A Woman’s Worth: Recognition

Today we’ll examine the recognition given to a pair of women from the Americas as part of our feature this week in honor of International Women's Day.

Yesterday the U.S. State Department gave their “International Women of Courage” award to ten women including Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez and Mexican Deputy Attorney General Marisela Morales Ibañez. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised Morales for her efforts to start a federal witness protection program in order to protect those trying to help in the combat against powerful Mexican drug gangs. “She has shown an unfailing drive to combat organized crime and corruption, and a valiant dedication to the protection of citizen security and human rights,” said Clinton.

The forty-year-old Morales has held her post since March 2010 though she has worked in the Attorney General’s office for several years. In 2008 she headed Operación Limpieza (“Operation Clean Sweep”), which led to the arrest of 35 public officials linked to the Beltrán Leyva drug gang.

After receiving her award Morales told the press that she recognized the risks run by both men and women in law enforcement and emphasized that she and her comrades have a “willingness to overcome those fears” that could’ve held them back.

Along with Belarusian Nasta Palazhanka, Sanchez could not make it to the ceremony yesterday since she was not permitted to travel by the Cuban government. Despite her absence, the outspoken blogger and activist told Europa Press that she was “very proud” to have received her award:

“More than anything I share this honor with nine other women who have pursued notion of development in other countries, and her risking their lives to defend their ideals,” she explained…

“Although its happen many times before I am not accustomed to staying in Cuba because I’m prevented from traveling. In the meantime I will take advantage of my time...because one day I hope to teach someone how to use the Internet or open a Twitter account”.

In the following video via the Oslo Freedom Forum, Sanchez discusses why she became a blogger and the problems with Internet access in Cuba:

Online Sources- U.S. State Department, Milenio, El Universal, EFE, Europa Press, monstersandcritics.com
Video Source - Oslo Freedom Forum via YouTube

Report: Mexican rural, indigenous women face challenges

Illiteracy and insecurity are just some of the problems Mexican rural women face according to a report released on International Women's Day.

The report by a Mexican peasants’ rights group found that most of the country’s thirteen million indigenous and rural women face many challenges. According to the Central de Organizaciones Campesinas y Populares (COCP) one out of every ten peasant women have some level of secondary education and that a third of indigenous peasant women are illiterate.

The conditions these women face affect their families; for example, children of these women tend to suffer from malnutrition. According to COCP, some families face difficulties when women migrate abroad due to a “lack of alternatives”. The report also claims that those women who work as migrant workers usually face abuses at the hands of their employers such as earning roughly half as much as their male counterparts.

With so few options available and increasing number of indigenous and rural women are getting involved in the drug trade. COCP president José Jacobo Femat told Mexican daily Excelsior that growing corn has become much less lucrative compared to narcotics. As a result, rural areas have become much more insecure and corrupt according to Femat.

The extreme situation face by rural women in Mexico raises the need for more action to be taken by the private and public sectors to help them move forward. The problems of rural women has not gone lost on the head of the U.N.’s agency against hunger:

“Gender equality is not only a noble idea but also crucial for agricultural development and food security,” said Food and Agriculture Organization director-general Jacques Diouf, according to the DPA news agency.


He insisted “we should promote gender equality and the potential of women in the agrarian field in order to…beat hunger and extreme poverty.”

Image- SDP Noticias
Online Sources- SDP Noticias, Excelsior, El Universal, Telam

A Woman’s Worth: Argentina's activist "abuelas"

We will feature a series of video posts this week in honor of International Women's Day. This year marks the centennial celebration of the date that began “as an offshoot of increased labor unrest in the early 20th century.” Over the past hundred years the role of women and their contributions have changed and we hope to honor that throughout the week.

As we mentioned briefly on Saturday, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) gave a notable award to Argentina’s Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo (“Abuelas de la Plaza de Mayo” in Spanish). The Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize was bestowed upon the Argentine human rights activists in honor of their “tireless battle for human rights and peace by standing up to oppression, injustice and impunity.”

The “Abuelas” were founded in 1977 with the aim of finding babies stolen during the “Dirty War” period. In the 34 years since their creation, the group has reportedly identified over 100 children whose biological parents where either killed or “disappeared” under the brutal military regime.

Their tireless work has been crucial in the trial of former junta presidents Jorge Videla and Reynaldo Bignone, who stand accused of masterminding the kidnapping of 34 children for illegal adoption. Through meticulous research the “Abuelas” hope to bring some measure of justice to those whose lives have been forever changed:

"The most real proof that there was a system in the thefts is the living proof, the children who regained their identities," said Agustin Chit, a lawyer for the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, who are among the plaintiffs. "It's all the documents that the grandmothers in these 33 years were able to collect. There is no perfect crime and there wasn't in this case in relation to the systematic plan. Even the bureaucracy of the state apparatus left behind many documents."

Last September a 32-year-old attorney became the 102nd case of recuperated identity by the “Abuelas”. After undergoing DNA tests it was revealed that his mother gave birth to him while she was being held by the authorities at the infamous ESMA facility. Both of the man’s biological parents “disappeared” and were presumably killed while they were detained by the military.

Online Sources- EFE, The Telegraph, CNN, The Latin Americanist
Video Source – C5N via YouTube

Nuestro Cine: What is it like to be a single Latina activist mother?

In honor of International Women's Day this past Monday we will be highlighting women in the Americas. Yesterday we briefly looked at Colombian singer Lucia Pulido who performed in concert last night. Today we recognize the experiences of single Latina mothers who juggled home life with sociopolitical activism. According to the description of "A Crushing Love" on YouTube:

A Crushing Love, Sylvia Morales sequel to her groundbreaking history of Chicana women, Chicana (1979), honors the achievements of five activist Latinas—labor organizer/farm worker leader Dolores Huerta, author/educator Elizabeth Betita Martinez, writer/playwright/educator Cherrie Moraga, civil rights advocate Alicia Escalante, and historian/writer Martha Cotera—and considers how these single mothers managed to be parents and effect broad-based social change at the same time.

The following is a revealing clip from that documentary that encapsulates some of the ups and downs of being a single Latina activist mami:

(The above clip comes courtesy of Women Make Movies, www.wmm.com).

Online Sources- YouTube, The Latin Americanist

Today's Video: Women's worth

Today is International Women's Day (IWD), a day in which we celebrate the accomplishments of women throughout the world as well as recognize that much still needs to be done to prevent gender inequality, discrimination, and prejudice. 2010 marks the centenary anniversary of the first IWD and the this year's theme is "equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all."

As part of its IWD campaign the World Food Program created a video designed to highlight the role of women to combat malnutrition. "Empowered, we are one" is one of the captions in the video below:

Online Sources- YouTube, Huffington Post, CNN

Today’s Video: Marta

Over the past few days we’ve featured videos on interesting Latin American women from the fields of literature, journalism, and politics. Tonight we look at another field (so to speak): sports.

Her real name is Marta Vieira da Silva but she is best-known simply by her first name. Marta is a phenomenal Brazilian striker who is the reigning FIFA Women's World Player of the Year since 2005. She has won a pair of Olympic silver medals for Brazil in women’s soccer and was named the best player in the 2007 Women’s World Cup. She will play for the Los Angeles Sol of the inaugural Women's Professional Soccer which begins later this month.

The following is likely Marta’s best goal which she scored against the U.S. during the ’07 World Cup. The Brazilian announcer was on the nose when he screamed that “there are no words to describe the goal by Marta”!

Online Sources- Women's Professional Soccer, Wikipedia, USA TODAY, The Latin Americanist, YouTube

Today’s Video: Rosalía Arteaga

In honor of International Women’s Day we’ve so far featured Chilean author Isabel Allende and Mexican journalist Elena Poniatowska. Today we look at one female politician whose historical feat has been largely forgotten.

Slowly but surely women in Latin America have ascended the political ladder and have become leaders, ministers, and heads of state. Argentina’s Cristina Kirchner and Chile’s Michelle Bachelet are two women who are currently presidents of their respective countries.

In February 1997, Rosalía Arteaga was named as Ecuador’s first female president. Amidst great political instability, however, her achievement was diminished since she served one of the shortest terms ever for a head of state: two days.

On February 6 1997…President Abdalá Bucaram was declared unfit to govern by Congress. Arteaga and congressional leader Fabián Alarcón became locked in a dispute over who should succeed Bucaram, as the constitution was vague on the issue…On February 9, however, Arteaga, who had insisted as vice-president she should become president, was sworn in instead…Two days later, however, on February 11, with the support of Congress and the army, Alarcón was sworn in again and Arteaga resigned.

The Spanish-language video below shows Arteaga interviewed a decade after her 48-hour presidency. After failing to regain the presidency via election in 1998 she left Ecuadorian politics. Arteaga is currently a member of the editorial board of the Encyclopædia Britannica as well as the secretary-general of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization.

Online Sources- britannica.com, Wikipedia, PBS, The Latin Americanist, YouTube

Today’s Video: Elena Poniatowska

International Women’s Day may’ve passed yet we continue our homage this week to exceptional Latin American women.

On Monday, we featured an enlightening interview with Chilean author Isabel Allende. Today highlight Mexican writer, intellectual, and award-winning journalist Elena Poniatowska.

Poniatowska is best-known for 1971 book on the infamous 1968 Tlatelolco massacre. In the lengthy clip below she reads from some of her works and discusses topics like Chicano literature and her childhood. (Her remarks start at the 12:45 mark after the intro).

Online Sources- Wikipedia, The Latin Americanist, YouTube

Today’s Video: Isabel Allende

In honor of International Women’s Day (which took place on Sunday) our daily video posts this week will acknowledge exceptional Latin American women.

Tonight, we feature Chilean author Isabel Allende. In this 2008 video, Allende engages in a very enlightening interview conducted by David Frost:

Online Sources- AFP, YouTube

Daily Headlines: August 30, 2008

* Argentina: A pair of former generals was sentenced to life in jail for the roles in the disappearance of a provincial senator during the “Dirty War.”

* Brazil: Actress Reese Witherspoon helped promote a campaign to combat domestic violence during a trip she made to Sao Paulo.

* Chile: According to a car rental company Chilean roads are among the worlds most dangerous.

* Bolivia: President Evo Morales set December 7^th as the date for the country’s constitutional referendum.

Image- Los Angeles Times (“Relatives of people who disappeared during Argentina's 1976-83 military dictatorship hold placards with images of their missing kin in court in San Miguel de Tucuman, in the northern province of Tucuman.”)

Sources- IHT, AFP, The Telegraph, BBC News

Today’s Video: Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

The phrase “Renaissance man” is used to describe people who are experts in many fields of knowledge. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz would certainly fit this description; the 17^th-cenutry nun was one of the most influential authors and minds in Latin American history. Though she was a controversial figure in her time for outspokenness and feminism, she has become revered in modern times.

Below is a video narrating one of Sor Juana’s most famous poems – Hombres necios (“Stubborn men”). In it, she blasts the sexism of her era and including the moral double standards towards prostitution (“Who is most to blame…the one who pays for sin or the one who sins for pay?”)

In honor of International Women’s Day, this week’s videos will look at famous Latin American women in literature. On Monday we focused on Argentine poet Alfonsina Storni.

Sources- Las Mujeres, Wikipedia, YouTube, The Latin Americanist

Today’s Video: Alfonsina Storni

Last Saturday was International Women’s Day (IWD), a day in which to reflect on the accomplishments of women worldwide and to correct the wrongs committed against them. Several events took place on the 100^th anniversary of IWD including a protest in Ciduad Juarez, Mexico calling for justice in the over 400 women killed since 1993. Many famous women have made their mark throughout Latin American history and this will be the theme for this week’s videos.

Today we feature Argentine poet Alfonsina Storni; much of her work focused on the repression of women by men and can be categorized as feminist. In the video clip below, Argentine singer Mercedes Sosa sings Alfonsina y el Mar ("Alfonsina and the sea"), a heart-wrenching tune based on Storni’s 1938 suicide when she walked into the ocean.

(Video link):

Sources- internationalwomensday.com, AFP, famouspoetsandpoems.com, Wikipedia