The Stream

Why do femicides in Mexico persist?

Nationwide women’s labour strike calls for more attention to ending country’s gender-based violence problem.

On Monday, March 9 at 1930 GMT:
Women across the country are expected to take part in the country’s first women’s labour strike dubbed “A Day Without Us” (#UnDiaSinNosotras) on Monday. The event was created in response to brutal acts of gender-based violence that have dominated Mexican headlines this year.

Public outrage was sparked after the February murders of Ingrid Escamilla – a 25-year-old woman allegedly mutilated by her partner – and a 7-year-old school girl named Fatima, whose tortured corpse was found in a plastic bag.

The response from President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has been to downplay the role of gender in these killings. He has also alleged that protests by feminist activists are nothing more than political attacks funded by his political opponents.

In this episode of The Stream, we’ll look at Mexico’s femicide crisis and ask, what should be done to stop gender-based violence?

 

Read more:
Opinion: Mexican government paralyzed in the face of a wave of femicides – LA Times
Mexico arrests suspects in the killing of seven-year-old girl – Al Jazeera

 

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