Guatemala

/Tag: Guatemala

 

15 06, 2019

Thelma Cabrera: Indigenous, Female and Shaking Up Guatemala’s Election

2023-03-29T11:53:22-04:00Tags: |

Thelma Cabrera Pérez, an indigenous campesino woman campaigning for Guatemala’s presidency has unexpectedly risen in polls. Among twenty candidates, she is currently claiming the fifth spot, a difficult accomplishment for any rural candidate. Cabrera is only the second indigenous person to run for president in a country that is approximately 60% indigenous. The challenges indigenous people face in Guatemala, from poverty to landlessness, has driven many to emigrate. Cabrera pledges to uplift the indigenous population and the population in general by tackling oppression, stopping illegal land-grabs, nationalizing electricity among other policies. As a Maya Mam woman from meager beginnings, she represents hope to the voiceless and oppressed. Photo credit: Luis Echeverria/Reuters 

1 05, 2018

Where Women Lead On Climate Change

2019-01-14T18:06:24-05:00Tags: |

Most of the Guatemalan population financially depends on farming. Facing destructive landslides, strong winds and volcanic peaks, the women of Guatemala came forward to find the coping strategies for water and forest conservation. Eulia de Leon Juarez, founder of a women’s rights group in Guatemala’s western highlands, says that climate change has changed the pattern of seasons. To address these micro problems at a macro level, women’s non-profit organizations like Global Alliance for Green and Gender Action (GAGGA) are working rigorously to develop women’s leadership. Climate change has amplified the inevitable process of migration, increasing the number of female-headed households in rural areas as more men move to cities. Solange Bandiaky-Badji, Africa program director for Rights and Resources Initiative, sees this as an opportunity for more women to take greater responsibility in their communities. Therefore, women should be seen as active participant preventing and coping with climate change and not merely as victim of it. Photo Credit: Sara Schonhardt

17 11, 2017

These Women Nobelists Are Fighting For Grassroots Activists In Central America

2020-12-02T20:27:53-05:00Tags: |

Nobel Peace Prize laureates Shirin Ebadi, Rigoberta Menchú, Tawakkol Karman, and Jody Williams dedicate their lives to defending the rights of women, children, and the earth and, rather than cease this work, they have used their international acclaim to fuel and uplift local women-led movements. In October, they followed grassroots efforts in Honduras and Guatemala, even marching in solidarity with women from Casillas against the San Rafael mine. The laureates aim to bring the world lens to showcase these steadfast women leaders and their work against corrupt economic and political interests that seek to silence them and disrupt their communities. Photo credit: Mel Mencos

16 08, 2017

Abirgal Quic On The Road To Sustainability

2017-10-12T14:16:18-04:00Tags: |

Abigail Quic, a young T’zutujil woman from Solola, Guatemala, recounts her trip to Australia to share knowledge and experience with sustainability education in Central America as well as learn and work alongside other youth sustainability leaders at the Australian organisation OzGreen. Building from her Indigenous knowledge of weaving and agriculture, Abigail was able to join in conversation with fellow Australians and bring the information back home to share. Photo credit: Seres

27 06, 2017

Gunmen Threaten Guatemalan Land And Territory Defender Aura Lolita Chávez

2017-11-01T23:26:16-04:00Tags: |

Members of the Council of Ki’che’ Peoples (CPK), including Aura Lolita Chávez Ixcaquic, identify unauthorized clear cutters in the protected forest area and take matters into their hand. They are confronted by a group of armed men who directly threaten Lolita and other members of the CPK, including children, causing them to flee in search of refuge. Photo credit: IM-Defensoras

1 06, 2017

Women Out Front: Indigenous Journalists On Building A Fairer Central America

2017-10-14T15:36:06-04:00Tags: |

From March 16 to 20, 2017, sixteen Indigenous women community journalists from Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Panama gathered in Guatemala City to strengthen their capacities in radio production and exchange experiences, all within the framework of a critical analysis of discrimination faced by women. The workshop, hosted by Cultural Survival and the Channel Foundation, facilitated discussions of privilege, discrimination, marginalization and pain from patriarchal power relations. Coming together in the end, Cultural Survival pledged to carry out two further workshops based on theoretical classes on gender and feminism alongside a practical course on radio programming. Photo credit: Cultural Survival

26 02, 2017

Ana Sandoval Stands Against Mining in Guatemala

2017-11-01T23:28:28-04:00Tags: |

Ana Sandoval’s journey as a land defender has been marked with plenty of remarkable moments. She started as early as a high school student fighting to stop a gold mining mega-project in her community. The experience turned her into a law student leader in a non-violent, women-led grassroots movement “La Puya” in the defense of land. Photo credit: Global Fund For Women

1 01, 2017

Guatemalan Indigenous Women Reclaiming Identity, Heritage And Rights

2017-09-22T18:37:46-04:00Tags: |

The Asociación Femenina para el Desarrollo de Sacatepéquez/Women’s Association for the Development of Sacatepéquez (AFEDES) coordinates a range of diverse projects aimed at the physical, economic and political autonomy of Indigenous women and their families. They promote food sovereignty, political education, and building human capacities, including training in Indigenous weaving as part of Indigenous traditional knowledge. In this framework, AFEDES is demanding that the Guatemalan government recognize their right to protect the collective ancestral intellectual property on Mayan weaving designs and clothing. Photo credit: Thousand Currents

2 04, 2016

Guatemalan Q’eqchi’ Women Take Canadian Mining Firm To Court

2017-07-16T15:01:20-04:00Tags: |

Indigenous Guatemalan women, such as Margarita Caal Caal, spoke out against the sexual violence they experienced at the hands of Canadian mining company Hudbay Mineral, Inc. and brought their case to court in Guatemala. The Q’eqchi’ people have suffered eviction, sexual violence and exploitation due to the presence of international mining firms, but these women are seeking justice for themselves and their communities. Photo credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas, the New York Times

29 03, 2014

Guatemalan Women Use Agro-Forestry To Combat Climate Change, Improve Food Security

2017-07-17T17:54:23-04:00Tags: |

Women farmers in Itzapa are employing agro-forestry to combat climate change by preventing soil erosion and improving crop yields and biodiversity. The method has seen 150,000 trees planted, reforesting the of mountain slopes of an entire region. As a result of the trees, community members are able to sequester carbon, clean the air, and prevent mudslides. Photo credit: AIRES

4 07, 2012

Para El Bien Común: Indigenous Women’s Environmental Activism And Community Care Work In Guatemala

2017-10-31T14:55:26-04:00Tags: |

A total of 33 indigenous Kaqchikel women who call themselves “Mujeres Unidas Por Amor a La Vida” (“Women United for the Love of Life”) were interviewed by sociologist Rachel Hallum-Montes between 2006 and 2009. The interviews reveal Kaqchikel women’s gender, race, and class play a significant role in their decisions to become environmental activists, and that the women view their activism as a way of caring for both their families and their indigenous community. 

Copyright © 2017-2024 Women's Earth and Climate Action Network, International. | All Rights Reserved
FacebookTwitter