The Filipina Wife As Light Of The Home (Ilaw Ng Tahanan)

The Filipina wife has many beautiful facets that many husbands can attest to. She is the devoted partner and loyal ally of her husband in all aspects of their marriage. While she remains the hands-on parent for her children, she also often helps her husband earn needed income to meet the family’s daily basic needs.
This was not the case some decades ago. Before, the wife was totally stay-at-home. She had to ensure that the family home was neat and tidy; the meals ready at the table; the clothes clean, crisp and dry; the children did well in their studies; and the general order at home was maintained. The Filipina wife used to be a reserved and religious woman; a good housekeeper and budget planner; a devoted and loyal partner to her husband; and a doting mother if strict mentor to her children.
Even as most of these characteristics of the typical Filipina wife remain manifest especially in the countryside where people are generally conservative and families are patriarchal, these days the contemporary wife is almost co-equal in social status with that of the husband. The Filipina wife now shares the burden of providing for the family needs by engaging in livelihood or getting regular employment.
In some cases a domestic helper takes the housekeeping role of the wife, but often the wife still has her say in organizing the entire household. And while Filipino children are normally trained to help get the household chores done, the overall responsibility for managing the household still rests with the Filipino wife and mother.
It is therefore not surprising that the Filipino wife came to be known as “multi-tasker” and “superwoman” here and abroad. And even if her multi-roles can sometimes get overwhelming, the Filipina wife remains generally strong and a proud woman. She draws her strength from her love for the family. After all, she is the one and only “ilaw ng tahanan” (light of the home).

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