It says some pretty uncomfortable things that what is happening in Honduras gets so little attention in the U.S. press, and the role of women in the resistance is almost invisible. Quite a contrast to the coverage of the post-election uprising in Iran.
Via Just Associates:
Honduran women continue their resistance on the frontlines this week, marching today, as they have every day since the de facto regime overthrew the democratically elected president in a coup d’état on June 28th. Last week an international delegation organized by JASS and allied organizations traveled to Honduras and accompanied Honduran Feminists in Resistance, an alliance of feminists and women’s organizations, on a mission to increase awareness of the impact of the crisis on women.
The delegation convened a local and virtual Observatorio (Feminist Transformation Watch) from August 17-21 to document the human rights violations against Honduran women that have occurred since the coup. They interviewed women who have been involved in the resistance, collected testimonies from women and organizations, and discussed strategies of resistance and actions in response to the coup with feminists and other Honduran women.
They found that the military under the de facto government is committing serious human rights violations against the protestors including sexual violence and threats against women. “The police are targeting young people and women, abusing them physically and verbally. The violence against women in resistance is often sexual in nature (their verbal abuse and the way police use their batons – hitting their breasts and other private parts, etc.),” reported a Honduran woman.
Even in the face of increased aggression, the Feminists in Resistance show up each day and march in protest of the coup. They are courageous, risking bodily injury as they march down the street in solidarity with other Hondurans who hope to see democracy returned to their country. They raise their voices in defiance of the military, shouting “nos tienen miedo porque no tenemos miedo,” which translates as “they fear us because we are not afraid.”
And via the Latin American Herald Tribune,
The group Feministas de Honduras en Resistencia said Thursday that is has documented 19 instances of rape by police officers since the June 28 coup that ousted President Mel Zelaya.
There have been many other cases of rape, but the women have not reported them out of fear of reprisals, Gilda Rivera, the executive coordinator of the Honduran Center for Women’s Rights and head of Feministas, told Efe.
The activists say that women taking part in the resistance to the coup are being targeted.
“We’ve obtained testimonials from women who’ve been sexually abused, beaten with cudgels on different parts of their bodies, especially the breasts and buttocks,” adds the report presented Thursday at a press conference in Tegucigalpa.
Others have been verbally attacked in a systematic way with phrases like “Whores, go home,” Rivera added.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.