Women who have marked the political landscape with grit and grace and who continue to engage the burning issues of the day for the people’s general benefit are the subjects of a new book, “Six Filipino Women for Justice.”

Published by San Anselmo Press and edited by Asunción David Maramba, the book features profiles of the former senator Leila de Lima by Rosario A. Garcellano, the former vice president Leni Robredo by Ed Garcia, the journalist Maria Ressa by Dulce Festin-Baybay, Sen. Risa Hontiveros by Rafael A.S.G. Ongpin, the former associate justice of the Supreme Court Conchita Carpio Morales by Maria Olivia H. Tripon, and the activist nun Sr. Mary John Mananzan by Neni Sta. Romana Cruz. There is a closing essay by Vergel O. Santos.

The book will be launched on April 26, 2-5 p.m., at the AIM Conference Center, Room 2-5 JV del Rosario, fourth floor (Benavidez corner Trasierra Streets, Legaspi Village, Makati City).

“Six Filipino Women for Justice” is the fourth and last of a series on “heroes, heroines and heroic personages” among the 15 books authored or edited by the multiawarded Maramba, a retired college professor and newspaper columnist. In her foreword, she describes the subjects as “shar[ing] a sterling record of resistance to excesses and inadequacies of national leadership.” 

As indeed narrated by the authors, the lives of De Lima, Robredo, Ressa, Hontiveros, Carpio Morales and Mananzan demonstrate the necessity of a clear understanding of the terrain, a sharp recognition of injustice both blatant and covert, and the urgency of pushing back against it with strength, perseverance and hope.

“This book had been percolating in the back of my head, triggered by Leila de Lima’s unbelievable jailing,” Maramba writes. “Obviously, it had to be put on hold for years because of a President’s penchant for shooting the messenger, but probably to his chagrin, unable to kill the message.”

For inquiries, contact [email protected].