The Right to Endure

The following is based on two interviews undertaken with two local indigenous community leaders, Isabel Miranda and Juana Jiménez. All stated facts, unless otherwise noted, are information retrieved from the aforementioned women, based on both their personal experiences and trainings on Guatemalan Constitutional and Human Rights laws. In case you can't tell from the article, understand this: these women rock.

Almost 13 years after the Peace Accords were signed in Guatemala City’s Central Plaza in 1996, discrimination and marginalization among the indigenous Mayan population continues at an alarming level today. Under-educated and many times uneducated indigenous Mayans are uninformed of their rights through no fault of their own, a problem that seriously hinders the progress in the development of Guatemala’s indigenous communities.

In 2007, Guatemala was cited with having the highest percentage of chronically malnourished boys and girls in Latin America, and the fourth highest in the world. The Evangelical and Catholic churches have created a stronghold in more rural communities that discourages families to use any form of contraception, while organizations that promote family planning collide with those moral barriers.

Women in the rural communities are fortunate if they have a second grade education- few of them can read, write, or even have a strong command of Spanish. Through the local association AMMID (Asociación Maya-Mam de Investigación y Desarrollo, Maya-Mam Association of Research and Development), many of the participating women have recently learnt that they have equal rights to their husbands, brothers, fathers and sons, which are outlined in the Guatemalan Constitution.

“But this is not common,” says Juana Jiménez, a local indigenous women’s rights activist and regional presenter. “If you walked up to anyone on the street and asked them what their rights are, the majority of them would not know how to respond.” She continues to elaborate that the Guatemalan Constitution not only states that men and women are equals, but that children, boys and girls, must be treated in an equal manner by their parents.

The ancient Mayans believed in a variety of equilibriums that made their life on Mother Earth possible. Balancing one another are the sun and the earth, the day and the night, the heat and the cold, and men and women, who stabilize one another. The ancestors of the current indigenous population highly respected these beliefs, and it was not until the arrival of the Spanish that their customs began to change. Many people lost their native Mayan tongues to the imperialistic Spanish, while many indigenous women were raped, which according to Juana, brought a change of machismo culture into the Mayan world.

“Women are only to cook, clean, look after the animals, and bear children- preferably males,” Isabel Miranda explains what her father told her when she suggested she study beyond the second grade. “We don’t have the opportunity to leave home to look for a job, such as being part of a community committee- just to get married.” At just 12 years old, her father told her that she was now a woman; her place was at home- not in school- and it was her job to tend to the animals, the kitchen, and to find a husband.

“I cried and cried to my mother; I just wanted to study, but my father would not let me.” Isabel made an agreement with her mother. She would work hard at home with additional responsibilities, and her mother would give her the opportunity and pay for two more years of schooling, which she says she took advantage of by taking her studies in school and work at home seriously so her mother would continue supporting her. She completed her studies at the fourth grade level when she was 14 years-old.

At the age of 16, she married and had her first child. After she had her fourth child, she became an active member of the local artisan group in her home village of Taltimiche, where she advanced her weaving and crocheting skills. Through AMMID, which she helped establish in 1992, she was able to complete an additional two years of study through a government literacy program, Conalfa, and is now the head artisan with a sixth grade education- the second highest education of 130 women in the artisan group spanning 10 villages.

Unfortunately, this is not a common story among indigenous women. The vast majority, especially those in rural villages, grows up with the belief that they are inferior and must act subservient to their fathers, brothers, eventually their husbands and all other males. This problem not only stems from the lack of attention women get from their fathers growing up, but from their mothers as well.

“Mothers also contribute to the machismo culture,” says Juana. “Many times, they will serve better or more food to their sons because they are raised with the mentality that men are superior to women and deserve better opportunities.”

“This mentality,” explains Isabel “is because once a girl is married off, it remains the son’s responsibility to care for their parents when they get older and can no longer work for themselves.” For that reason, daughters also are discriminated against when their parents give them land.

“I have three brothers,” explains Isabel. “They each received fourteen, ten and seven acres; my sister and I received two acres each.” Her father has passed away, but her mother, a frail 84 year-old woman, depends on the assistance of her two daughters, even though her three sons also live in the neighboring fields. Although only the two daughters continue to help their mother financially and with domestic duties, Isabel says that the remaining land her mother has will be given to her brothers, who have neglected their duties to their ailing mother.

Fidelio, Isabel’s husband, thinks it is a bit worrisome what her parents did to her and her sister. Isabel and Fidelio do not differentiate between their eight sons and daughters; they have provided them with the same kinds of opportunities concerning food, clothing, and education. Two of their three daughters have their teaching degree, while one of their sons will graduate with his teaching degree at the end of this year.

Both parents who give equal opportunities to both their sons and daughters have a tremendous affect on the future generation. “Mothers especially should boost the self-esteem of their daughters by showing them they are loved and valued,” says Juana. “Instead, many mothers tell their daughters to aguántate, or tolerate, the way they are treated by their male family members, particularly their fathers.”

Consequently, many adolescent girls attempt to fill the void of affection they could not find in their fathers by seeking it in young men, to whom they marry at a young age. As a result, the vast majority of women have identical or comparable problems as their mothers in their marriages.

Some women know enough about their rights that they take their husband to court on account of abuse in front of a judge; however, the problem with this justice system is that most judges are male who are biased towards the wife.

“Many judges will accuse the wife of being an instigator to the problems she alleges against her husband,” tells Juana. “And instead of listening to both sides, the judge will usually rule in favor of the husband and not apply the law the way he should.”

Injustices like these reaffirm the wife as being inferior to her husband, which pushes her into a corner. At this point, most women accept that they must respect their husband’s demands- whether she must ask permission to leave the house for normal domestic duties, do only what she is told, “…and even subside to sex against her will,” says Juana “because many women are frightened that if they don’t, their husbands will either leave them for another woman or physically abuse them.” Sex, in this instance, becomes just another obligation that must be performed by women, not an act of affection between husband and wife.

When Isabel and Fidelio married, Fidelio’s father told him that Isabel should be free to work and help support and develop their family. “He understands that women’s active participation in the community and supporting the family is important, and I am very grateful for the support he has given me, and for the values he has instilled in my husband.”

Though she does not have an advanced education, she finds it important for women in her community to involve themselves in municipal activities and let their voices be heard. “If you want things to improve, you must have the will power and the want for change.”

Juana, on the other hand, makes a point to teach her son, Marcos, normal domestic duties that women in Guatemala take on every day, such as making tortillas and tamales, cleaning, and even washing his older sister Brenda’s clothes. “Women need to take the initiative to involve their husbands, and especially their sons, so that they will be able to set the example in the future. Women learn everything they need to, so why can’t men?”

The signing of the Peace Accords in December of 1996 ended 36 years of armed conflict that left some 150,000 - 200,000 dead or “disappeared,” victims who were mainly indigenous men. It has also shed new light on not only indigenous rights, but also women’s rights. Many indigenous communities continue to be unaware of the rights they have been guaranteed with the signing of the Peace Accords

The current constitution of Guatemala cites that the all citizens have the right to life, liberty and equality for both men and women; furthermore, both share the rights to equal opportunities and responsibilities. It also states it is the duty of the State to guarantee inhabitants of the Republic to life, liberty, justice, security, peace and development of the individual. Although these laws already existed during the armed conflict, the main objective of the Peace Accords was to put the civil war to an end and pave the way for the transformation of the cultural, economic, social and political structures of the country.

While laws that protect the rights of all inhabitants, including the indigenous population, exist, it is now a matter of educating people in indigenous communities, particularly girls from an early age on, about what their rights are as citizens of their country and how they can exercise them without being discriminated against.