Por: Virginia Galván
Since 2002, at the school consultancy, we have been consulted by women and girls of different social and economic cultural levels with generalized pains, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, metrorrhagia, ovary cysts, fibrocystic mastopathy, insomnia, anxiety, distress, depression, joint pain, sciatica, lumbago, bruises in the entire body, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, leucorrhea, leukaemia and all kinds of tumors, etc.
During a brief study of their histories, these women have commented they were raped by the father, a partner, a friend or a relative and that - 90% of them- have been victims of abuse and maltreatment at home, school or at work. These woman and girls do not associate that subjected violence with their illnesses, they believe that life is “that way”. Just as their grandmother and mothers before; they fall into patterns wherein they “team up” with men that maltreat them continually and rape their daughters as well.
There are many projects in México, promoted by various government and private organizations, which are concerned about the increasing gender violence. Having so much support and money invested, one asks oneself:¿Why is maltreatment increasing?
We have been attending to these women –patients and female students- with talks on humanism and with weekly treatments on different days: for both maltreatment and for the pathology they present at that moment, without observing perseveration. Women with cancer for example, decide to take radiotherapy and chemotherapy because they are frightened. Not many of them are alive.
We have observed that some of the reasons that these women do not allow themselves to take firm decisions and consider exploring the difficult situations they are living are:
- After been maltreated and /or sexually abused and confronted with making decisions, outside established patterns –for example-, about leaving their partner and continuing alone with their children, women generally argue that “One must bear the cross”, that “Marriage ends when death separates the couple”. That ¿What do you think people would say about it (separation from the husband)?”. That “No one will love me afterwards”.
- Businesses will not employ a single woman with children arguing that mothers must take care of their children.
- They are considered uneducated by possible employers and thus without the capacity to work.
- Assisting government agencies asked them to prove that they have been raped or maltreated meaning that there must be accessible eyewitnesses. After being raped they must show up at the assistance centers for clinical analysis. The official channels are so bothersome that most of these women desist denouncing maltreatment. In many cases they have to pay for lawyers and the official red tape.
- Women who decide to accept the psychological assistance, do not persevere to the end due to the incessant threatening from their families and the aggressors, thus not having the strength to continue. Their families instigate them to mistrust with phrases such as: Who is going to feed your children? Where will you leave the children? ¿Who will take the children home from school? ¿Who will make supper, who will clean, who will iron for the family? The children do not agree with you!
- Due to their lack of culture they do not see other alternate resourses.
- They don´t have emotional and/ or economic supports.
Women of small towns must leave their communities because their clan councils decree that “they haven´t been good wives”. So, they must leave the clan without any help or any support.
- They feel guilty and ashamed.
- They feel very old to learn anything new at all.
- If they leave their family house, they will lose their heritage.
We have seen only one case in a woman who had the strength to flee from her husband. She and her 3 children moved in with her mother. She found a job in a self-service shop, studied high-school in the evenings and after 7 years she continues to live alone with her 3 children. Her husband was alcoholic and after she left him, he died, burnt in the family house which she then recovered.
This pattern can be seen in different human communities in the world.
We have been functioning in this community and have been doing the following at no cost:
- Handcrafts, needlework and cooking workshops.
- The teaching of regional dancing.
- Singing classes.
- Organizing healing creativities, teaching energetic massage, giving conferences and humanism talks.
We hope that someday, we as females will learn to know our nature, will know to vibrate in beauty, in tenderness, in magic, will learn to bet on any women, will learn to be jointly liable, will learn to be accomplices, will learn not to compete, to make an effort to motivate a change, to join with other women, to realize that what is happing to one women, is happing to each and every women all over…
We have a strong commitment with them.
Thank you. Thank you Mr. Assessor, for continuing to accompany us.
In this photography, it can be seen a masculine pattern suggested by government entities as a proposal to resolve gender violence in where one can read “We can do it”, with the close fist and physical force.
http://www.pueblaonline.com.mx/en_boca_de/?tag=inegi
The Women Institute of Puebla comment: Maltreatment is the main happening that has been mostly attended.
http://pueblanoticias.com.mx/noticia/se-elevan-indices-de-violencia-de-mujeres-en-tehuacan-23359/
“No more violence at home, at school and in the streets”.
http://pueblanoticias.com.mx/noticia/con-un-desfile-de-preescolares-reciben-la-primavera-en-tehuacan-18451
Support to maltreated women and children, social attendance houses, legal consulters, hospitals, feeding, legal assistance, psychological support, workshops, surgeries, telephonically assistance to denounce rapes and maltreatment, learning curses.
http://pueblanoticias.com.mx/buscar.phphttp://pueblanoticias.com.mx/buscar.php
Statistics elaborated by INEGI (National Institute of Statistics and Geography) about violence, rapes and other topics.
http://www.mujerysalud.gob.mx/mys/doc_pdf/VIOLENCIA_INTRAFAMILIAR_2003.pdf
Domestic Violence is increasing
http://www.elmundodetehuacan.com/noticias/local/1016554-TLP4NOTA4
Traditional Chinese Medicine, Magazine no.216, april 2006, Female Inspiration article. Edited by the Neijing School.
Para que podamos caminar sin ser agredidas verbalmente o visualmente; porque son situaciones que nos
Para que podamos caminar sin ser agredidas verbalmente o visualmente; porque son situaciones que nos
