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The Philippines
This Week in AsiaPeople

Philippine ‘superwoman’ smashes religious, gender stereotypes to resolve conflicts – with help from her daughter

  • Hardly any women work in conflict resolution in Asia, but Connie Dumato and her daughter show how female-led mediation can make a difference
  • As Asean prepares to launch a regional framework on promoting women’s role in peacebuilding, their reconciliation efforts are in the spotlight

Reading Time:8 minutes
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Princess Dumato (left) has documented some of the mediation cases led by her mother, Connie Dumato. Photo: Princess Dumato Handout
Raquel Carvalho
This is the first in a series of stories on the role of women in peacebuilding efforts and security across Asia. Check out the second and third article.
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Connie Dumato was just a child when four of her cousins were killed and her uncle lost his legs after their home in the southern Philippines came under attack.

“This was a very traumatic experience,” said the 62-year-old Muslim woman, recalling hearing gunshots ricocheting through the streets.

Dumato described it as a “community war” in which “people were killed by the military and the ‘Ilagas’”, a Christian extremist paramilitary group that led a series of attacks in the 1970s.

Connie Dumato, president of the group Tupo na Tao sa Laya-Women, has dealt with more than 30 conflict resolution cases in the past three years, including land disputes and leadership conflicts. Photo: UN Women/Louie Pacards/Handout
Connie Dumato, president of the group Tupo na Tao sa Laya-Women, has dealt with more than 30 conflict resolution cases in the past three years, including land disputes and leadership conflicts. Photo: UN Women/Louie Pacards/Handout

By age 14, Dumato had become more deeply engaged in the conflict. “I was on the front lines holding my medical kit,” she said. “I had no option but to get involved.”

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Today, Dumato is a retiree who devotes her time to conflict mediation and advocacy work in the southern Philippines, which has been plagued by poverty, insurgencies, and endemic violence for years. With the help of other women and her own children, she has harnessed her experience of conflict to bring peace to the communities who have sought her help.

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