The untold stories of imprisoned butterflies a study of the prison experiences and political engagement of the women members of the Morong 43.

Abstract

The goal of this study is to determine the efficiency of imprisonment as a tool to influence the political engagement of the women members of Morong 43. It aims to provide in detail the experiences of the women political prisoners inside prison and the impacts of these experiences in their physical, mental, and social wellbeing. It also sought to determine the mechanisms used by the women members of Morong 43 to respond inside the prison environment. To adequately meet these objectives, the researcher conducted one on one interviews with the women members of Morong 43. For data analysis, the researcher devised a framework that encapsulates and explains the experiences and struggles of the women members of the Morong 43 inside and outside prison. Haslam and Reichers (2007) openness and closeness of the political system and the theory of political insiders and outsiders. Through the incorporation of these elements to the social identity model of resistance dynamics, the researcher was able to establish more clearly the type of prison environment in which the women members of the Morong 43 worked. Moreover, the researcher was also able to explain the basis for the repressive policies inside prisons that are intended to break collective social identity by the women members of the Morong 43. The paper argues that imprisonment is not an efficient tool to influence the political engagement of the women members of the Morong 43. On the contrary, the experiences of deprivation and pain experienced by the women members of the Morong 43 inside and outside prison served as a motivation to strengthen their political engagement. Though the focus of the political engagement of most of the interviewed members of the Morong 43 may have changed, they remained committed to their advocacies and political engagement.