IWD in Guatemala

IWD in Guatemala

By Chantal Wynter

GUATEMALA CITY — On March 8, a lively gathering of some 3000 women and men marched through the streets of Guatemala City to celebrate International Women's Day. People from the indigenous Mayan community, Landinos and Guatemaltecians marched side by side, calling for equal conditions for women and men and an end to discrimination.

Their demands were for an end to violence against women, equality for women and for women to be involved in the construction of a new society after the peace accords.

"We have the right to be treated as equal to men. We are part of society and we are concerned with the problems of our time. We want to give to society", one speaker said. Others added, "we have the right to participate", "we are for the right to equality, because men and women together can defeat oppression".

The march, which included contingents of young women from the National Revolutionary Unity of Guatemala (URNG), ended at Constitution Plaza, where a small monument has been placed to commemorate the peace accord signed between the URNG and the Guatemalan military regime last December.

In the plaza, theatre depicting an end to violence against women; a concert of marimbas (a Central American instrument); and a dance by young girls, accompanied by dialogue explaining the importance of women in education, were performed.

From GLW issue 311