Stop violence against indigenous women|Oaxaca MEX

In the Istmo de Tehuantepec, as in many other parts of Mexico, organized crime has been growing fast. In some spaces, we as women feel that the violence our communities are living through can shift attention away from the struggle we have been gathering around for years, where making gender-based violence visible is essential if we are to free ourselves from the violence that oppresses us simply for being women.

That is why we opened a deep conversation, accompanied by our friend and colleague Guiebeu, who led a workshop on self-defense. Through these dialogues, we were able to collectively revisit the violences that run through our lives, and to remember that even now, with organized crime so present, it is important not to lose sight of the violences that keep intensifying against women, such as the selling of feminized bodies by people we are emotionally tied to.

Some of the older women shared their life stories, and through them they recognized that many of the violences we named in the workshop had touched them at different moments in their lives. “If we had known this, things would have been different,” they said. Then we tried to lift our spirits by remembering that it is never too late to learn. Our colleagues Zhare and Natalia, who were also with us, shared information about support centers for women facing violence. We realized that as an organization, we need to keep working along this line so we can stand by one another in the face of these situations.

In the second part of the workshop, Guiebeu opened a practical space to share tools we can use in situations of physical violence. “One of the challenges when you offer these workshops is making the learning work across ages and across different bodies. Older people, for example, may already struggle with balance, and differences like these can make time feel short. It is always possible to think through other strategies,” Guiebeu said.

All of us were able to talk about what our grandmothers and mothers had taught us since childhood in order to protect ourselves, such as not talking to strangers or not walking too close to the curb. “We talked about how self-defense is not only about fighting someone who is physically violent toward us, but also about all the advice our community has given us, and about how we build relationships of trust in the community. Even having a cordial relationship with your neighbors can make the difference in whether someone comes to your defense,” our colleague Sara shared.

Guiebeu also emphasized that “we cannot remain the eternal victim.” We cannot stay in that place all the time. Yes, we are victims, but we must keep going. We can take different actions, through repair, through change, and through the understanding we now have of these violences. Thank you for choosing to be part of the community that stands with us and protects us. Supporting spaces of self-defense among women also opens up a path for community care to grow stronger.