PBI celebrates World Women's day with new publication

Mexico City, 8th March 2012 – To commemorate International Women's Day, Peace Brigades International (PBI) is launching Dignas. This publication highlights the leading role played by  Mexican women in social movements promoting human rights in recent decades. It also raises awareness of the current situation and the challenges facing these social activists to carry out their work: the serious threats made against them and members of their families, sexual violence, smear campaigns, and obstacles in their access to justice, amongst others.

Through interviews conducted in November 2011 in the states of Guerrero, Oaxaca and Mexico  City, PBI presents the work of 19 women, some of whom have worked for more than 30 years defending and promoting human rights, and describes some of their most difficult experiences. In their own words, they bear witness to the human rights violations they have observed and documented in at least 9 different states of the Mexican republic. They also explain how speaking out against these abuses has made them the target of threats, harassment and attacks.

The 18 interviews and the speech made by Bety Cariño, the Oaxacan human rights defender who  died in April 2010, reflect the diversity of work carried out by Mexican women human rights defenders. This includes the defence of women's rights and those of indigenous and rural communities, the struggle for freedom of expression and access to justice, the search for the disappeared by their families, in historic and in recent cases, the security needs of citizens, the defence of environmental rights, activism in favour of sexual diversity, the situation faced by people imprisoned for political reasons, for labour rights of workers, as well as cases of torture and arbitrary detention.

The publication mainly focuses on the work of women human rights defenders (WHRDs) in the states of Oaxaca, Guerrero and Mexico City, the Mexican states where PBI has been implementing international accompaniment. However, women defenders from Coahuila, Chihuahua, Tijuana, Puebla and Mexico State also feature and cases of human rights violations which happened in
Chiapas, Veracruz and Tamaulipas are mentioned.


"Dignas" (in English): issuu.com/peacebrigadesinternational/docs/dignas_eng_online

"Dignas" (in Spanish): issuu.com/peacebrigadesinternational/docs/dignas_online_esp


For further information, please visit www.pbi-mexico.org or follow us on Facebook: Peace Brigades International - Mexico Project