Mexico march puts violence against women, girls in spotlight

San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Mexico, Oct 8 (EFE).- Dozens of women and girls marched through the main streets of San Cristóbal de Las Casas in Mexico’s Chiapas state on Saturday to put violence, inequality and discrimination faced by women in the country in the spotlight.

Ahead of International Day of the Girl Child on Oct. 11, the protesters walked to the city’s central park carrying banners and balloons, and white handkerchiefs on their wrists as a symbol of peace.

With slogans such as “I have the right to play without fear,” “Fight for girls” and “We are a girls’ club and we deserve respect,” they expressed their demands for respect and visibility.

The small contingent was also accompanied by a group of children and men who supported the march, with banners that read: “Respect for women” and “Stop discrimination and violence against women,” among others.

Jennifer Haza, director of Melel Xojobal, told EFE that this march is held every year in order to highlight the problems in Chiapas where, she said, 21 percent of girls aged three to 17 years old do not attend school.

She also said that the state has the second-highest number of pregnancies of girls under 15 years of age in the country.

According to statistics from the National Survey on the Dynamics of Household Relationships 2021, in Chiapas 20.2 percent of the population of women aged 15 and over have experienced situations of violence at school throughout their lives.

In 2020, Chiapas state had the highest number of pregnancies of girls under 15 years of age in the country with a total of 1,139, equivalent to 95 pregnant girls per month, according to a report from the Network for the Rights of Children in Mexico.

The organization also reported that between 2018 and 2022, a total of 1,220 girls aged between one and 17 disappeared, of which 76 percent were aged between 12 and 17 years. EFE

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