Queridos Compañeros de las CASAs,

This month’s newsletter focuses on violence against women in Mexico and state impunity with respect to those crimes. Liz, who has collaborated with a human rights organization to document the abuses recorded in local newspapers through comprehensive media analysis, describes some of the cases of violence against women in Oaxaca. 

Andrea, a volunteer for the midwifery training school Nueve Lunas has researched the institutionalized violence against women in hospitals, including forced sterilizations. She also reflects on the roles of racism and sexism in producing stereotypes about midwives in Perceptions about Birthing and Midwifery in Mexico.

Diana looks at the factors that led to the de-criminalization of abortion in Mexico City and what that movement can teach us about similar struggles around the country. Patrick reflects on his experience at a recent conference, MenEngage,  and his former work with Men Can Stop Rape to question the role of non-profits in social change work.

Women in the social movement in Oaxaca have found themselves victims of selective state repression as well. Nancy Mota Figueroa, a student and founding member of the Oaxacan Women’s Coordinating Body (COMO)—the group of women who challenged government media censorship and control by seizing the state television station on August 1, 2006—was kidnapped, tortured, and interrogated at gunpoint on December 2nd. Read her testimony and urgent action on our Spanish webpage. One month before, on the anniversary of the students’ defense of Radio Universidad against the attack of thousands of federal police, the state government organized new police attacks to prevent the commemoration. Bilgesu accompanied the activists on November 2nd and describes the events of the day.

This month CASA is launching a fundraising campaign to support the printing of Teaching Rebellion: Stories from the Grassroots Mobilization in Oaxaca. CASA members have spent the past year interviewing activists and translating their stories to put together this compilation of testimonies and photography. Those who make a donation of over 75 dollars will receive a free copy of the book when it’s printed. To support the book and the work of the CASAs, you can click on CASA Donations or send your tax-deductible donation to:

CASA c/o Faithful Fools
230/234 Hyde St.
San Francisco, CA 94102

Many thanks for your support!

In Solidarity,

CASA Chapulín, Oaxaca
CASA de la paz, Chiapas