A safe space: independent, all-female press builds the first feminist bookshop in Manila
- Gantala Press in Makati City is staffed and run by women, and champions marginalised Filipinas, labourers and farmers
- It is building the first feminist bookshop in the Philippines, giving the country’s women a voice
The battle between Philippine armed forces and Islamic militants in the southern city of Marawi in 2017 unwittingly helped changed the direction of the country’s first feminist publishing house.
The conflict, which took place in the mainly Catholic country’s only city with a predominantly Muslim population, lasted five months and left several thousand government troops and militants dead, but also displaced hundreds of thousands of residents.
After the publication of Laoanen in 2017, the then two-year-old publisher began championing stories by and about marginalised Filipina women. The house has since gone on to release a wide range of publications including more anthologies, ’zines, collections of poetry and even a lesbian-themed comic book, all of which deal with feminist issues and the struggles of the downtrodden.
Gantala works closely with those on the bottom rung of society, such as labourers and farmers. Last year, it published Talinghaga ng Lupa (Parable of the Land), a poetry collection reflecting the struggles of female farmers.
