Peru
Feminists on the Frontline: Case Studies of Resisting and Challenging Fundamentalisms
This collection of case studies is a testament to the women and men around the world who have stood up to reject the imposition of norms and values in the name of religion as well as to expose and challenge the privileged position given to religion in public policies. In 2008 AWID launched a call for proposals to document the strategies of women's rights activists confronting religious fundamentalisms. The final 18 case studies presented here are drawn from a wide range of religious and geographical contexts, and cover various fields of activism. We hope that this collection will inspire, inform and encourage discussion and debate. Please visit this page again for updates, as finalized case studies and a brief summary of each case study will be posted on a rolling basis. We will also soon be posting a paper that introduces the trends and themes that are threaded through the various case studies.
Creating cultures of non-violence in Latin America
The notion of masculine domination and the concept of women as men’s property is widespread and deeply rooted in our societies, and violence against women is commonly accepted. The idea that women can be punished when they fail to meet expectations regarding their gender identity persists in many sectors, and men feel justified in exercising control through the use of force and explicit violence. As a result and because women are seen as dependent upon some male superior – be he partner, spouse or boss – it seems only “natural” that they be punished for not fulfilling their expected female roles such as ironing a shirt poorly or refusing to have sex.
This social attitude, which is a form of aid and abetting the crime of violence against women, is so widespread that the recent ECLAC report ¡Ni una más! El derecho a vivir una vida libre de violencia en América Latina y el Caribe (Not One More! The Right to Live Free from Violence in Latin America and the Caribbean) explicitly recommended “the creation of a non-violent culture that questions norms and customs, language and diverse expressions of patriarchal culture based on the use of power, repression, terrorism, armed conflict and the extermination of people for reasons of gender, ethnicity or religion.”
Peru: Women are victims of male machismo at home & in court
LIMA – Preys of the machismo culture and domestic violence at home, Peruvian women also have to deal with a justice system that often justifies the behavior of the aggressor.
Last year – during which there was a 40-percent increase in cases of domestic violence compared with 2005 – there were 139 women slain and 64 injured, while in the first three months of this year, 29 women were murdered and attempts were made to kill another 17, according to figures from the Ministry of Women.