Rasul, first PH Muslim female senator, dies at 94

By Leonel Abasola, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – Santanina “Nina” Tillah Rasul, the country’s first Muslim woman senator, passed away on Nov. 28 at the age of 94, the Senate announced on Friday.

“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of former Senator Santanina Tillah Rasul, a trailblazer, legislator, educator, and beloved mother and grandmother, on Nov. 28, 2024. ‘Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un,’ To God we belong and to Him we shall return,” Senate spokesperson Arnel Bañas said in a statement.

Rasul served as senator from 1987 to 1992 and from 1992 to 1995 and authored eight laws as chairperson of the Senate Committee on Civil Service and Government Recognition and the Committee on Women and Family Relations.

Among the laws she authored were Republic Act (RA) 7192 or the Women in Development and Nation Building Act, which paved the way for the entry of female cadets to the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), and RA 6949 declaring March 8 as National Women’s Day.

Rasul first served in government as a public school teacher in Siasi and Jolo in the 1950s, as a village councilor in Jolo in the early 1960s, and as a Sulu Provincial Board member from 1971 to 1976.

She was a member of the government peace panel that successfully negotiated peace talks with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) under the administration of the late president Fidel V. Ramos.

Rasul also served as commissioner representing Muslim and other ethnic minorities from 1978 to 1987.

Rasul was born in Siasi, Sulu and earned her political science degree from the University of the Philippines (UP) in 1952.

She earned her master’s degree in National Security Administration from the National Defense College of the Philippines in 1976, and her doctorate in public administration from the UP College of Public Administration and Governance in 1978.

After her term as senator, Rasul continued her advocacy to combat illiteracy and founded the Magbasa Kita Foundation, Inc., which advocates for the promotion of literacy, peace, and development and women empowerment.

She was married to the late ambassador Abraham Rasul Sr. with whom she had six children.

Senator Robinhood Padilla, chair of the Senate Committee on Cultural Communities and Muslim Affairs, recognized Rasul’s contribution and dedication to public service.

“Inaalala siya bilang isang taga umpisa, tagapagturo at dedikadong pampublikong lingkod na ang pamana ay kinabibilangan ng mga landmark na batas na nagtataguyod sa mga karapatan ng kababaihan, mga reporma sa edukasyon, at mga pagsisikap sa pagbuo ng kapayapaan (She will be remembered as a trailblazer and dedicated public servant whose legacies include landmark laws that upheld the rights of women, educational reforms, and efforts for peace),” Padilla said in a statement.