1. To the Young Women of
Malolos
Prepared By:
Sanders, Maricar
Gonzales, Cristal Mae
Gianan, Ariel
Libatique, Ernie
Esperas, Angela
Perez, Mikaella Claire
Prof. Darwin Carmelina
BSE2G 10-11:30AM

3. WHERE DID RIZAL WROTE
THE LETTER?
 Rizal wrote this famous
letter in Tagalog, while he
was residing in London,
upon the request of M. H.
del Pilar.

4. WHY DID RIZAL WROTE THE
LETTER?
 The story behind this letter is this: On December
12, 1888, a group of twenty young women of
Malolos petitioned Governor-General Weyler for
permission to open a “night school” so that they
might study Spanish under Teodoro Sandiko.

5. • Fr. Felipe Garcia, the Spanish parish priest, objected
to the proposal. Therefore the governor-general
turned down the petition. However, the young
women, in defiance of the friar’s wrath, bravely
continued their agitation for the school – a thing
unheard of in the Philippines in those times.
• They finally succeeded in obtaining government
approval to their project on the condition that
Señora Guadalupe Reyes should be their teacher.

6. • The incident caused a great stir in the Philippines
and in far-away Spain. Del Pilar, writing in
Barcelona on February 17, 1889, requested Rizal to
send a letter in Tagalog to the brave women of
Malolos.
• Accordingly, Rizal, although busy in London
annotating Morga’s book penned this famous letter
and sent it to Del Pilar on February 22, 1889 for
transmittal to Malolos.

7. To the Young Women of Malolos: Summary and
Analysis
 Jose Rizal’s legacy to Filipino women is
embodied in his famous essay entitled, “To the
Young Women of Malolos,” where he addresses
all kinds of women – mothers, wives, the
unmarried, etc. and expresses everything that he
wishes them to keep in mind.

8. SUMMARY
• The rejection of the spiritual authority of the friars –
not all of the priests in the country that time embodied
the true spirit of Christ and His Church. Most of them
were corrupted by worldly desires and used worldly
methods to effect change and force discipline among
the people.

9. • The defense of private judgment
• Qualities Filipino mothers need to possess – as
evidenced by this portion of his letter, Rizal is
greatly concerned of the welfare of the Filipino
children and the homes they grow up in.
• Duties and responsibilities of Filipino mothers to
their children
• Duties and responsibilities of a wife to her
husband – Filipino women are known to be
submissive, tender, and loving. Rizal states in
this portion of his letter how Filipino women
ought to be as wives, in order to preserve the
identity of the race.
• Counsel to young women on their choice of a
lifetime partner

10. RIZAL’S MESSAGE TO FILIPINO WOMEN
• Jose Rizal was greatly impressed by the fighting
spirit that the young women of Malolos had
shown. In his letter, he expresses great joy and
satisfaction over the battle they had fought. In this
portion of Rizal’s letter, it is obvious that his ultimate
desire was for women to be offered the same
opportunities as those received by men in terms of
education.

11. •
During those days young girls were not sent to
school because of the universal notion that they
would soon only be taken as wives and stay at
home with the children. Rizal, however,
emphasizes on freedom of thought and the right to
education, which must be granted to both boys
and girls alike.

12. THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF FILIPINO
MOTHERS TO
THEIR CHILDREN
• Rizal stipulates a number of important points in this
portion of his letter to the young women of Malolos. The
central idea here, however, is that whatever a mother
shows to her children is what the children will become
also. If the mother is always kissing the hand of the friars
in submission, then her children will grow up to be
sycophants and mindless fools who do nothing but do as
they are told, even if the very nature of the task would
violate their rights as individuals.

13. QUALITIES MOTHERS HAVE TO POSSESS
Rizal enumerates the qualities Filipino mothers
have to possess:
• Be a noble wife.
• Rear her children in the service of the state –
here Rizal gives reference to the women of
Sparta who embody this quality
• Set standards of behavior for men around her.

14. RIZAL’S ADVICE TO UNMARRIED MEN AND WOMEN
• Jose Rizal points out to unmarried women that they
should not be easily taken by appearances and looks,
because these can be very deceiving. Instead, they
should take heed of men’s firmness of character and
lofty ideas. Rizal further adds that there are three things
that a young woman must look for a man she intends to
be her husband:
1. A noble and honored name
2. A manly heart
3. A high spirit incapable of being satisfied with
engendering slaves.

15. ANALYSIS
“To the Women of Malolos” centers around five salient
points (Zaide &Zaide, 1999):
1. Filipino mothers should teach their children love of
God, country and fellowmen.
2. Filipino mothers should be glad and honored, like
Spartan mothers, to offer their sons in defense of their
country.
3. Filipino women should know how to protect their
dignity and honor.
4. Filipino women should educate themselves aside from
retaining their good racial values.
5. Faith is not merely reciting prayers and wearing
religious pictures. It is living the real Christian way
with good morals and manners.