LocationsEmpowering Indigenous Women to Lead: I-LEAD Supports Women’s Month Celebration
March 23, 2026
An indigenous woman culture bearer of the Obo Monuvu ICC in Brgy. Manobo, Magpet, Cotabato, playing the ‘kudlong’, a two-stringed, boat-shaped lute that produces speech-like sounds, and is used for storytelling, courtship, and ritual music.
The Indigenous Women and Girls – Leadership and Empowerment in Ancestral Domains (I-LEAD) Project—a partnership between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (NZ MFAT)—enters its implementation phase this month.
The collaboration underscores a shared commitment to advance the rights, leadership, and empowerment of Indigenous women and girls in Mindanao, in line with this year’s National Women’s Month theme: “WE for Gender Equality and Inclusive Society”, with the sub-theme “Lead Like the Babaylans, Filipinas!”
Indigenous women of the Tagakaulo-Blaan ICC in Malita, Davao Occidental expressing their support for the implementation of I-LEAD in their ancestral domain.
Under the project, UNDP and NCIP, with support from NZ MFAT, will roll out initiatives in four ancestral domains across Regions XI and XII. By 2030, I-LEAD aims to empower at least 1,600 Indigenous women and girls through: (i) leadership and rights-awareness training; (ii) stronger, gender-responsive ancestral domain governance; (iii) culturally grounded and equitable community enterprises; and (iv) capacity-building for state and non-state partners on human rights-based, gender-responsive, and culturally appropriate policy development and knowledge management.
This year’s theme, which honors the leadership and wisdom of the babaylans—pre-colonial Filipina healers, knowledge keepers, and community decision-makers—resonates strongly with I-LEAD’s goals. Across Mindanao, Indigenous women continue this legacy of stewardship, resilience, and cultural preservation. Through the partnership of UNDP, NCIP, and NZ MFAT, their leadership can be amplified, supported, and woven more deliberately into local and national development priorities.
“I-LEAD brings together UNDP’s development expertise and commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, NCIP’s mandate to uphold the rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples, and New Zealand’s support for inclusive, gender-responsive development. By working together—through an integrated, rights-based approach—we can expand Indigenous women’s participation in governance, enhance their livelihoods, and strengthen their leadership in shaping the future of their communities.” — stated Mr. Christophe Bahuet, UNDP Resident Representative in the Philippines.
As the Philippines marks National Women’s Month in 2026, I-LEAD highlights what becomes possible when international cooperation, national leadership, and community-led action converge—advancing gender equality while keeping culture and rights at the center of development for generations to come. [E]
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