Santanina Rasul
Santanina “Nina” Rasul, the nation’s first and solely Muslim lady senator, has died, the Senate introduced on Friday. She was 94.
Rasul crafted landmark legal guidelines that reshaped Filipino society by selling gender equality and permitting ladies to affix the navy service, amongst others.
“It’s with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of former Sen. Santanina Tillah Rasul, a trailblazer, legislator, educator, and beloved mom and grandmother,” Senate spokesperson Arnel Jose Bañas mentioned in an announcement.
“Nina Rasul leaves an indelible mark not solely on her household, but additionally on the numerous lives she touched via her many years of public service and unrelenting advocacy. Her reminiscence will without end encourage those that attempt for equality, schooling, and peace,” he mentioned.
READ: Late Senator Santanina Rasul: Mindanao leaders pay tribute
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Bañas referred to Rasul’s life as a testomony to her tireless dedication to public service and her dedication to the empowerment of ladies and marginalized communities, significantly Filipino Muslims.
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“Her Senate profession was marked by her steadfast dedication to advancing civil service and schooling reforms, selling ladies’s and minority rights, and fostering peace in her homeland,” he mentioned.
Spectacular educational document
Rasul, who died on Thursday, was born in Siasi, Sulu, on Sept. 14, 1930.
In 1941, she graduated from Laum, Tabawan Elementary Faculty in Tawi-Tawi as valedictorian, and in 1948 from Sulu Excessive Faculty in Jolo as first honor. In 1952, she graduated cum laude from the College of the Philippines, the place she obtained her Bachelor of Arts diploma in Political Science.
She later obtained a Grasp’s Diploma in Nationwide Safety Administration on the Nationwide Protection School of the Philippines and earned doctoral models in public administration on the College of the Philippines, in 1976 and 1978, respectively.
Rasul started her profession in public service in 1952, when she grew to become a public faculty trainer in Siasi and Jolo till 1957; she later acted as a technical assistant to the Workplace of the President from 1963 to 1964.
She was first elected as barrio councilor at Moore Avenue, Jolo, Sulu, in 1960, the place she served for one 12 months; she was reelected in 1962 and served till 1963. In 1971, she was elected member of Sulu’s provincial board, a place she held till 1976.
Advocate for girls, minorities
Rasul held a number of positions in authorities representing Muslims and cultural minorities all through her public service profession.
In 1966, she based the Magbassa Kita Basis Inc., a corporation devoted to selling not solely literacy however peace, improvement, and ladies empowerment. She was additionally the group’s chair.
Through the time period of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., Rasul was commissioner of the Nationwide Fee on the Position of Ladies, now often known as the Philippine Fee on Ladies.
From 1978 to 1987, she served as a commissioner representing Muslim and different ethnic minorities. She was additionally a member of the board on the Ministry of Schooling, Tradition, and Sports activities in 1986.
Rasul served as senator for nearly 10 years. She was elected to the Senate in 1987, making her the primary Muslim lady senator. She served her first time period till 1992 and was reelected that very same 12 months, the primary Muslim to be reelected to that place. She held the submit till 1995.
Lifelong mission
On the Senate, she was chair of the Senate committees on civil service and authorities recognition, and ladies and household relations. Considered one of her most well-known laws is Republic Act No. 7192, which she coauthored with former Sen. Raul Roco. The legislation enacted in 1992 instituted what’s now known as gender mainstreaming technique into nationwide legal guidelines and ensured that completely different authorities businesses, alongside ladies and ladies’s organizations, formulate applications, actions, and initiatives to handle ladies’s considerations. RA 7192 additionally paved the way in which for girls’s lively participation in navy coaching.
She additionally sponsored Republic Act No. 6949 declaring March 8 as Nationwide Ladies’s Day.
In 1990, she was appointed Unesco’s honorary ambassador.
In 2019, Rasul was conferred the Tandang Sora award in Quezon Metropolis given to excellent ladies who embody the virtues of the award’s titular hero.
“Even after her tenure within the Senate, (Rasul) continued her lifelong mission to fight illiteracy via the Magbasa Kita Basis, a program she spearheaded to uplift communities via literacy,” Bañas mentioned.
He added that Rasul’s legislative achievements had “reshaped Philippine society.”
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Rasul’s household requested that donations be made to the Magbassa Kita Basis Inc. in lieu of flowers. —INQUIRER RESEARCH INQ
