of culture.”

“As most milestones go, this museum started with a dream, one that aims to showcase the heroism of our women throughout history,” said Belmonte.

MUSEUM TOUR. Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte and Senator Risa Hontiveros during a tour of the newly-opened Tandang Sora Women’s Museum in Quezon City on February 19, 2025. Photo by Jire Carreon/Rappler

According to curator Sandra Torrijos, the museum was a “dream” that was three decades in the making, inspired by a visit to a women’s museum in Germany in 1993.

“Magmula noon ‘di na ko mapakali. Sabi ko, kailangan mayroon din ang Pilipinas niyan,” said Torrijos. (Since then I was restless. I said the Philippines should have that, too.)

Admission to the museum is free for February. It is open Tuesdays to Sundays, from 9 am to 4 pm. – Rappler.com