- Title: Zapatista women gather in Mexico for new fight against gender violence
- Date: 30th December 2019
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) LUCIA, ZAPATISTA, SAYING: "The meeting is about violence. For women tell us about the types of violence in their regions. We get angry when we hear about these stories (of gender violence). We don't want to die on our knees. " CARACOL MORELIA, CHIAPAS, MEXICO (DECEMBER 29, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS, WOMEN DURING A SELF DEFENSE CLASS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) WOMEN RIGHTS ACTIVIST, VERONICA GALICIA, SAYING: "One of the most relevant things in this meeting are the complaints, listening to women, those who are speaking from anger, from pain. But also to speak with courage about what has happened to them. What they share with us is an experience that we can take. That is the most important thing." WOMEN WALKING WITH SUNSET IN BACKGROUND WOMAN LIGHTING CAMPFIRE
- Embargoed: 13th January 2020 18:19
- Keywords: Chiapas Morelia Zapatista Army of National Liberation antiviolence women zapatistas
- Location: CARACOL MORELIA, CHIAPAS, MEXICO
- City: CARACOL MORELIA, CHIAPAS, MEXICO
- Country: Mexico
- Topics: Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA005BC64NYF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Women from Mexico's leftist Zapatista movement banded with thousands from around the world over the weekend to take up a new front in the battle for social equality, condemning gender violence.
According to reports, some 4,000 gathered on Saturday (December 28) and Sunday (December 29) in the mountains of Chiapas state for a global push for women's rights and a call for unity.
The second International Meeting of Women who Fight, organized by the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), is condemning rising crimes against women.
The forum provides an opportunity for women from Europe and Latin America to share their stories of sexual abuse, territorial dispossession and femicides.
Locals from across Mexico are also coming together in solidarity. According to the United Nations Organization, between nine and ten women are murdered every day in Mexico. Until October 2019 the National Security Secretary has registered 833 cases of femicides in the country.
The Zapatista Army of National Liberation, or EZLN, first came into prominence in January 01, 1994 when masked Zapatista leader Subcomandante Marcos launched the Zapatista armed struggle for indigenous rights, emerging from a jungle lair to briefly capture the attention of the world's media with his signature black ski mask and pipe.
Although the Zapatistas have lost much of their influence inside Mexico, the movement runs social programmes for small communities in Chiapas and remains a source of inspiration for leftist groups in Europe.
(Production: Rodolfo Pena Roja) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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