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You're a Woman (Babae Ka)

By Anonymous
You’re a Woman
by Inang Laya
translated by J.A. Del Prado

You’re a woman, desired, adored
protected, but you have no freedom.
Your world is always in a house.
Your beauty is the only asset; unaware of life.
You have proven that you can fight
for your right and complete freedom.
The door of success for you is constantly closed.
Face it, open it,
lift your being.

You’re a woman.
You’re the other half of life.
If you do not exist, how can life begin?
You have proven that you can be oppressed
but you can also rule a country.
The door of success Is now in front of you.
Face it, open it,
lift your being

You’re a woman,
thought to be weak;
your value, ignored.
Though you lack physical strength
your mind is blessed,
so your voice shall decide,
so you can be free
Fight, woman, it’s your duty
to free this country, our origin.


In the original language (Filipino):

Babae Ka
ni Inang Laya


Babae ka, hinahangad, sinasamba
ipinagtatanggol, ikaw nama’y walang laya.
Ang daigdig mo’y lagi nang nasa tahanan.
Ganda lang ang pakinabang, sa buhay walang alam.
Napatunayan mo, kaya mong ipaglaban
ang iyong karapatan at ganap na kalayaan.
Ang pinto ng pag-unlad sa ‘yo laging nakasara.
Harapin mo, buksan mo
ibangon ang iyong pagkatao

Babae ka.
Kalahati ka ng buhay.
Kung ikaw kaya’y wala saan ang buhay ipupunla?
Pinatunayan mong kaya mong magpaalila

ngunit kaya mo ring magpalakad ng bansa
Ang pinto ng pag-unlad sa’yo ngayo’y nakabungad.
Harapin mo, buksan mo
ibangon ang iyong pagkatao

Babae ka.
Dahil sa akala ay mahina ka
alaga mo ay di nakikita.
Bisig mo man sa lakas ay kulang
ngunit sa isip ka biniyayaan
upang ang tinig mo’y maging mapagpasya
upang ikaw ay lumaya.
Lumaban ka, babae may tungkulin ka
sa pagpapalaya ng bayan na siya nating simulain.
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Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 18, 2013 at 6:57 AM

    I thank you so much for the effort you put into these wonderful translations. I'm a foreigner studying in UST, and I barely have any experience in Tagalog. These really helped me appreciate the poetry without me depending on google translate. @-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. J.AFebruary 1, 2015 at 8:24 PM

    You're welcome! Glad my translation helps you! ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMarch 9, 2015 at 9:00 AM

    Hello, thank you for posting this. Can we use your translation for our presentation in class? Thank you again.

    ReplyDelete
  4. J.AMarch 9, 2015 at 7:43 PM

    Sure!

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownJanuary 4, 2016 at 7:51 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

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