The image of a mother making sacrifices for their child is not uncommon. The six working Filipino mothers I interviewed through two separate Focus Group Discussions mentioned lacking sleep and leisure time, delaying their careers, being overworked and mentally exhausted, which led them to ultimately question their identities and self-worth. This is unhealthy, and these mothers have expressed to have several illnesses or body pains. But mothers have adapted to see these sacrifices as part of their daily routine, while non-mothers see it as something worth appreciating, bestowing them with places of honor or titles. In this paper, I argue that this “routinization” of motherly sacrifice and exhaustion leads to its normalization–even glorification–in society, making the public and the State indifferent to the suffering of mothers, and how it can be problematic. Motherhood has challenged and changed the mothers physically, emotionally, and socially, yet they claim it as the best part of their lives. This irony leads me to conclude that in contrast to the popular solution of choosing to halt or stall a mother’s career or not to become a mother at all, we must imagine a space where mothers’ Human Rights are met. Present legislations in the Philippines address the outcome of indifference towards suffering, not the conditions that enable it. To acknowledge mothers’ Human Rights means giving them the opportunities to thrive as individuals and minimize the hardships they face day to day. These would require responsible and supportive duty-bearers: partners, work environments, communities and the State.
