Indigenous and Global Feminist Perspectives on the Women...

Indigenous and Global Feminist Perspectives on the Women of Chiapas Womens reproductive health is a debated and complex issue in todays society. Nowhere is its severity more prevalent than in areas of extreme poverty such as south and Central America. The resolution to these problems is far from simple. Yet, women are increasingly taking control of their lives and forming groups to combat many of the prejudices that hold them back. However highly debated some tactics for resolution may be it is hard to miss the shear urgency with which the issues of womens rights and health call us. The fight for gender equality cannot overlook the importance of equality in health care and control over ones own body. Womens health is an issue that†¦show more content†¦In other words, since the people of Chiapas are not consumers and therefor not seen as people, they must then become the consumables. In order to do this, their rights to their land have been taken away, leaving these people wi th little means for subsistence and sustainable life. This situation has left the people of Chiapas in a dire situation, yet even more so, the women of Chiapas suffer. However, these women have rebounded, and began to confront this infiltration of their lives and cultures by the formation of their own groups. The women of Chiapas, Mexico, are taking action. The rebel movement designed to combat the forces of the Mexican paramilitary is known as the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN), and more than one third of the EZLN is female (Capozza 1). The Zapatistas have waged a small, yet ongoing war for over five years that is making slow, yet progressive steps towards giving the control back to the indigenous people over their land and lives. And, as Korey Capozza points out in his book titled The Masked Women of Mexico, women play a crucial and active role in this struggle. The Zapatistas have successfully challenged gender discrimination both internally and nationwide. On March 12, 1999, 5,000 Zapatistas left their posts in the Lacandon jungle and in the Chiapas highlands to promote the EZLNs national plebiscite throughout Mexico. Symbolically, the effort was a great triumph. Of the Zapatista rebels that met with members of Mexican