#BabaeAko movement finds new supporter in Rosario Dawson

MANILA, Philippines – #BabaeAko, the movement against the sexist behavior of President Rodrigo Duterte, has a new supporter: Rosario Dawson.

Rosario is an American actress who has appeared in various films and television shows such as Seven Pounds, Rent, and Jane the Virgin. She currently plays Claire Temple in Netflix’s Marvel shows, including Luke Cage, The Defenders, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, and Daredevil.

Rosario is also a political activist and champion for social equality. In 2004, she co-founded the non-profit organization Voto Latino – an organization that works to raise political awareness and engagement among young Latin American voters, as well as address issues that impact the US Latino community, like immigration and healthcare.

In a Friday, July 13 post, the BabaeAko Facebook page shared a photo of the actress holding up a piece of paper with the hashtags #BabaeAko, #AMaSONA, and #RiseResistUnite written on it.

Another photo showed Rosario with Gabriela Secretary General Joms Salvador.

According to the post, Joms talked to Rosario about “the reason why this social media campaign has resonated to a broad spectrum of Filipinas (and decent Filipino men) here and abroad.”

The #BabaeAko movement was started in May by a network of Filipino activists in response to the misogynistic culture perpetuated by Duterte’s rape jokes and sexist behavior. As part of the campaign, women, including former social welfare secretary Judy Taguiwalo, performance artist Mae Paner, and journalist Inday Espina-Varona, posted video messages calling out not only the culture of misogyny but also the culture of impunity under the Duterte regime.

What started out as a social media campaign grew into a protest movement that was recognized by Time magazine as among the 25 “Most Influential People on the Internet.”

The movement is currently gearing up for #AMaSONA, an anti-misogyny protest that will be held on the day of Duterte’s 3rd State of the Nation Address (SONA). – Rappler.com