Violence Against Indigenous Women and the Twofold Challenge Karmen Ramirez Boscan - Al Jazeera
go to original April 1, 2013

Inside Story Americas: Can laws protect Native American women? (AlJazeeraEnglish)

In many contexts, woman in Latin America face an uphill battle to maintain even the most basic human rights. This is magnified for indigenous women.

There have been some significant international treaties and conventions created to address such a problem. However, due to a host of reasons they have proven to be ineffective. Though developing such a body of law is crucial in protecting indigenous women, without thorough educational programmes utilising any legal infrastructure is highly unlikely. Even without educational impediments, women in such communities are stigmatised and pushed to the periphery of hyper-patriarchal societies.

Even throughout our own indigenous communities, women are excluded from the decision-making process, unable to lobby or build towards better representation and ultimately implementing strategic plans developed for and by indigenous women.

"Two of every three women murdered died for the simple reason: they were women. In 2012, recorded cases numbered 526 for Guatemala, 245 for Honduras and 231 for El Salvador (CLADEM, 2012). The most emblematic cases of violence against women, they are being used as weapons in a conflict, which take place in Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras." - Violence and Indigenous Women, a document presented by ECMIA to the CSW57, March 2013.

Read the rest at Al Jazeera

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