Today is the International Women's Day and several official ceremonies will be held at all levels of the government. Many women will be congratulated in public places, at their workplaces, and even at their homes. Speeches will focus on the importance of equality and the progress women have had not only in Mexico but worldwide. Yet tomorrow most of the above will be forgotten and reality will continue to be reflected in harsh and unflattering data…
If we stick to the figures provided by different organisms such as the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) at a national level, and the UN and the OECD at an international one, women, in general, have always gone against the current, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Out of 12 femicides in America Latina, 7 take place in Mexico . In our country, the state with the highest rate of violence against women is Mexico City , where 79.8% of its female population have claimed they have been victims of violence at least once in their lives; it's followed by the State of Mexico (75.3%) and Jalisco (74.1%). At a national level, 2 out of 3 women (66.1%) have been victims of abuse – whether emotional, economic, physical, or sexual – or been discriminated at school, the workplace, by members of their family, or their sentimental partner.
So, do we have a reason to celebrate?
EL UNIVERSAL has asked four female writers whether March 8 is a date worthy of being celebrated. The answers of three of them were quite blunt: No. The only one who defends celebrating it proposes to use the date to demand more visibility to injustices and gender-related crimes currently taking place, and say “ Not one more .”
The International Women's Day was established to honor a tragedy that happened over a century ago, in which 100 women died in a fire in a New York factory. They were unable to escape because the doors of the building were closed.
This March 8th should help both, men and women, to realize equality will be far from achievable as long as bride kidnapings still happen in Mexico City and women are sold in Chiapas and Guerrero because this is the tradition of certain communities...but, mainly, as long as the violent murders of dozens of women continue taking place solely because of their gender. We have to acknowledge all of the above before we congratulate them.
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