On 12 December 1888, 20 young women from Malolos petitioned Governor General Valeriano Weyler to open a school where they could receive formal education in the Spanish language. When the proposal was rejected, the women continued to lobby for their right to open the school, ultimately overturning the Governor General’s initial decision. This was daring and revolutionary move was unthinkable in those days. However, when news reached the ilustrados in Europe about the bravery of the women in Malolos, Marcelo H. del Pilar, who at that time was in Barcelona, urged José Rizal to write a letter of encouragement to these women and to laud them for their courage and resolve. Rizal wrote this powerful piece whilst he was busy annotating the work of Dr. Antonio de Morga (Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas) at the British Library Museum in London in 1889.

The version you are about to listen to is a Lit Critter English translation of the version that was originally written in Tagalog.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://thelitcritter.com/2021/03/22/to-the-young-women-of-malolos/