POR CRISTINA BONILLO Ciudad de Guatemala

Sergio Morales, Procurador de Derechos Humanos presentó ayer el informe que evalúa los dos años de aplicación de la ley contra el femicidio, a la Oficina de la Alta Comisionada de Naciones Unidas para los derechos Humanos (Oacnudh), el cual será trasladado directamente a la relatora de ONU contra la violencia contra las mujeres, Rashida Manjoo.

El informe platea cambios importantes respecto al Código Penal explicó Lesbia Tebalán, asesora del procurador en temas de impunidad.

Explicó que en dos años apenas hubo 64 sentencias en base a esta ley (no todas condenatorias), y que las agencias del Ministerio Público especializadas en temas de femicidio tenían hasta el día de ayer y desde la aprobación d e la ley 395 investigaciones en marcha de las que solo 8 se tipifican como femicidio.

Tebalán explicó que los jueces y fiscales aplican en muchos casos el precepto de homicidio según establece el código penal, o el de asesinato, que contempla las mismas penas que el femicidio, sin embargo permite medidas sustitutivas y conmutabilidad de la pena, algo que no perite el delito de femicidio.

Entre las recomendaciones, está que el estado comprenda que el problema del femicidio “va más allá de la persecución penal hay que atacare una cultura que va contra la mujer, el femicidio demuestra odio contra la mujer”, dijo Morales. El procurador instó a que instituciones como el Ministerio de Educación o el de Cultura se involucren más en temas educativos y de concienciación para atajar el problema de la violencia contra la mujer. “Tiene mucho que hacer todo el estado”, apuntó.

El representante de la OACNUDH, Alberto Brunori, explicó que se enviará este documento a la relatora y según los procedimientos a seguir en estos casos posiblemente puede pedir al estado algún tipo de aclaración sobre las denuncias presentadas en el informe. Además señaló que servirá de insumo para la oficina y para realizar su informe anual acerca de la situación de los derechos humanos en el país.

http://www.prensalibre.com/noticias/justicia/Jueces-renuentes-aplicar-ley-Femicidio_0_301769908.html

Hoy fue entregado el Informe sobre Femicidios por parte de la Procuraduría de Derechos Humanos (PDH) al representante del Alto Comisionado de Derechos Humanos, donde se manifiesta que el Gobierno no ha cumplido con los acuerdos suscritos con las leyes decretadas.

Sergio Morales, procurador de los Derechos Humanos, manifestó preocupación por el incremento en las muertes de mujeres. “En los últimos seis años se ha reportado un aumento del 79 por ciento de muertes de mujeres. Sólo en el 2009, se informó, hubo setecientos veinte asesinatos, que da como resultado que dos mujeres mueren diariamente”.

Asimismo, Morales comentó que entidades como la Policía Nacional Civil no están capacitadas para atender los casos de mujeres que solicitan ayuda, “cuando las féminas llegan a poner denuncias, los cuerpos policiales las cuestionan, no las toman en serio y eso no es así, ellas asisten a ellos para ayuda no para que las culpen por los hechos”.

http://lahora.com.gt/notas.php?key=70379&fch=2010-07-19

Asociación Guatemalteca Morazanecos Ausentes en USA (AGMAUSA), Red por La Paz y el Desarrollo de Guatemala (RPDG), Mujeres Iniciando en las Américas, Mujeres Abriendo Caminos, Alianza de Organizaciones Guatemaltecas de Houston, Texas: Consejo Comunitario Guatemalteco, Comité Guatemalteco, Posadas Guatemaltecas, Unity Soccer League, Voces Unidas por los Inmigrantes, Congarigua, Juventud Garifuna, La Nueva Juventud con Fé, the Bronx, NY, América Calderón, Washington, DC, Leonor Hurtado, San Francisco, Dora Pimentel, Denver, CO, Lic. Marvin Pinto, Los Angeles, CA, Oscar Sandoval, Chicago, IL, Casa de los Migrantes, Las Vegas, NV, Alas de Justicia, Los Angeles, Fundación Sobrevivientes, Guatemala, UDEFEGUA, Guatemala.

URGENT ACTION: SUPPORT REQUEST FOR TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS (TPS) FOR GUATEMALANS LIVING IN THE UNITED STATES

Dear Friends of the people of Guatemala, Guatemalan immigrants need your support to request Temporary Protection Status (TPS) due to the devastation and state of emergency declared in Guatemala in the aftermath of the passage of tropical storm Agatha. Guatemalan immigrant organizations sent a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to consider the current state of emergency and recommend granting TPS to Guatemalans living in the United States. The Government of Guatemala has officially requested a Temporary Protected Status for Guatemalans.

Granting TPS to Guatemalans does not correct the underlying injustice in economic and immigration policies, but is an acknowledgement of the enormous humanitarian crisis caused by tropical storm Agatha.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

• ENDORSE THE LETTER: You can sign online at: The Petition Site. If you or your organization would like to sing on to the letter please respond via e-mail to Erasmo Morales (631)786-7048 erasmo@agmausa.org with the following information:

NAME OF ORGANIZATION:__________________________

CONTACT PERSON:_______________________________

Address:________________________________________

Phone:____________ E-mail:________________________

This first letter will be sent on Monday, June 14th with copy to Attorney General Erick Holder. DEADLINE TO SUBMIT YOUR NAME TO SIGN INTO THE LETTER IS Sunday, June 13TH. If needed a second letter will be sent by Wednesday July 7th However if you or your organization do not want to sign into the letter, you can use the same format provided and send your own letter.

DONATIONS:

MUJERES INICIANDO EN LAS AMÉRICAS is collecting money donations. M.I.A. is a registered 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation and all donations are tax deductible, where applicable.

You can mail your contribution to: MUJERES INICIANDO EN LAS AMÉRICAS, 1256 Conway Ave.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626 — U.S.A.

• CONTACT YOUR SENATOR/CONGRESS REPRESENTATIVE

Send them a letter requesting they support the petition of a Temporary Protected Status for Guatemalans.

Contacting the Congress in English? http://www.contactingthecongress.org/index.html

¿Quiere ponerse en contacto con miembros del Congreso en Español? http://www.contactingthecongress.org/index.es.html

Letter proposal to the Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano

July 7, 2010

Ms. Janet Napolitano

Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Washington, DC 20528

Dear Ms. Napolitano:

We are writing to you to fully support the request by Guatemala’s Foreign Ministry, presented to the United States Government on June 4, 2010, that in the wake of tropical storm Agatha, Guatemalans in the United States be granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS). We urge you to positively respond to this petition as early as possible.

As portrayed in the media, on the last week of past May, extremely heavy rainfall caused by tropical storm Agatha fell over Central America and southern Mexico. Guatemala was most affected by this disaster, with loss of life, widespread damage to infrastructure, and agricultural losses.

In Guatemala, there are more than one hundreds confirmed deaths, and many other persons are missing, with entire communities buried. We have been informed that more than 120,000 people have been displaced, and that some 700 communities have been affected. Thousands of homes have been destroyed, and tens of thousands have been damaged.

According to the Washington Post article on June 2, 2010, Guatemala suffered“… huge losses in the agriculture sector. The country’s association of exporters reported a 75 percent drop in production in the vegetable and shrimp industries, while the National Coffee Association forecast a loss of 122,000 bags this season.”

The government statistics so far of the damage caused by Agatha are: 88, 971 homeless people; 142,959 persons were evacuated, and 152,488 affected; 497 schools and 107 towns were damaged, and damage to 400 bridges has made communications difficult. The Pan American Health Organization has issued a health alert due to different illnesses that can affect the population from diarrhea to dengue. Last year, because of a drought 136,000 families were affected with malnourishment. The Pan American Health Organization reports that Agatha just increased the risk of this population due to the loss of crops, and that famine will affect the area.

As you are well aware, Guatemalan communities and citizens here in the United States send more than $4 billion a year in remittances that help maintain social stability and provide basic needs to relatives in Guatemala. These remittances take on added importance while Guatemala recovers from the storm. We recall that when TPS has been granted in the past to nationals of other countries, remittances immediately increased by not less than 25%. This would amount to the most significant aid to recovery and reconstruction, and it would be provided by our own nationals.

Therefore, until the country can get back on its feet, we believe that granting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Guatemalans in the United States will help to ameliorate the desperate situation of those victims that may benefit from funds sent by relatives in the United States. We also believe that it is in the interest of this country not to return people so soon after this natural disaster, because that action may generate further instability in a country where poverty was already very high before the storm. Such a grant would certainly not be without precedent, as Nicaraguans and Hondurans were granted Temporary Protected Status after suffering widespread destruction from Hurricane Mitch in 1998.

We believe that the conditions that justify this request for TPS –a significant calamity in a country, high risks for nationals of that country if they are forced to return, and an official appeal from the government of the affected country—have been satisfied. Therefore, we strongly support granting TPS to Guatemalans, and we ask that you give this request your most serious consideration.

Sincerely,

Signatures of sponsors and endorsers

CC: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,  Attorney General Erick Holder

…

]]> http://miamericas.info/2010/06/09/mia-supports-tps-for-gua/feed/ 0 http://miamericas.info/2010/06/09/trip-report-on-establishing-the-hombres-contra-feminicidio-program-in-guatelinda/ http://miamericas.info/2010/06/09/trip-report-on-establishing-the-hombres-contra-feminicidio-program-in-guatelinda/#comments Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:24:15 +0000 MIA http://miamericas.info/?p=891 Twelve Weeks in Guatemala City

I arrived in Guatemala on Feb 20, and dove straight into starting programs. Was very fortunate to find a a place to live right smack in the middle of the action, zona 1. I am subletting a room at a friends house. I wanted to stay in zona 1 for many reasons. 1st to not have to wake up to traffic every morning to zona 1 where all the networking needs to be done and almost everywhere I need to go to work is within easy walking distance.

In Guate I felt the need to walk with the pueblo and bump into people and talk to them. It was a surreal experience for me. It was almost like going back to the 3 years i lived in Guate as a teenager.

We did two 4 day workshops at USAC. Sadly, during the course of the workshops two of the students were killed while getting snacks near the university. So sad.

We also started our annual programs at the all boy’s school in Zona 8.

You may remember that we did workshops in the PNC academy in 2009. Since then, they had a complete change of leadership both at the academy and in the PNC overall. Thanks to our work nurturing relationships, we were able to get in again this year. This year we are year round. Remember MIA”s goal is to get in the curriculum and this time we actually are in the midst of signing an agreement to be part of the curriculum on an ongoing basis. This is HUGE!!!

The PNC is in the middle of construction, there is a interium director who does not have the power to sign anything, but does have the power to allow us in every other Friday. We go in 5 classes per Friday and each class has between 40 and 60 students. I feel very optimistic that we wil be signing an agreement with the PNC Academy to adopt our campaign. I have been sitting with instructors and all of them want our manuals. It is a matter of time for the academy to have a stable director and then i think we be able to get a contract.

We’re finding that there are plenty of places ready to take us in to give the workshops. The biggest challenge for us is to find funding to make our work happen. I want to share with much pride that we were also able to get in with an agreement adopting our campaign. The department of health at USAC has welcomed us to their programs. I signed the agreement only days before my departure last May 15. This means that every single student that signs up to go to college will have to go through our classroom *as a requirement*. I am so new inside the USAC system that I still dont understand how this is going to unfold, but during my time here i am in constant contact with their personnel that we are are going to plan it out. USAC is the model and when MIA is able to hire permanent staff, we will be moving in to some of the satellites of USAC. We will become a BIG movement within the university.

I’ve also been dealing with the challenges of getting MIA recognized at a nonprofit in Guatemala. The latest was that my name was misspelled on some paperwork and I had to get it corrected and resubmitted, adding two weeks to the process. In addition, I had to get an ID card at the Guatemalan DMV, and in the process learned that my fathers name on my birth certificate was some stranger, a name I’d never heard of before. This opened up an old wound, my not really knowing who my birth father was. During this trip, I also was spending some time tracking down my birth father. Apparently I’m the result of an Immaculate Conception, which sounds better than not knowing who my father is. My blood father, according to the latest story I hear, was a boss in a bus company where my mother’s then-ex-husband worked. My father had been a bus driver and worked his way up to being the boss. Later, he was killed when returning home from work.

Also met with the Association of Widows of the bus drivers killed while working. As you may know, there have been hundreds of bus drivers killed on duty in the last few years. A reporter asked me why I was getting involved with the bus driver widows and I started crying: I realized right then it was through what happened to my blood father that leaves me feeling so closely connected with the widows.

We are working on a program to help the widows get into small businesses by creating micro loans. In a micro loan program, we would sponsor the women to get basic training on how to make a business work, and a small amount of funding, about $100, to get the means to make their business happen. This is the newest cause MIA adopted, and stuggled with it, because we barely have money for the campaign, but to see the widows going in circles trying to help themselves I could not look the other way. When I visited their little whole in the wall there were five women that for some reason I connected stongly and asked if they would be willing to attend a workshop on Sundays at Jenny’s house. They all come from a distance, one comes from a 2 hour and a half distance and tends to be the one who arrives first. They have been meeting for four Sundays in a row except last Sunday because of the Pacaya volcano and Tropical Storm Agatha. Through Jenny we were able to find them counseling for free on Saturdays too. These women have had no time to grieve. They were forced over night to pick up the pieces for their children and have not had the chance to be swallowed by their pain., and allow themselves to grieve.

I want to end with telling you a little about our facilitators. They are six young men who come from different schools within USAC. Two are artists, who are studying to become music teachers. Our longtime friend Randy from Colectivo Rogelia Cruz is going to school to become an archeologist. William is going for a teaching degree, Gary is going for business administration and Derick is about to graduate as a civil engineer. They are all volunteering and we give them a small stipend for their time and expenses. We meet twice a week.

Our chapina volunteer from Canada, Maria Luisa, is working with them while i am here to support the facilitators in their readings on gender issues and to train them to become strong facilitators.

When the academy called me, I was not prepared with facilitators and told the interim director that MIA was ready to go. I walked out of there with Randy who is a long time supporter, and asked him what to do. He said we (volunteer facilitators) have to go forward and MIA has to train us overnight. We started calling people we have worked with in the past and 5 accepted immediately. I feel I have been training a little too rapidly, but I had no choice.

When we met with the academy they wanted to start that same week I said we couldn’t start that quick, but to give us 2 weeks and we would be ready. Never told them it was because we didn’t have workshop facilitators trained yet. It was exciting to make this happen over night. The facilitators are loving the work and the hands-on training / workshops. We all read and discuss the readings. Then, the next day they train to present, and they all facilitate to the rest to make sure they understand the curriculum.

I can go on and on about the facilitators, I am very fond of them. Because we are meeting so often we have become like a family. They look forward eating together while exchanging ideas on how else they can contribute to a Guate without violence and day dreaming when we have an office. We are meeting at my friends house where I sublet a room, but sometimes we can get loud and we don’t want her to kick us out. I am hoping come next year we can get some serious donations and can have an office and employ them full time.

Unfortunately we were not able to get funds from the private company we were hoping from. As a matter of fact, it was them who prompted my trip in February and decided to stay for so long. But it is all good, we were able to network and find us BIG place to work in where we have a captive audience and helps us from running around all over the city. This private company asked that we revisit the project in July., wish us good luck.

Lastly, we were able finally meet with close people to the first lady again. As you may remember, we met with the first lady last July. She delegated the job of assisting us to certain subordinates, then her words were forgotten. Out of sight, out of mind. Being there for so long, allowed me to sit on it and finally got a person with the power to remind the first lady to revisit our conversation. I will be meeting soon with someone in a position to make this happen, to discuss the national school system adopting our curriculum. This reconnection with the first lady talk from last July delegation happened thanks to assistance from Norma Cruz. Norma picked up the phone and put us in contact with the right people within the Avocado House (Palacio Nacional).

Helping girls in the path of education is an on going project. Because of limited fundsy we are presently only helping 5 young girls. Please help us help them keep them on track.

And now to end, I want to announce that I will be going back to Guate for at least another 3 months if not more. Maybe till the school year ends., that is in October. Chris and I have been talking for the last two years and finally both us are o.k. with me living long period of times in Guate. He will be visiting me a lot .

Don’t forget that we are a 501(c)(3) non profit, and so all donations are completely tax deductible.

ABOUT THE HOMBRES CONTRA FEMINICIDIO CAMPAIGN

Hombres Contra Feminicidio is an educational campaign in Guatemala which objective is to train teachers, students and people in power on how to prevent and erradicate violence against women. M.I.A. strive  to bring the campaign to teachers nationwide in order to bring the topic into the schools curriculum.

La violencia puede ser física, sexual, psicológica y económica.

¡No te vistas así! ¡No salgas! ¡No trabajes! ¡Estás gorda! Estas pueden ser palabras que inician un círculo que, aunque no incluye golpes, es considerado como violencia de la que mujeres y niños son víctimas frecuentes.

Según Mayté Fernández, psicóloga de la Fundación Sobrevivientes, la violencia de los hombres hacia las mujeres tiene sus orígenes en las relaciones de desigualdad de poder, es decir, los hombres han sido educados para ser los proveedores y las mujeres para el trabajo en el hogar, situación que ha alejado de aquellos de su lado sensible.

“La violencia tiene que ver con el dominio de una persona que quiere que se hagan las cosas a su manera. Lo que han hecho todos los convenios es poner en evidencia que es una situación cultural y de mala educación”, explica la experta, quien agrega que es algo que se debe cambiar.

En Guatemala, según Fernández, los crímenes contra mujeres evidencian odio hacia la persona por el simple hecho de ser mujer, a lo cual se le llama misoginia. En la actualidad el país ostenta el segundo lugar en el ámbito latinoamericano en feminicidios, que en 2008 y 2009 sumaron 877 casos, de los cuales el 97% quedó en la impunidad.

Del total de muertes de mujeres el 32% se dio en el hogar, 43% fuera de este y el 25% en otras circunstancias.

Mecanismo de denuncia

Cuando hay situaciones de violencia hay que poner la denuncia en el Ministerio Público lo antes posible para que haya pruebas físicas de las agresiones. También ayudan los testimonios de vecinos. Las secuelas devastan psicológicamente. Es por ello que se tiene que procurar tratamiento profesional. La denuncia es importante. Los desacuerdos son necesarios, pero lo que hace la diferencia es cómo se van a resolver. Se debe tener respeto hacia la pareja.

Las penas

La ley contra el feminicidio y otras formas de violencia contra la mujer contempla condenas relacionadas a la magnitud del tipo de daño de que es víctima una fémina.

• Feminicidio, 25 a 50 años de prisión sin derecho a redención de pena.

• Violencia física o sexual, de 5 a 12 años de prisión.

• Violencia psicológica, de 5 a 8 años de prisión.

• Violencia económica, de 5 a 8 años de prisión.

]]> http://miamericas.info/2010/04/19/no-solo-los-golpes-provocan-heridas-permanentes/feed/ 0 http://miamericas.info/2010/04/07/la-ola-de-feminicidios-de-ciudad-juarez-se-extiende-por-centroamerica/ http://miamericas.info/2010/04/07/la-ola-de-feminicidios-de-ciudad-juarez-se-extiende-por-centroamerica/#comments Wed, 07 Apr 2010 16:52:57 +0000 MIA http://miamericas.info/?p=828 ANNA-MARIA HOLLAIN | Madrid | www.elpais.com

Walda Barrios-Klee, ayer en Madrid- CRISTÓBAL MANUEL

WALDA BARRIOS-KLEE Activista a favor de la mujer en Guatemala

Sólo durante 2009, en Guatemala fueron asesinadas 847 mujeres. En los últimos 10 años, han muerto de manera violenta 5.027 guatemaltecas. Y en lo que va de año, ya suman 160. No se trata de violencia doméstica a puerta cerrada, sino de mujeres que son torturadas y asesinadas en lugares públicos, casi siempre por desconocidos. Walda Barrios-Klee (1951, Ciudad de Guatemala), consejera asesora de la Unión Nacional de Mujeres Guatemaltecas, constata una realidad preocupante en una entrevista concedida a EL PAÍS en el marco de un seminario internacional sobre feminicidios en Guatemala y México, celebrado ayer en la Casa de América de Madrid. “¿Por qué fue famoso el caso de Ciudad Juárez? Porque allí empezaron. Pero de allí comienza a pasar en toda Centroamérica y en toda la región. Ya es una patología social”, asegura.

Desde 2008, la legislación del país centroamericano reconoce el delito del feminicidio: el asesinato de mujeres por el simple hecho de serlo, motivado por el odio y la misoginia. “Los feminicidios están considerados como crímenes impersonales. El que mata a la mujer no tiene ninguna relación con ella. Es un crimen anónimo. El que asesina no conoce a la víctima y la mata por el hecho de ser mujer. Es lo nuevo del fenómeno”, resalta Barrios.

Otro factor distintivo es la brutalidad empleada antes y después de la muerte de la víctima. “No se mata únicamente, sino que se persigue todo un ritual en el asesinato: tortura, mutilación y violación. Hay violación siempre, acompañada por un sadismo excesivo”, precisa. Los cadáveres aparecen a menudo descuartizados, con las uñas arrancadas y la cara desfigurada.

La consejera, que fue candidata a la vicepresidencia de Guatemala en 2007, subraya que la ley contra los feminicidios “ha servido para que aumenten las denuncias ?porque las mujeres pierden un poco el miedo?, pero no la penalización”. Y tampoco ha conseguido frenar las agresiones. “La ley fue aprobada en marzo de 2008. Y en marzo de 2009, en lugar de bajar, aumentaron los crímenes”.

Para Barrios, se trata de un fallo institucional. “La ley es una contribución al cambio cultural. No obstante, si el sistema de justicia no funciona bien, aunque haya ley, las cosas no van a cambiar mucho”.

El llamado triángulo de la violencia [Guatemala, El Salvador y Honduras, según la descripción acuñada por Naciones Unidas, ya que tienen las tasas de feminicidios más altas de la región] ilustra un problema que va más allá de los conflictos armados, que acecharon en el pasado a El Salvador y Guatemala, y en los que la violación se usó como arma de guerra.

El primer puesto respecto al asesinato de mujeres, en los últimos años, lo solía ocupar Guatemala. “Ahora, Honduras tiene el primero, El Salvador el segundo, y Guatemala el tercero”, afirma la defensora de los derechos de las mujeres. Y explica que esta situación se da no porque haya bajado la cifra en Guatemala, sino porque ha subido en Honduras.

“¿Qué tienen en común Guatemala y El Salvador? Las guerras internas. Honduras, no. Pero Honduras salta después del golpe de Estado. Es lo que cambia la situación allí. El problema tiene que ver con el papel del Estado y el debilitamiento de las estructuras estatales, algo que afecta a toda América Latina”, añade la activista.

Es cierto que en el caso particular de Guatemala pesa también la herencia de una guerra fratricida de casi cuatro décadas, ?el acuerdo de paz se firmó en 1996?, que dejó más de 200.000 muertos o desaparecidos, sin que se haya juzgado jamás a los verdugos. “Hemos tenido 36 años de conflicto armado durante los cuales el aparato de Estado se usó para la represión. Toda la estructura estatal quedó en manos de gente que tenía esa mentalidad del enemigo interno, que así se llamaba a la gente que quería una Guatemala distinta. Eso no se desmontó con la firma de la paz. La estructura del Estado quedó como era, con las mismas personas de la guerra. Por eso, no piensan en la justicia”, explica Barrios.

A ese clima de impunidad generalizada se une un cambio de perspectiva. Ahora, las mujeres encarnan al enemigo interno, sostiene la activista, “porque empezamos a salir a la calle, a trabajar, a ser autónomas, a tener ingresos propios, a reivindicar espacios públicos y cuotas de poder. A medida que hay más participación política y más mujeres buscando cargos públicos, hay más asesinatos. El mensaje social parece ser que la mujer que sale de casa corre más peligro que la que se queda encerrada, aunque esto sea un mito. Porque incluso los maridos que te golpean y pegan en las casas no te matan como te matan en la calle. Es una forma de terrorismo”.

http://www.lahora.com.gt/notas.php?key=63537&fch=2010-03-05

Cedo la palabra a mi hijo, Pablo Molina Toledo, para hablar de las luchas de la mujer: “La igualdad de género y el desarrollo de Guatemala. La sociedad guatemalteca está enferma. Hay grandes problemas cuya solución requiere enormes esfuerzos. La destrucción de nuestros recursos humanos, naturales y culturales ha llegado a proporciones extremas, provocando los problemas que hoy vivimos, por ejemplo, miseria, pandillas, corrupción, violencia y degradación de nuestra calidad de vida. Para combatir el racismo, la discriminación y la desigualdad económica, necesitamos imaginación, voluntad, determinación y cambio de mentalidad. Necesitamos también la verdadera igualdad entre los hombres y las mujeres.”

“Es motivo de vergüenza que Guatemala ocupe el puesto111 entre 134 países en el Índice de Disparidad entre Géneros del Foro Económico Mundial. Compartimos con países como Nigeria (108), con 25% de las mujeres víctimas de mutilación genital femenina; y la India (114), donde hay lugares en que un hombre puede desfigurar a una mujer si siente que fue agredido su honor. Con las estadísticas de nuestro país, nuestro puesto no es sorpresa. En Guatemala, demasiadas mujeres son asesinadas, 708 en 2009, mostrando muchas señales de violación y tortura; otras son encontradas desmembradas o cortadas en pedazos. El año pasado, Mindy Rodas, en Santa Rosa, sobrevivió varias puñaladas; pero despertó sin rostro.”

“La falta de seguridad para las mujeres ha dado origen al femicidio, y la total impunidad de ese crimen incrementa su ocurrencia, por lo que el Estado tiene gran responsabilidad. El problema sólo lo podemos enfrentar con un cambio de mentalidad. Esta violencia contra nuestras compatriotas -madres, hermanas e hijas- es aplicada por nosotros los hombres. La actitud de los hombres impacta a la mujer: somos quienes hacemos chistes o comentarios sexistas, quienes golpeamos a nuestras parejas, quienes violamos niñas y mujeres, a veces en la propia familia. Esta omnipresente cultura patriarcal y machista es la que nos ha conducido a los actuales niveles de violencia contra la mujer.”

“No todos los hombres cometemos estos actos; pero tenemos todos la responsabilidad de actuar para que cesen. Es injusto que la mujer tema por su seguridad física fuera de casa, o en el mismo hogar, y que el Estado no pueda protegerla. Los hombres, quienes hemos tenido más privilegios y más posibilidades de cambiar las cosas, debemos terminar con este círculo de violencia, ponernos al lado de las mujeres y luchar junto a ellas para lograr la igualdad de género. Hay que pugnar dentro de nuestras familias, círculos de amigos y otros ambientes para reconocer la dignidad de la mujer. Esto pasa por la educación de los hombres, para ser aliados en la lucha por la seguridad física y, más aún, generar una nueva mentalidad. Cambiar de mentalidad es difícil para quienes somos adultos; pero la niñez no está obligada a crecer igual. Valoramos el trabajo que hace Mujeres Iniciando en las Américas (MIA), sensibilizando y educando a miembros de la Policía Nacional Civil y a estudiantes de la Usac, así como su presencia en las escuelas primarias, donde enseña que otra sociedad es posible.”

Agradezco a Pablo sus aportes e insto a escucharlo y a apoyar las luchas de las mujeres.

Pablo Esteban Molina reside en Montreal, Canadá y actualmente esta cursando estudios en la Universidad Concordia. Desde el año 2008 desempeña el trabajo de subsecretario de Asuntos de la Mujer para la Red por la Paz y el Desarrollo de Guatemala.

The program was divided in two parts. The first one was the launch of the Hombres Contra Feminicidio Campaign in the U.S. with the presentation of the first workshop, la Vida Dentro de una Caja. The second part was a testimony presentation by Maria Luisa Rosal and women in the audience regarding their immigrant experience and why the reform matters to them.

Workshop participants in NYC

THE WORKSHOP

The workshop was applied as it is in the MIA’s HCF manual. The group had 10 participants from different parts of NY and NJ. See the following images that illustrate the workshop development.

Byron Izaguirre from AGMAUSA talks about machismo.

Participants work together on an exercise.

List of responses from the exercise.

FEEDBACK:

What did you learn today?

_ give equal treatment to men and women

_ the importance of educating our own communities

_ how to improve family relationships and give equal treatment

_ roles have changed

_ the obstacles that roles create for people

_ women can be independent and find success on their own

Will this lesson help you improve the way you see and to things in life? How?

_ yes, communication helps the family thrive, bring up the good and bad things and understand how make things better

_ yes; I have seen more Latino men and women with more liberal views.

_ yes; make people aware of women rights

_ yes; create awareness among women of how equal we all must be

The posters were kindly donated to the HCF Campaign by Mary Wong at Women Ink — U.N. Church Center in New York City.