Honduran Feminists in Resistance
Feminist Resistance to the Coup D'état in Honduras
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"There is a greater degree of consciousness [in Honduras] that we can dream of dismantling the patriarchal and racist systems of domination… We are not scared to propose that women’s rights be constitutional…Re-establishing the country is not only a task for a popular democratic constitutional assembly, but rather, we, the social and political movements, must also re-establish ourselves..." ~ Berta Cáceres
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Who Are Feminists in Resistance
The coup d’état that took place in Honduras on June 28, 2009 provoked a massive popular uprising. Citizens organized street demonstrations throughout the country from the start of the coup, and continue to do so. Women represent a majority of the demonstrators; approximately 60% of those involved in daily demonstrations are women, according to various sources involved in the protests.
The diversity among demonstrators – women teachers, labor union members, campesinas, tenant farmers, young indigenous women, older women – is noteworthy. Key figures have emerged, among them Angélica “the pilgrim” and Agustina “the grandmother of the resistance” who at 75 years of age goes from demonstration to demonstration, sharing stories of the army’s abuse of the populace.
It was in this context that a collection of Honduran organizations and activists against the coup formed Feminists in Resistance. The presence of this group has enriched the resistance agenda, making the women’s struggle more visible and encouraging the reporting of women’s rights violations.
For the women involved, resistance signifies a fight for a substantive democracy that will transform existing relationships of power and generate a new and egalitarian social pact. This goes far beyond Manuel Zelaya’s return. From their perspective, struggling for the restitution of the constitutional president to his office is a condition for democracy and a point of departure for the process of re-establishing the Honduran State by recognizing diversity, citizen participation, gender equality, and human rights.
Under the slogan “No coups and no violence against women” (¡Ni golpe de Estado, ni golpe a las mujeres!), Feminists in Resistance have maintained a permanent presence in all anti-coup proceedings and have organized their own actions by and for women, including sit-ins in front of the UN building, a march to the US Embassy, occupying the National Institute for Women building, visiting hospitals and detention centers, video recording demonstrations, sending out information bulletins in print and electronic form, documenting violations of women’s rights, and staging demonstrations to defy the curfew.
In the National Resistance Front protesting the coup, Feminists in Resistance are a recognized and independent voice. Their participation in the National Resistance Front charts a path for transforming social movements into more democratic and peaceful processes which recognize equality for men and women.
Already strong, the broad resistance movement still faces major challenges: repression itself; sustaining both the uprising and its peaceful nature; overcoming the risk of division caused by the next elections and the autonomy of the political parties; and the necessity of developing strategies to protect citizens.
Sources: Informe preliminar: Represión contra mujeres en el marco del Golpe de Estado (Preliminary Report: Repression against Women in the Context of the Coup d’État). Feminista en Resistencia (Feminists in Resistance)/ Petateras/JASS/ RIF. Roxana Arroyo, Soraya Long, Jessica Sánchez. Memoria del Observatorio Feminista de la Transgresión y la Jormada por los Derechos Humanos de las Mujeres (Report on Women’s Transformation Watch and the Conference on Women’s Human Rights). María Suárez (Petateras, RIF). Informativos electrónicos de Feministas en Resistencia de Honduras (Electronic Bulletins on Feminists in Resistance in Honduras). Newspaper articles from CIMAC (Gladis Torres) and SEMLAC (Sara Lovera). Elaboró (Developed): Marusia López (Petateras, JASS)
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"Free and fair elections are impossible in a context of repression. They will not be recognized as legitimate in Honduras or the rest of the world. The U.S. may be alone." ~ Adelay Carias
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Boletínas (in Spanish)
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Police methods include physical and
psychological intimidation: using control over women’s bodies to
terrorize them and sexist words to delegitimize women’s roles and
participation in politics ~ Honduran woman in resistance
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Spotlight on Honduran Feminists in Resistance
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Open Letter to the President of the United
States of America from the Honduran Feminists in Resistance - July 22,
2009
Statement by Feminist and Women's
Organizations from Honduras Following the Coup D'Etat - June 29, 2009
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"Repression increases. Our
organization and others have documented more than 1,000 human rights
violations in the weeks since the coup started. The [Roberto]
Micheletti government and the military are chasing people and going
into their homes, including many women’s – they’re restricting movement
[of people]." ~ Gilda Rivera, Center for Women's Rights, Honduras
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Honduran Women at the Forefront of
Resistance to Coup - conducted by Robert Lovato - posted July 22, 2009
Press Release - Women Mobilize Against Coup
in Honduras - July 21, 2009
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“We call for support for all the people who are being protected by Feminists in Resistance and for the compañeras who are doing everything possible to get us humanitarian aid despite the fact that the armed forces won't let anyone through, not with medicines or food or anything. We're completely isolated; we want everyone to contribute by denouncing the violation of basic human rights being perpetrated by the military forces of the de facto regime." ~ Daysi, Feminists in Resistance
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