President branded a misogynist and macho-fascist after saying mutilating women fighters would make them “useless” 
 
 President Rodrigo Duterte has been branded a misogynist and “macho-fascist” after he ordered soldiers to shoot female communist rebels in the vagina. 
 
 In a speech to over 200 former communist soldiers in Malacañang last week, the Philippines president gave a directive of what to do with female guerrilla fighters. 
 
 Thousands dead: the Philippine president, the death squad allegations and a brutal drugs war Read more 
 
 “‘There’s a new order coming from the mayor, ‘We will not kill you. We will just shoot you in the vagina,’ ” said Duterte. He went on to say that without their vaginas, women would be “useless”. 
 
 Duterte mentioned the Visayan word “bisong”, meaning vagina, repeatedly throughout the speech, although it was later censored from an official Palace transcript, replaced simply with a dash. However, the remarks were recorded as having drawn laughter from the audience. 
 
 The crude orders drew anger from human rights organisations and women’s groups in the region. 
 
 “It is just the latest in a series of misogynist, derogatory and demeaning statements he has made about women,” said Carlos H Conde, the Philippines researcher for Human Rights Watch. 
 
 
 
 “It encourages state forces to commit sexual violence during armed conflict, which is a violation of international humanitarian law.” 
 
 
 
 Congresswoman Emmi de Jesus, speaking on behalf of the Gabriela Women’s Party, denounced President Rodrigo Duterte as a “macho-fascist,” and said his “anti-women” remark “takes state terrorism against women and the people to a whole new level”. 
 
 She described the president as the “most dangerous macho-fascist in the government right now,” adding: “He has further presented himself as the epitome of misogyny and fascism rolled in one.” 
 
 Duterte has a chequered history of making menacing and misogynistic remarks towards women. During his election campaign in 2016, speaking about the 1989 prison riot in which an Australian missionary was killed, and inmates had lined up to rape her, Duterte joked he wished he had the opportunity to rape her himself. 
 
 “Was I mad because of the rape? Yes, that’s one. But, she was so beautiful, the mayor should have been first. What a waste,” he said. In May last year, he also told soldiers in Mindanao – apparently as a joke – that while martial law was imposed, he would protect them from prosecution if they raped three women. 
 
 Last week it was announced that the International Criminal Court were looking into complaints that Duterte had committed crimes against humanity in his brutal and bloody war against drugs, which has seen a deat toll of over 4000. But the President said he did not mind being indicted and imprisoned by the International Criminal Court as long as it allows conjugal visits by more than one woman. 
 
 His spokesperson Harry Roque subsequently dismissed the allegations that Duterte was sexist and misogynist. 
 
 “You know, sometimes, these feminists are really a bit OA (overacting),” said Roque. “I mean, that’s funny. Come on. Just laugh.” ||||| MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine strongman who has earned a reputation for dirty tactics and language, was criticized on Monday for having boasted that he had ordered soldiers to shoot female communist guerrillas in the genitals. 
 
 “Tell the soldiers, ‘There’s a new order coming from the mayor,’ ” the president said in a speech, recalling a directive he said he had given when he was mayor of Davao City. “ ‘We will not kill you. We will just shoot you in the vagina.’ ” 
 
 Mr. Duterte made the remarks in a speech to former rebels last week, but the comments went largely unreported because he was speaking in his native Visayan language. He expressed exasperation that some women preferred joining the New People’s Army, a communist rebel force that has been waging an insurgency since 1969, to raising children. 
 
 Since Mr. Duterte’s remarks began circulating more widely, the criticism of his choice of words has been fierce.
– In addition to saying he "should have been first" to assault a "beautiful" rape victim, Rodrigo Duterte once told soldiers he'd protect them if they raped women. His misogynistic rhetoric only continued with comments last week, drawing outrage even as a spokesman claims the Philippine president shouldn't be taken literally, per Reuters. In a Feb. 7 speech now gaining attention, Duterte said he'd ordered soldiers to shoot female Maoist rebels while mayor of Davao City—only the order was a bit more specific than that, reports the New York Times. "Tell the soldiers, 'There's a new order … We will not kill you. We will just shoot you in the vagina,'" Duterte said. The women would be "useless" without vaginas, he added, though "vagina" was erased from the official transcript of the speech delivered to 200 former communist soldiers, per the Guardian. Calling Duterte "the epitome of misogyny and fascism," Emmi de Jesus of the Gabriela Women's Party says the comment "takes state terrorism against women and the people to a whole new level." Carlos H. Conde of Human Rights Watch adds it "encourages state forces to commit sexual violence during armed conflict." But spokesman Harry Roque suggests Duterte was only joking and says he views women's welfare as a priority. "Sometimes, these feminists are really a bit [overreacting]. I mean, that's funny. Come on. Just laugh," he said, per the Guardian. The outlet notes Duterte also discussed women after the International Criminal Court began investigating him for crimes against humanity last week, noting he didn't mind being imprisoned if it meant conjugal visits by more than one woman. (More on the investigation here.)