Starting Point
Hadja Bainon Guiabar Karon was born in Salaman, Lebak, Sultan Kudarat. Currently, Ms. Karon serves as the Chairperson of the Bangsamoro Women Commission (BWC) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). She is a former Member of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority.
Her career in the government started in 1984, when she served as an elementary teacher. She then acted as the Records Officer II at the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), and later as the Acting Chief of the Administration and Finance Division.
Peace Journey
Following the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Final Peace Agreement in 1996, members of the Bangsamoro Women Council for Community (BWCC) established a legal umbrella organisation called the Bangsamoro Women Foundation for Peace and Development to continue the work initiated by the BWCC. They also formed the Federation of United Mindanawan Bangsamoro Women’s Multi-Purpose Cooperative to support their initiatives in empowering women and youth. Both organisations focused on the development of women and youth in various aspects. Their goals included empowering women to assert their rights and encouraging participation in all governance levels. Being an instrumental figure in assembling these two organisations, Ms. Karon led both organisations from 1997 to 2002, and again in 2005.
Aside from leading the women’s movement, she also had a long and influential career in public service. She served on the Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development Consultative Assembly from 1997 to 2001. During the three-year hiatus between her terms on the organisation, she served as the ARMM Regional Secretary for the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) from 2002 to 2005. In 2006, she joined the Board of Directors of the Southern Philippines Development Authority. She served as the Regional Vice-Governor of ARMM from 2011 to 2013, concurrently holding the position of Secretary of the DSWD-ARMM.
Success Stories
She played a crucial role in advocating for the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law. She was appointed by President Duterte as one of the 80 members of the Bangsamoro Parliament in 2019. She also chairs the Regional Commission on Bangsamoro Women.