Empowering Women in Central America

Here are two recent stories that might be of interest to you. They are both about improving the lives of women in Central America.

In the first article, Pha Lo details how Nicaraguan women are challenging unemployment and poverty . Specifically, she tells the story of the women of El Carizal and how their lives were impacted by the reality show Survivor which was filmed in a nearby location.

As their backyard became the setting for an entertainment-based idea of reality, the women say their actual reality was disrupted. The show brought mixed blessings —an unprecedented six months of gainful employment at wages that have since been unmatched, but also a moratorium on fishing in certain areas, which hurt a community whose livelihood comes from the sea. Filming also prohibited foot traffic through familiar places.

These women are looking for a way out of poverty though selling jelly made from local fruit.

In El Salvador, the Ciudad Mujer (Women City) Program will be receiving a $20 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to improve the lives of low-income women in twelve communities throughout the country.

The program seeks to offer essential services, such as health services with an emphasis on sexual and reproductive health, treatment and prevention of gender-based violence, vocational and business skills training, promotion of women´s rights, and childcare.

There are lots of individual examples of success by women's and indigenous groups throughout Central America. Unfortunately at each country's national level, the social, economic, and political situations remain rather bleak.

In Guatemala, Amnesty International continues to to denounce "generalized violence" against women and the indigenous.

Violence against women remained widespread. The authorities failed to uphold the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Justice remained elusive for the vast majority of the 200,000 victims of the 1960-1996 internal armed conflict. Human rights defenders continued to be intimidated.

And don't forget about violence against organized labor.