International Women's Day
(picture, left to right... Doctor Eduardo, Maria, Sonia, Tere and Doña Thelma)
I don’t think I’ve ever participated in an IWD march before. Fitting that my first one would be in Managua with it’s strong feminist legacy. Every year, women congratulate each other, like it was their birthday, wishing each other a Happy International Women’s Day. Radio DJ’s send out special messages to women as well and banners hung up all over the city celebrating the day.
Doña Esmeralda mandated on Wednesday that all the staff would go to the march. At 8am we waited for the bus sent by the Collectivo Feminista Xochilt to pick us up and take us to their office, which was the point of departure for the march. About 10 of us went, sporting our new AMUCOBU t-shirts. When we arrived, hundreds of women filled the street in front of the office. They wore t-shirts that said Movimiento Feminista on the front and a message about abortion on the back… Prosecuting abortion is illegal, unconstitutional and immoral. We then walked to the Supreme Court building along the Carretera Norte, shutting down traffic in our wake. This is one of the main arteries of the city, so it caused some disruption. A small brass and drum band walked with us, and a few women led chants on bullhorns. The point of the march was to advocate for reinstating therapeutic abortion (for only the most severe cases of rape and danger to the life of the mother) which was made illegal in October. There have been many women who have died since the law was put in place in a political maneuver by Daniel Ortega to win the favor of the powerful Catholic authorities before the election. Although various groups have been fighting to reinstate therapeutic abortion, it’s still illegal.
I don’t think I’ve ever participated in an IWD march before. Fitting that my first one would be in Managua with it’s strong feminist legacy. Every year, women congratulate each other, like it was their birthday, wishing each other a Happy International Women’s Day. Radio DJ’s send out special messages to women as well and banners hung up all over the city celebrating the day.
Doña Esmeralda mandated on Wednesday that all the staff would go to the march. At 8am we waited for the bus sent by the Collectivo Feminista Xochilt to pick us up and take us to their office, which was the point of departure for the march. About 10 of us went, sporting our new AMUCOBU t-shirts. When we arrived, hundreds of women filled the street in front of the office. They wore t-shirts that said Movimiento Feminista on the front and a message about abortion on the back… Prosecuting abortion is illegal, unconstitutional and immoral. We then walked to the Supreme Court building along the Carretera Norte, shutting down traffic in our wake. This is one of the main arteries of the city, so it caused some disruption. A small brass and drum band walked with us, and a few women led chants on bullhorns. The point of the march was to advocate for reinstating therapeutic abortion (for only the most severe cases of rape and danger to the life of the mother) which was made illegal in October. There have been many women who have died since the law was put in place in a political maneuver by Daniel Ortega to win the favor of the powerful Catholic authorities before the election. Although various groups have been fighting to reinstate therapeutic abortion, it’s still illegal.
posted by mbrigell at 9:17 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home