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| Illustration of 'Magic Mirrors' by Norman B. Isaac of the Manila Bulletin |
I re-discovered the “magic mirrors” and the “RH Bill” from my collection of assorted articles and clippings. My ‘magic mirror’ was undated but I am quite certain to have clipped it from the Manila Bulletin because its illustration was made by one of its top cartoonist Norman B. Isaac. Read below the news Beijing fashion shops use ‘magic mirrors’ to fool fat women.
HONG KONG (dpa) — Fashion shops in Beijing are using “magic
mirrors” to fool fat women customers into thinking they look
slimmer in their clothes.
The shops are buying especially-made mirrors with a curved surface to make people look more slender when they try on items in the fitting rooms, according to the Hong Kong edition of the China Daily.
The ruse was discovered by one woman customer who bought a dress after it seemed to make her look thinner only to find back at home the garment actually accentuated her ample proportions, according to the newspaper.
An industry insider told the newspaper sales of the “magic-mirrors” had increased dramatically in recent months amid booming demand from clothes shop.
Now, my RH Bill-inspired piece came from an editorial cartoon work made by Jess Abrera of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. I find his rendering of the current population-debate between the Church and the Government brave and cool.
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| Editorial cartoon by Jess Abrera of Philippine Daily Inquirer, February 15, 2011 |
As the Reproductive Health or RH Bill (now re-packaged as Responsible Parenthood or RP Bill) aims to guarantee universal access to methods and information on birth control and maternal care, Wikepedia further reports:
While there is general agreement about its provisions on maternal and child health, there is great debate on its key proposal that the Filipino taxpayer and the private sector will fund and undertake widespread distribution of family planning devices such as birth control pills (BCPs) and IUDs, as the government continues to disseminate information on their use through all health care centers. Private companies and the public and private elementary and secondary school system will be required to participate in this information and product dissemination as a way of controlling the population of the Philippines.
The intentions in the RH and RP Bill reveal a bias towards population and birth control through contraception as vehicles of development. The authors of the bill show that contraceptives are legal and medically safe. Imbeded in the bill is the enforcement of fines and imprisonment for those who decline to offer access to various forms of contraception--declared as instruments of “reproductive health”--to those who ask for them.
Giving ear to other vocal institutions and personalities brings out the other side of the coin--the perils of the bill. We should heed the warnings that it is likewise a threat to maternal and infant health care and an element that will corrode good values. In this light, the bill overlooked to protect basic principles on life, truth, and freedom hence, it poses danger to compound the complex clusters of societal problems we already see now.
The RH Bill or RP Bill is like a “Magic Mirror” that makes contraceptives look apparently good and safe for healthy women. In promoting contraceptives, the RH Bill created a "need" claiming that contraceptives will empower one to take control and manage one's life better. Yet, it does not tell the whole truth about who is behind the contraceptive-business and what these contraceptives really do to us especially to women?
In reference to the news clipping above, I think our Government should not imitate those fashion shops in Beijing that used magic mirrors (i.e., RH or RP Bill in the context now) to inform us that the bill will make us better. What would really make a country better that is within reach of the Government without spending huge amount of cash for contraceptives that will not address poverty at its roots? Jess Abrera of PDI rendered the answer well in his drawing above: Government simply has to do good governance, not misgovernment.
Giving ear to other vocal institutions and personalities brings out the other side of the coin--the perils of the bill. We should heed the warnings that it is likewise a threat to maternal and infant health care and an element that will corrode good values. In this light, the bill overlooked to protect basic principles on life, truth, and freedom hence, it poses danger to compound the complex clusters of societal problems we already see now.
The RH Bill or RP Bill is like a “Magic Mirror” that makes contraceptives look apparently good and safe for healthy women. In promoting contraceptives, the RH Bill created a "need" claiming that contraceptives will empower one to take control and manage one's life better. Yet, it does not tell the whole truth about who is behind the contraceptive-business and what these contraceptives really do to us especially to women?
In reference to the news clipping above, I think our Government should not imitate those fashion shops in Beijing that used magic mirrors (i.e., RH or RP Bill in the context now) to inform us that the bill will make us better. What would really make a country better that is within reach of the Government without spending huge amount of cash for contraceptives that will not address poverty at its roots? Jess Abrera of PDI rendered the answer well in his drawing above: Government simply has to do good governance, not misgovernment.
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