Publikation

This publication was created to celebrate Peace Brigades International’s (PBI) 30 years of work on behalf of peace and justice in many countries around the world, and to applaud the work of Mexican women human rights defenders who have dedicated themselves to changing the face of the country. All of the women who were interviewed for this publication and all the other women that we would have liked to include in this publication know they are working to create spaces for democratic and peaceful dialog, justice, and the advancement of human rights.   

Since the beginning of PBI’s presence in Mexico in 1999, the majority of the people who have requested and who have benefited from international accompaniment have been women. More than half of them live and work in rural and indigenous regions in Guerrero and Oaxaca. PBI has witnessed the ways in which these women have been victims of aggressions in an attempt to stop their work for justice and to defend human rights.9 We have documented the way in which their identity as women, and in some cases indigenous and campesina women, has exposed them to specific forms of violence. We have also received information about the way in which women have had to overcome racism and sexism in order to file complaints in the Mexican justice system regarding these aggressions. Their children have even been the target of threats and violent acts as a way to put a stop to their work and their demands. Frequently, women have said that their voices are not even heard. 

Table of Contents

Introduction
Prologue
Protagonists in the defense and promotion of human rights in Mexico
Testimonies
Paving the way
Making changes
Facing challenges
Epilogue
Mobilizing for Peace as Women Human Rights Defenders – Mary Jane Real
Women Human Rights Defenders – Margaret Sekaggya