Women in Argentina Gather to Protest Against Violence Toward Women

With a call to end all forms of violence against women, nearly 40,000 participants brought Argentina’s 29th National Women’s Conference to an end Monday in the northwestern city of Salta, where speakers claimed that “femicide” kills one woman every 30 hours on average in Argentina.

“We have to say ‘enough is enough’ to daily violence perpetrated against women in all its forms: femicide, sexual violence, discrimination at work and schools, feminization of poverty, and the impossibility of abortion in a legal, safe and free of cost manner,” said history professor Dr. Monica Garcia, who was attending the annual conference for the second time.

Garcia recalled that the province of Salta witnessed the killing of 14 women by men so far in 2014. She believes that peer pressure was a key factor for the government to finally declare, a few weeks ago, a state of emergency regarding sexist violence.

“It is very important that the conference was held here in Salta, as it generates a debate in this conservative province, which is one of the most neglected places in the country. No sex education is provided in schools and many women have suffered physical and psychological abuse,” she told Efe.

The polarization of Salta’s discourse was already visible before the event even started: the city’s cathedral, as well as many smaller churches, displayed signs warning against “extremist women,” while other venues explicitly welcomed the conference’s attendees.

The recent murder of rural teacher from Salta Evelia Murrillo, who was killed when she attempted to prevent the rape of a schoolgirl who belonged to the minority Wichi ethnicity, was one of the most prevalent topics talked about in the conference.

Mariana Acosta, a native of the city of Cordoba, attended the meeting “so that there is no other Paola,” in reference to her sister, who was found dead in a gutter three weeks ago thanks to the crying of her baby son, who was rescued alive after remaining next to his mother’s corpse for three days.

The investigation suspects that Paola Acosta was killed by her ex-boyfriend.

Psychologist Aurora Arias said, during a workshop on gender violence, that a woman told her that her boyfriend “tried to throw my daughter, aged four, from a ledge on the 11th floor of a building.”

The workshop was also attended by Rosalia Benitez, who miraculously survived eight gunshots fired by her ex-boyfriend.

Among the 62 workshops held, one of the most popular was the “free, safe and free of cost abortion,” which focused on how nearly 500,000 women undergo each year clandestine abortions, which are the leading cause of maternal death in the country.

Abortion is allowed in Argentina when the pregnancy is the result of rape or endangers the life of the mother, but even in those cases the rights of women are not guaranteed, denounced Lara, member of the organization “Las Rojas.”

There should be a doctor in each hospital that is willing to perform legal abortions; the state, however, does not guarantee this service, said Lara to the Pagina 12 newspaper.

Green scarves and shirts, the color symbolizing the movement for the legalization of abortion, were mixed in the march on Sunday night through downtown Salta with the flags of feminists, leftist political groups and unions.

Among the 40,000 participants are women from all corners of Argentina, as well as other countries such as Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Spain and Ecuador.

Attendees will choose on Monday the location for next year’s edition, the 30th National Women’s Conference.

Published in Latino Daily News