Current:Home > MyFacing historic shifts, Latin American women to bathe streets in purple on International Women’s Day -Wealth Nexus Pro
Facing historic shifts, Latin American women to bathe streets in purple on International Women’s Day
View
Date:2025-04-14 13:02:39
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Women across Latin America are bathing their city streets in purple on Friday in commemoration of International Women’s Day at a time when advocates for gender rights in the region are witnessing both historic steps forward and massive setbacks.
Following decades of activism and campaigning by feminist groups, access to things like abortion has rapidly expanded in recent years, sitting in stark contrast of mounting restrictions in the United States. Women have increasingly stepped into political roles in the region of 670 million people, with Mexico slated to make history this year by electing its first woman president.
At the same time, many countries across Latin America, still suffer from soaring rates of violence against women, including disappearances and murders of women, known as femicides.
According to figures from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, a woman is murdered for gender-related reasons in the continent every two hours.
Demonstrators protest against femicide outside the City Council on International Women’s Day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Meanwhile, activists in Argentina – long the leader of regional feminist movements – have been left reeling with the rise of far-right-wing President Javier Milei. Since taking office in December, Milei has shuttered both the country’s women’s affairs ministry and the national anti-discrimination agency, and on Wednesday told high school students in a speech that “abortion is murder.”
While changes in Latin America over the past decade are “undeniably progress,” protests like Friday’s have been led by a new generation of young women that feel tired of the sharp contrasts that continue to permeate their historically “macho” nations, said Jennifer Piscopo, professor Gender and Politics at Royal Holloway University of London.
“They’re growing up in countries where on paper Latin American women’s lives look like they should be fairly well-treated, but that’s not their experience on the ground. So they’re angry,” said Piscopo, who has studied Latin America for decades.
“We see this sort of taking to the streets by feminists to criticize the inequality they’re experiencing that seems out of sync with where they think their country should be,” she added.
____
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
veryGood! (55)
Related
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Nancy Mace tries to cement her hold on her US House seat in South Carolina
- Massachusetts voters weigh ballot issues on union rights, wages and psychedelics
- CFP rankings channel today: How to watch first College Football Playoff poll
- Current, future North Carolina governor’s challenge of power
- Why are there no NBA games on the schedule today?
- McBride and Whalen’s US House race sets the stage for a potentially historic outcome
- Zooey Deschanel Shares the 1 Gift She'd Give Her Elf Character
- Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
- Republican incumbent Josh Hawley faces Democrat Lucas Kunce for US Senate seat in Missouri
Ranking
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- Republican Mike Kehoe faces Democrat Crystal Quade for Missouri governor
- Sara Foster Confirms Breakup From Tommy Haas, Shares Personal Update Amid Separation
- Republicans try to hold onto all of Iowa’s 4 congressional districts
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- The Daily Money: Your Election Day roundup
- Barry Keoghan Slams Accusations He's a Deadbeat Dad to 2-Year-Old Son Brando
- Savencia Cheese recalls Brie cheeses sold at Aldi, Market Basket after listeria concerns
Recommendation
From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
Democratic-backed justices look to defend control of Michigan’s Supreme Court
North Carolina’s top lawyer and No. 2 executive are vying for governor
Za'Darius Smith trade winners, losers: Lions land Aidan Hutchinson replacement
Could your smelly farts help science?
Democrat Ruben Gallego faces Republican Kari Lake in US Senate race in Arizona
A former Trump aide and a longtime congressman are likely to win in high-profile Georgia races
West Virginians’ governor choices stand on opposite sides of the abortion debate