“We want to fly like kites and not be kicked around like footballs”

    On the night of Sunday 7th February 2010, the presentation on relations of gender equality within indigenous communities begun - quite typically placed at the end of a days' worth of presentations, with an audience more occupied with feelings of tiredness and hunger whilst the darkness crept in more and more. Despite the ‘not great’ conditions, the issue could not have been more important as, within an environment of globalisation, with increasing immigration, militarisation and economic penetration, the issue of gender entered every issue presented at the forum such as food sovereignty, territorial or indigenous rights. Gender is an issue which enters all political and social issues as women make halve of everything. 
    The presentation was based on a meeting called “Sembrar la Semilla” held in August 2009 in Guelatao by a group of women from various communities from all over the state of Oaxaca. The meeting was held to discuss what new ‘usos y costumbres’ the women of these indigenous communities would like to grow in order to improve their lives and the wellbeing of their communities. Adopting the image of women being used as footballs – being bounced from side to side and fought over between men, the community and governmental institutions – those present at the meeting described their feelings over how women have never been given the control they deserve over their own lives, their own decisions and their own bodies.
 This lack of control and violence against women was shown to enter many levels of community life and as such had become a naturalised part of everyday life. For instance, the work of women is traditionally valued less than the work of men. After waking up at 4am to prepare breakfast for their husbands, they continue preparing food, taking care of the house and children whilst their husbands are out working in the fields. On the husband’s arrival, amongst all their other duties, women are expected to fulfil their sexual duties as a wife. Due to the fact that women often do not make monetary contributions to the house, women present at the meeting expressed how they are often seen as lazy and how little interest is often taken into how they feel or what they think.
This attitude towards women and their work is just one example of how violence against women has become naturalised, allowing for harmful psychological effects such as the erosion of women’s self-esteem and confidence to go unnoticed. The need to value the work and life of women was presented as a discussion which must occur between all members of the community and thereby preventing the development of policies which are imposed on women without them having an opportunity to express and discuss their opinion within their community. For instance, granting women the right to work in the fields as men do is a policy which claims to act to solve gender inequality but in fact has the opposite affect through strengthening the devaluation of women’s work, suggesting a woman will only be valued once she undertakes a more “male” role.”
    The law of ‘usos y costumbres’ under which all indigenous communities are granted the right to follow their traditional system of governance can present many ways in which the rights of women to be heard within their community are ignored. Community assemblies represent the biggest power for making collective decisions in terms of the political and social life of the community. Women are excluded from such public spaces. They have no vote and no voice. Similarly, under ‘usos y costumbres’ women do not have inheritance rights and so by default are dependant on their husband or male relatives. For instance, investigations carried out by the PIDAASSA found that in the years 2005-2006, 16% of ejitorial land is owned by women individually compared to the 84% owned by men in all of Mexico(1). Again, showing how, through the idea of ‘custom,’ it has been possible for violence against women to become naturalised within indigenous communities.
    This naturalised violence against women ignores the value and the rights of women to be their own person who have the right to be heard in all private and public spaces. Through considering the bodies of women as nothing but footballs which can be played with and controlled women are forced to suffer numerous psychological, physical and emotional problems. For this reason, those present in the meeting rose their voices to call for an end to living life as footballs and instead called for the harvesting of new lives, through planting new ‘usos y costumbres’ under which they will be able to fly free like kites.
   
    As part of the presentation at the forum, the document which was created in the meeting in August 2009 was read out by Gabriela Linares Sosa along with a number of letters which were sent in its response, read by Marisol Gómez Velasco. Each letter expressed similar feelings of how so many women from surrounding communities felt invisible, like they have been living their lives amongst the shadows where no one acknowledges their worth. However, every letter also carried a similar acknowledgement that now is no longer the time to be quiet and remain invisible, now is the time to talk so that all women living under violence can find the strength to be heard.
In recognition of this need for change, a further important point was raised in relation to the participation of men within this change. Alfonso Diaz, as a man himself, highlighted the importance of the involvement of both women and men where it must be acknowledge how violence against women has become naturalised. He warned that it is this naturalisation and reproduction of violence against women which enables individuals to displace themselves from these situations as this violence is seen as an abstract concept, diverting any real feeling of accountability.
This diversion of accountability often occurs as most people think of violence against women in terms of physical violence. This belief ignores the violence that exists within families, communities and institutions in terms of those basic rights which are, apparently, granted to all humans, male or female. In order to acknowledge this within indigenous communities, Diaz spoke of the need which exists for the male community to simply listen to their compañeras and to ask them questions about how they feel in order to embark on this journey to harvest new forms of ‘usos y costumbres’ together, as a whole.
To close the presentation, Jovita Rios Coca proposed some basic steps which must be taken within indigenous communities in order to ‘prepare the soil’ if it were, for a new harvest. She proposed the need to recognise:
•    that injustice and inequality exist
•    the ways in which we can create new “healthy” forms of relationships between men and women
•    the forms in which violence is exercised

The presentation raised many important issues and instigated some interesting responses. The response of the male members present however, was remarkably little. They seemed to take the silent and pensive stance instead. Understandably the issue of gender and inequality is something which must be approached with care within indigenous communities; especially as implicit in this issue is the criticism of current ‘usos y costumbres’ by which the communities live. By using the example of the meeting which took place in Gueletao it was possible to present to both the women and the men present at the forum, the actual thoughts, feelings and hopes these women have in a concrete and very real way. Thus, planting the possibility of further meetings, opening the space for questions and answers over the issue of gender in indigenous communities.
    It was interesting to note, however, that a large number of women who arrived at the forum from surrounding communities, passed the majority of their time cooking meals for everyone rather than participating in the event itself….

    In terms of the forum, something that was very important to recognise was how the issue of gender and equality was not and can never be disconnected from all the other topics discussed. The logic of footballs and kites can be applied to all situations where there is a fight over power between the dominators and the dominated. Just as men must begin to listen to the feelings and needs of women, mining companies must listen to the demands of its workers and the Mexican government must listen to the demands of campesiños to choose against transgenic maize. The issue of gender is too often separate from all other issues, lowering the importance and urgency with which it must be acted upon. As such, any work on gender within indigenous communities must be articulated as one of the many struggles for liberty, justice and dignity which exist within indigenous communities. A further articulation must be the knowledge and respect of the cultural and historical elements which nurture ‘la buena vida indígena’ and what these elements implicate for the construction of a new society and a new culture which belong to the pueblos and fight against any form of inequality (2).
The presentation given was an attempt to bridge this separation and present the decisions, responses and suggestions collectively reached within a group with whom all those present from surrounding indigenous communities could identify and relate to. 

1. Equidad de Género y Agricultura Sostenible: Lucha y Compromiso. Ellos y Ellas Haban.
PIDAASSA México.

2. La Equidad de Género Indígena: una construcción cotidiana y organizativa, elementos metodologiíllas para el trabajo de género en comunidades indígenas.
Pan Para El Mundo y Grupo de Equidad de Género.