Maya indigenous women, most marginalized in the economic recovery of Yucatan

In Yucatán, 60 percent of the population is Maya, and in 30 percent of those families, a Maya woman is the head of the family.

MÉRIDA, Yucatán, (September 29, 2021).- 18 months after the start of the pandemic and 200 years after Independence, Maya women continue to be victims of discrimination, violence, and impunity due to gender issues and because they are indigenous, a situation that keeps them marginalized, and add to that the slow economic recovery in times of pandemic.

Within the framework of the International Day of Indigenous Women, which was celebrated on September 5, the National Institute of Statistics, Geography, and Informatics (Inegi) revealed that in Yucatan 60 percent of the population is Maya, and of that percentage, 30 percent are women. 

For its part, the Center for Gender Research and Studies of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) pointed out that about 30 percent of indigenous households are headed by women, which has been affected by the social isolation derived from the pandemic

And it was clarified that although Yucatan is in a process of economic recovery, the cancellation of commercial activities and the gradual opening of markets where indigenous women obtain income for their families have aggravated their social situation. 

In the field of security and justice, the group ‘Equis Justicia para las Mujeres‘, indicated that in Yucatán 4 out of 10 women are victims of violence, but only 8.5 percent denounce this crime, a situation that is more serious in indigenous communities, which are totally ignored by the state authorities. 

When was the International Day of Indigenous Women instituted?

The International Day of Indigenous Women was instituted in 1983 at the Second Meeting of Organizations and Movements of America, in Tiahuanaco, Bolivia. 

The date was chosen in honor of the struggle of Bartolina Sisa, an Aymara warrior, who opposed the colonial rule and was assassinated in La Paz, Bolivia, in 1782. 

The objective of this celebration is to pay tribute to all the women belonging to the indigenous peoples of the world and to make their heroic deeds visible.

Source: Sipse

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