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In recent days, Mexico has witnessed protests by women calling for equality , justice , and security as gender violence has surged throughout the country. On March 8 , thousands of Mexican women marched to commemorate International Women’s Day and ask the government and the rest of the population to stop femicides, sex crimes, and sexist ideology against them. On March 9 , Mexican women went on a national strike to demand justice, equality, and the eradication of gender violence while giving visibility to the role of women and making a radical statement against femicide , misogyny , and inequality .
It was precisely in this framework that EL UNIVERSAL gathered 104 outstanding women leaders to recognize the social impact of their work in politics, social sciences, communication, and literature, among many other fields, as well as to highlight the relevance of women in all spheres, their contributions , and achievements . Mexican women leaders used the hashtag #EllasAlzanLaVoz (Women Raise their Voices) to take a stand against gender-based violence.
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The Forum began with the participation of Mrs. Perla Díaz de Ealy’s opening speech, in which she addressed the relevance of women in the history of Mexico , mentioning Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz , one of the best Spanish-speaking poets, Matilde Montoya , the first Mexican woman to become a doctor, and Sofía Cancino , the first Mexican woman who wrote a symphony, as examples of tenacity that show that women are able to do anything they want to do despite the hardships they may find on their way.
The wife of the newspaper director is also president of MAEPEC , a non-profit foundation led by a group of female entrepreneurs , public officials , professionals , and housewives which aims to raise funds and provide scholarships for students seeking a career in journalism and communications .
For his part, EL UNIVERSAL’s director Juan Francisco Ealy Ortiz delivered a speech referencing recent protests by Mexican women demanding justice and action from the State amidst a surge of brutal femicides in the country. Ealy Ortiz made a call to media outlets , in general, to notice that these demands are also directed toward them for they have a powerful role in spreading information that could have a positive impact in preventing and eliminating violence against women by creating awareness in the population.
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EL UNIVERSAL’s 104 Women Leaders Forum
had the participation of Mexico’s Interior Minister Olga Sánchez Cordero , who asserted that the government is aware of the violent situation experienced by hundreds of women throughout the country. Sánchez Cordero said the government is working to implement measures to guarantee justice and security to this sector of the population. She also urged Mexicans to understand that we are experiencing a new era of feminism which embodies new concepts and demands that should be adequately cared for.
Quoting Angela Davis’ famous saying that “ feminism is the radical notion that women are people ,” Mexico City’s first elected female mayor Claudia Sheinbaum also took the stand, stressing the need to promote economic and political autonomy among women and tackle the issue of gender inequality at its roots. Sheinbaum asserted that education should be the main tool used by society to eradicate sexist ideas and to formulate new ways of masculinity that do not harm women and girls in any way.
Likewise, EL UNIVERSAL’s columnist Saskia Niño de Rivera emphasized the concerning numbers of femicide in Mexico, a country where at least 10 women are murdered every single day , the role of sexism in the surge of gender-based violence, and the empowerment women can achieve by creating groups that strive for equality and justice for women, mentioning that the national women’s strike that took place on March 9 was a landmark in Mexican history .
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The event was also attended by IPN geophysicist María Salguero Bañuelos , who is the author of the National Femicide Map that exposes the terrible dimension of this crime in Mexico, Her objective was to make visible the problem of gender violence in the country.
“One of the most important things is to name it and understand that they’re not numbers , they have a name,” she said in an interview with EL UNIVERSAL . In 2019 , Salguero registered 3,825 women who were murdered in Mexico
Salguero generated the map based on press reports as she noticed patterns on the whereabouts and age of missing women . Her map has been recognized by UN Women and the Mexican Senate ; last year UN Women, along with Mexico's National Women’s Institute , released a study warning that women are murdered with greater violence and cruelty compared to men since 2016.
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Another guest at EL UNIVERSAL’s 104 Women Leaders Forum was Jessica Esquivias who is the producer of the Mega Procesión de las Catrinas (Catrinas Mega Procession) and the director of Mega Body Paint Mexico , a Mexican artistic organization aimed at showcasing body art for younger generations. Mega Body Paint México is defined as an artistic, cultural and educational family concerned with social causes aiming to erase the ghoulish distortion towards body paint while impulsing young talents.
In 2014, Mega Body Paint México started Mega Procesión de las Catrinas, an event that revolves around The Calavera Catrina , Mexico's Grande Dame of Death, a creation by Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada in 1912, aiming to preserve Mexican traditions.
Jessica Esquivias
had a meaningful participation in the forum for she shared her experience as a survivor of domestic violence and invited women to empower themselves so as to overcome any obstacles they may face in life.
Some of the women who attended the forum include Rebecca Jones, Inés Sáinz, Maribel Cervantes, Hilda Trujillo, Selene Lizbeth Fernández Valverde, Ximena Sariñana, Ana Lilia Herrera, Carolina Viggiano, Irma Eréndira Sandoval, and Paty Chapoy, among many others oustanding female leaders .
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