Magna Carta of Women

Someone asked me, "I have a friend who...

wants to know what is the fuzz about RA 9710 or the Magna Carta of Women?" 

My answer is The Magna Carta of Women, Republic Act 9710, prohibits discrimination against women and recognizes, promotes, and protects their rights. Implementation of the law will be overseen by the Philippine Commission on Women (formerly the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women), under the Office of the President.
The law mandates equal treatment of men and women and requires the elimination of discrimination against women by outlawing the expulsion, non-readmission, prohibiting enrollment and other related discrimination against women students and faculty due to pregnancy outside of marriage.
This is the heart of current controversy, specially in catholic schools. Pregnancy outside marriage is a big no-no based on Catholic teachings. And catholic schools have been known to expel students or terminate faculty members for lesser violations of their religious and moral tenets. But by outlawing such practice, the schools are now unable to impose the standards of morality that they teach on their own students and teachers. What will these students think of the church's teaching against pre-marital sex and virginity if their teachers get pregnant out of wedlock? How about if their seatmate comes to class with a big tummy even if they are just teenager?
I have no personal objection against the law non-discrimination objective. But I also think that it should be tempered by the religious freedom of the institutions to impose their own standards of morality. The absurb situations outlined above happened only because the school is a sectarian institution. By entering a religious institution, one expressly agrees to be bound by the beliefs and standards of that institutions.
http://www.ncrfw.gov.ph/index.php/legislative-advocacy/53-advocacy-magna-carta/263-advocacy-magna-carta-women-faqs