Women’s Battle for Respect Inch by Inch

Women dominate Mexico’s pantheon, from Cortes’ mistress, Malinche, who enabled the Spanish to conquer Mexico in 1521, to the Virgin of Guadalupe, the Little Mother, or Tohantzin, of all of Mexico’s downtrodden. Yet in the late 20th century, Mexican women still struggle for respect. Even the guerrilla women in Chiapas are victims of their men’s macho attitudes.

Surprising as it may sound, the first uprising of the EZLN (Zapatista National Liberation Army) was not on the first day of January 1994, but in March 1993. At that time, the Zapatistas were discussing what were to become the laws of the revolution. “Major Susana” was given the responsibility to canvass women in dozens of communities about the revolutionary laws they wanted.

When the revolutionary committee met to vote on laws, they considered, one by one, the justice commissions, agrarian laws, war taxes, the rights and obligations of the embattled villages and those of women. Susana presented the proposals that she had gathered from the minds of thousands of indigenous women. Susana began to read and, as she advanced in her discourse, the committee assembly became more and more agitated. Whispers and comments could be heard in the Chol, Tzeltal, Tzotzil, Tojolabal, Mame, Zoque and Castilian languages.

Susana didn’t hesitate; she continued her declarations against everything and everyone:

“We do not wish to be obliged to marry someone we don’t love. We want to have the children we want and can care for. We want the right to a position in the community. We want the right to say what we think and have it be respected. We want the right to study and even to be truck drivers.”

And thus it went until she finished. At the end there was a heavy silence. The “laws of women” that were just heard signified for the indigenous communities a true revolution.

While the women in the assembly were receiving the translations in their various dialects, the men simply looked at one another, nervous, distressed. A feminine applause broke the silence, followed by songs and commentaries.

After the “women’s laws” were approved unanimously, a Tzetzal man was heard saying, “The good thing is that my wife doesn’t understand Spanish, because if she did. . . .” A female Tzotzil insurgent with the rank of major in the infantry started in at him: “You’re screwed, because we’re going to translate it into all of our dialects.” The impertinent man could only lower his gaze.

This is the truth: The first uprising of the EZLN was in March 1993, and was headed by women Zapatistas. No one disagreed with them, and as expected, they won.

Women make up 52% of Mexico’s population; only 19% of them finish elementary school. Since 1970, these statistics, provided by the National Institute of Geography and Information, hardly have changed at all. Although women have few opportunities to study, they take great advantage of them, and their dropout is always due to such overwhelming factors as marriage, pregnancy, lack of money.

On Mother’s Day, which is a national holiday in Mexico, “little mothers” (as they are called) are treated with gifts of washing machines, vacuum cleaners or at least one of those magic mops with a built-in wringer. The gifts serve to reinforce the image of women as having no place, no value but in the home, obligated to and controlled by men. Yet the perception of women’s place in society is changing, slowly, as (perhaps) in the Zapatista declaration, and dramatically, as in the case of Claudia Rodriguez.

Claudia and her husband, Jorge Cruz, have a wonderful marriage. He does half of the household work and takes care of their five children. He has a free night out when he needs one, as does she. One night, Claudia decided to have a night out with her friend Victoria. Claudia danced all night in a bar with a man who later followed her home. On a walkway over the Metro, the man, who was very drunk, tried to rape Claudia. She took a gun from her purse and shot and killed him.

Everything was against Claudia--tradition, religion, society--yet Mexican feminist associations and lawyers got her out of jail after only a year and 11 days, truly a miracle in Mexico’s male-dominated society.

This experience has changed many women’s perspectives.

As the respected feminist television newscaster and writer Maria Victoria Llamas says: “Claudia’s case drew attention to the sexist ways in which macho Mexican justice deals with women, especially poor women, who have not had access to an education. There is hope that it will set a precedent in a country where women are considered guilty when they have been abused, raped or victimized.”

To read previous articles in the Soundings on Mexico series, visit The Times’ Internet Web site: hhtp://www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/COMMENT