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The status ofwomen in Mexico has changed significantly over time. Until the twentieth century,Mexico was an overwhelmingly rural country, with ruralwomen's status defined within the context of the family and local community. With urbanization beginning in the sixteenth century, following theSpanish conquest of the Aztec empire, cities have provided economic and social opportunities not possible within rural villages.Roman Catholicism in Mexico has shaped societal attitudes about women's social role, emphasizing the role of women as nurturers of the family, with theVirgin Mary as a model.Marianismo has been an ideal, with women's role as being within the family under the authority of men. In the twentieth century, Mexican women made great strides towards a more equal legal and social status. In 1953 women in Mexico were granted the right to vote in national elections.
Urban women in Mexico worked in factories, the earliest being the tobacco factories set up in major Mexican cities as part of the lucrative tobacco monopoly. Women ran a variety of enterprises in thecolonial era, with the widows of elite businessmen continuing to run the family business. In the prehispanic and colonial periods, non-elite women were small-scale sellers in markets. In the late nineteenth century, as Mexico allowed foreign investment in industrial enterprises, women found increased opportunities to work outside the home. Women began increasingly working in factories, working in portable food carts, and owning their own business. “In 1910, women made up 14% of the workforce, by 2008 they were 38%”.[1]
Mexican women facediscrimination and at times harassment from the men exercisingmachismo against them. Although women in Mexico are making great advances, they are faced with the traditional expectation of being the head of the household. Researcher Margarita Valdés noted that while there are few inequities imposed by law or policy in Mexico, gender inequalities perpetuated by social structures and Mexican cultural expectations limit the capabilities of Mexican women.[2]
In Linda A. Curcio-Nagy research paper[3] ,which dates back to Mexico City in the 1600s, mistreatment of women under New Spain colonial reign is explored through a scandalous trail. The paper follows the life of Doña Josefa de Angulo in regard to an Inquisition trail that was brought forth due to the mistreatment of women at The Recogimiento de la Magdalena. Josefa was married to Juan de Vilches; however, he sent her to Recogimiento (a kind of home for "wayward women") because she could would not conformed to patriarchal norms and was considered disobedient. The paper by Curcio-Nagy covers the details of scandal, society in Mexico City, and colonial male patriarchal religious influence and how Josefa’s actions demonstrate female agency and a challenge to gendered norms in colonial New Spain.
As of 2014, Mexico has the 16th highestfemale homicide rate in the world.[4]
TheMayan civilization was initially established during thePre-Classic period (c. 2000 BC to 250 AD). According to the consensuschronology of Mesoamerica, many Mayan cities reached their highest state of development during the Classical period (c. 250 to 900 AD), and continued throughout the post-Classical period until thearrival of the Spanish in 1519 AD. Women within Mayan society were limited in regards to status, marriage, and inheritance. In allpre-Columbian societies, marriage was the ideal state for women beyond the age of puberty. Noble women were often married to the rulers of neighboring kingdoms, thus creating dynastic alliances[5]
Although the majority of these women had few political responsibilities, these women were vital to the political fabric of the state.[dubious –discuss][5] Elite women enjoyed a high status within their society and were sometimes rulers of city states.[5] Among a handful of female rulers were Lady Ahpo-Katum ofPiedras Negras, and Lady Apho-He ofPalenque.[5] Although women had little political influence, Mayan glyph data include many scenes with a female participating in various public activities and genealogies trace male rulers' right to power through female members of their family.[5]
Women could not own or inherit land. They owned what were considered 'feminine goods', which included household objects, domestic animals, beehives, and their own clothing.[5] Women could bequeath their property, but it was gender specific and was usually not of much financial value.[5]
The term 'Aztec' refers to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke theNáhuatl language and who dominated large parts ofMesoamerica from the 1300 A.D. to 1500 A.D. Women withinAztec society were prepared from birth to be wives and mothers and to produce tribute goods that each household owed. Each girl was given small spindles and shuttles to symbolize her future role in household production.[5] Herumbilical cord was buried near the fireplace of her house in the hope that she would be a good keeper of the home.[5]
Growing up, unmarried girls were expected to be virgins and were closely chaperoned to ensure theirvirginity stayed intact until their marriage.[5] Girls were married soon after reachingpuberty[5] as marriage was considered the ideal state for women. It is estimated that as many as ninety-five percent of indigenous women were married.[5] Couples were expected to stay together, however Aztec society did recognize divorce, with each partner retaining their own property brought into the marriage after divorce.[5]
Similar to Mayan society, Aztec noblewomen had little choice in their marriage as it was a matter of state policy to create alliances.[5] In regards to inheritance and property rights, Aztec women were severely limited. Although women were allowed to inherit property, their rights to it were more to usage rights.[6] Property given to children was much freeing where it could be bequeathed or sold.[6]
When the Spanishconquistadores arrived in Mexico, they needed help to conquer the land. Although often overlooked in the history of the conquest, individual women facilitated the defeat of the powerfulAztec Empire. Women possessed knowledge of the land and the local language. One of the most notable women who assistedHernán Cortés during theconquest period of Mexico wasDoña Marina, or Malinche, who knew both theNahuatl andMayan language and later learnedSpanish.[7]
Born a Nahua, or an Aztec, Marina was sold intoslavery by her own people to the Mayans and eventually was given to Cortés as a payment of tribute. To Cortés, Doña Marina was a valuable asset in overthrowing the Aztec empire based inTenochtitlán (now Mexico City) and was always seen at his side, even during battles with the Aztecs and Mayans.[7]
Malinche had become the translator and the mistress of Hernán Cortés. Though Doña Marina was useful to Cortés, he was “reluctant to give Doña Marina credit, referring to her as ‘my interpreter, who is an Indian woman’”. During the conquest, women were viewed as objects that could be exploited by men to gain a higher standing in society. Malinche was considered a spoil of conquest to the men surrounding her and was originally intended to sexually please the soldiers.[8]
Like Malinche, many women were offered to the conquistadors as an offering because both cultures viewed women as objects to be gifted to others.[9] Since few women traveled to theNew World, native females were considered a treasure that needed to beChristianized. It is believed that there were ulterior motives in the Christianization of indigenous individuals, especially women. Conquistadores were quick to convert the women and distribute them amongst themselves.[10]
The division of social classes was essential and such divisions were expressed through the attire worn by individuals. Elite and upper-class women could afford expensive textiles imported from Spain. Due to the strong system of racial hierarchy, known as thesistema decastas, women tended to dress in accordance with their level of wealth and racial status. The racial hierarchy divided society first through separating theRepública de Españoles, which was the Hispanic sphere encompassing Spaniards, (Españoles) both peninsular- and American-born;Mestizos (mixed Español and Indian);Mulatos (mixed Negro and Español);Negros (Africans); and offspring of further mixed-race pairings.[11] Regardless of the social status of Indian women, she would dress in compliance with Indian customs. Wealthy women were able to purchase superior materials for clothing.
The importance placed upon social class caused purity of blood to become a factor in regards to marriage. Women were affected by these policies as it was required for both men and women to submit documents proving their racial purity. European men sought elite Mexican women to marry and have children with, in order to retain or gain a higher status in society. Problems that occurred with providing documentation in blood purity are that males were the ones who were called as a witness. Women rarely were able to defend their purity and had to rely on men from the community.[12]
Regardless of social class, women ineighteenth century Mexico City usually married for the first time between the ages of 17 and 27, with a median age of 20.5 years. Women were inclined to marry individuals belonging to the same social group as their fathers.[13]
Education for women was surrounded by religion. Individuals believed that girls should be educated enough to read the Bible and religious devotionals, but should not be taught to write. When girls were provided with an education, they would live in convents and be instructed by nuns, with education being significantly limited. Of all the women who sought entry into Mexico City'sconvent of Corpus Christi, only 10 percent of elite Indian women had a formal education.[14]
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TheMexican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the Mexican people and Spain. It began with theGrito de Dolores on September 16 of 1810 and officially ended on September 27 of 1821 when Spanish rule collapse and theArmy of the Three Guarantees marched intoMexico City. Women participated in theMexican War of Independence, most famouslyJosefa Ortiz de Domínguez, known in Mexican history asLa Corregidora. Her remains were moved to the Monument to Independence in Mexico City; there are statues of her in her honor, and her face has appeared on Mexican currency. Other distinguished women of the era areGertrudis Bocanegra,María Luisa Martínez de García Rojas,Manuela Medina,Rita Pérez de Moreno,Maria Fermina Rivera,María Ignacia Rodríguez de Velasco y Osorio Barba, better known asLa Güera Rodríguez (Rodríguez the Fair);[15] andLeona Vicario.
Following independence, some women inZacatecas raised the question of citizenship for women. They petitioned for it, saying "women also wish to have the title of citizen .. to see ourselves in the census as 'La ciudadana' (woman citizen)."[16] Independence affected women in both positive and negatives ways. Prior to the independence, women were only allowed to act as their children's guardians until the age of seven in cases of separation of widowhood. Post-independence laws allowed women to serve as guardians until the age of majority.[17] Women continued to occupydomestic service positions although economic instability led to many households ending employment of domestic servants.[17]
As with Liberalism elsewhere,Liberalism in Mexico emphasized secular education as a path forward toward equality before the law. In the colonial era, there were limited opportunities for Mexican girls and women, but with the establishment of secular schools in the middle of the nineteenth century, girls had greater access to education, while women entered the teaching profession. Quite a number of them became advocates for women's rights, becoming active in politics, founding journals and newspapers, and attending international conferences for women's rights. Women teachers were part of the newmiddle class in Mexico, which also included women office workers in the private sector and government. Women also became involved in general improvement in society, including better hygiene and nutrition. Toward the end of thePorfiriato, the period when GeneralPorfirio Díaz ruled Mexico (1876–1910), women began pressing for legal equality and the right to vote. The largest sector of Mexico's population was rural and indigenous or mixed-race, so that the movement for women's equality was carried forward by a very small sector of educated, urban women.[18]
TheMexican Revolution began in 1910 with an uprising led byFrancisco I. Madero against the longstanding regime ofPorfirio Diaz. This military phase is generally considered to have lasted through 1920. Most often it is the case that women involved in war are overlooked. Although the revolution is attributed to men, it is important to note the dedication and participation women contributed, just as much as their male counterparts. Poormestiza and indigenous women had a strong presence in the revolutionary conflict becoming camp followers often referred to in Mexico assoldaderas.[17]Nellie Campobello was one of the few women to write a first-person account of the Mexican Revolution,Cartucho.
Most often, these women followed the army when a male relative joined and provided essential services such as food preparation, tending to the wounded, mending clothing, burying the dead, and retrieval of items from the battlefield.[17] Women involved in the revolution were just as laden if not more so than men, carrying food, cooking supplies, and bedding.[17] Manysoldaderas took their children with them, often because their husband had joined or been conscripted into the army. In 1914, a count ofPancho Villa’s forces included 4,557 male soldiers, 1,256 soldaderas, and 554 children many of whom were babies or toddlers strapped to their mother’s backs.[17] Many women picked up arms and joined in combat alongside men, often when a male comrade, their husband or brother had fallen.[17]
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There were also many cases of women who fought in the revolution disguised as men, however most returned to female identities once the conflict had ended.[17] The lasting impacts of the revolution have proved mixed at best. The revolution promised reforms and greater rights for women to one extent or another, but failed to live up to its promises. Thousands of women fought in the battles and provided necessary services to the armies, however their contributions have largely been forgotten and viewed as merely supportive.[17]
There had been agitation forwomen's suffrage in Mexico in the late nineteenth century, and bothFrancisco Madero andVenustiano Carranza were sympathetic to women's issues, both having female private secretaries who influenced their thinking on the matter.[19] Carranza's secretaryHermila Galindo was an important feminist activist, who in collaboration with others founded a feminist magazineLa Mujer Moderna that folded in 1919, but until then advocated for women's rights. Mexican feministAndrea Villarreal was active agitating against the Díaz regime in theMexican Liberal Party and was involved withLa Mujer Moderna, until it ceased publication. She was known as the "Mexican Joan of Arc" and was a woman represented in U.S. artistJudy Chicago's dinner party.[20]
Carranza made changes in family and marital law with long-lasting consequences. In December 1914, he issued a decree that allowed for divorce under certain circumstances. His initial decree was then expanded when he became president in 1916, which in addition to divorce "gave women the right to alimony and to the management of property, and other similar rights."[21]
With the victory of theConstitutionalist faction in the Revolution, anew constitution was drafted in 1917. It was an advanced social document on many grounds, enshrining rights of labor, empowering the state to expropriate natural resources, and expanding the role of the secular state, but it did not grant women the right to vote, since they were still not considered citizens.[22]
During the presidency ofLázaro Cárdenas (1934–40), legislation to give women the right to vote was passed, but not implemented. He had campaigned on a "promise to reform the constitution to grant equal rights."[23] Women did not achieve the right to vote until 1953.
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Although women comprise half of the Mexican population, they were historically underrepresented in the highest ranks of political power. They did not achieve the vote nationally until 1953. However, PresidentPorfirio Díaz marriedCarmen Romero Rubio, the daughter of one of his cabinet ministers,Manuel Romero Rubio; she was an influentialFirst Lady of Mexico during his long presidency, 1881–1911. A few subsequent First Ladies took more visible roles in politics. The wife of PresidentVicente Fox (2000–2006),Marta Sahagún was an active member of theNational Action Party[24] and became the wife of Fox after she had served as his spokesperson. Sahagún was criticized for her political ambitions, and she has stated that she will no longer pursue them. She was seen as undermining Fox's presidency.[25]
A political landmark in Mexico was the election of feminist and socialistRosa Torre González to the city council of Mérida, Yucatán in 1922, becoming the first woman elected to office in Mexico. The state accorded women the vote shortly after the Mexican Revolution.[26] During the presidency ofErnesto Zedillo (1994–2000),Rosario Green served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, briefly served as Secretary General of theInstitutional Revolutionary Party,[27] and as a Mexican senator.Amalia García became the fifth woman to serve as governor of aMexican state on September 12, 2004 (Zacatecas 2004–2010). Earlier women governors wereGriselda Álvarez (Colima, 1979–1985),Beatriz Paredes (Tlaxcala, 1987–1992),Dulce María Sauri (Yucatán, 1991–1994),Rosario Robles Berlanga (Distrito Federal, 1999–2000). From 1989 to 2013, the head of the Mexican teachers' trade union wasElba Esther Gordillo, considered at one point the most powerful woman in Mexican politics. She was the first and so far only head of the largest union in Latin America; in 2013 she was arrested for corruption and was named byForbes Magazine as one of the 10 most corrupt Mexicans of 2013.[28] The Minister of Education in the government ofFelipe Calderón wasJosefina Vázquez Mota, so far the first and only woman to hold the position. She went on to become the presidential candidate for theNational Action Party[24] in 2018. First LadyMargarita Zavala wife of the former President of MexicoFelipe Calderón also ran as an independent candidate for the presidency of Mexico between October 12, 2017, and May 16, 2018.
On the left, PresidentAndrés Manuel López Obrador appointed an equal number of women and men to his cabinet when he took office in 2018. These includeOlga Sánchez Cordero asSecretary of the Interior, the first woman to hold the high office. Other women in his cabinet areGraciela Márquez Colín, Secretary of the Economy;Luisa María Alcalde Luján, Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare;Irma Eréndira Sandoval, Secretary of Public Administration;Alejandra Frausto Guerrero, Secretary of Culture;Rocío Nahle García, Secretary of Energy;María Luisa Albores González, Secretary of Social Development; and Josefa González Blanco Ortiz Mena, Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources.[29]Claudia Sheinbaum was elected mayor of Mexico City as a candidate for theNational Regeneration Movement (MORENA) party, the first woman elected to the post;,[30] thoughRosario Robles had previously served as interim mayor.
Since October 1, 2024,Claudia Sheinbaum has served as the first woman president of Mexico.
Eulalia Guzmán participated in the Mexican Revolution and then taught in a rural primary school and was the firstwoman archeologist in Mexico. Her identification of human bones as those of Aztec emperorCuauhtémoc brought her to public attention.Rosario Castellanos was a distinguished twentieth-century feminist novelist, poet, and author of other works, a number of which have been translated to English.[31] At the time of her death at 49, she was Mexican ambassador to Israel. NovelistLaura Esquivel (Like Water for Chocolate) has served in the Mexican Chamber of Deputies for the Morena Party.Other women writers have distinguished themselves nationally and internationally in the modern era, includingAnita Brenner,[32] andGuadalupe Loaeza.[33] Some writers weremestiza women who began to publish their own journals in the 1870s. They were able to help form a rhetoric around the mestiza that allowed them all to have a platform for the formation of their own national identity. They were able to write and use their platform as women in journalism to get their fight across the nation.[34]
The most famous woman writer and intellectual was seventeenth-century nun,Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. "Today, Sor Juana stands as a national icon of Mexican identity, and her image appears on Mexican currency. She came to new prominence in the late 20th century with the rise of feminism and women's writing, ... credited as the first published feminist of the New World."[35] A number of women have become distinguished intellectuals in modern Mexico, especiallyElena Poniatowska, whose reportage on theTlatelolco Massacre of 1968 and the 1995Mexico City earthquake have been important. HistorianVirginia Guedea has specialized in the history of independence-era Mexico.
Many Mexican journalists have been murdered since the 1980s, including a number of Mexican women. In 1986,Norma Alicia Moreno Figueroa was the first woman journalist identified as a murder victim of theMexican drug war.[36] Broadcast crime reporterDolores Guadalupe García Escamilla was murdered in 2005.[37]Yolanda Figueroa was murdered in the drug war, along with her journalist husband,Fernando Balderas Sánchez, and children in 1996.[38] In 2009, Michoacan journalistMaría Esther Aguilar Cansimbe disappeared.[39] Former TV journalist atTelevisa,María Isabella Cordero was murdered in Chihuahua in 2010.[40] In Veracruz in 2011, crime reporterYolanda Ordaz de la Cruz was killed.[41]Marisol Macías was murdered in Nuevo Laredo by theLos Zetas in 2011.[42]
PainterFrida Kahlo, daughter of photographerGuillermo Kahlo and spouse to muralistDiego Rivera, is revered for her evocative self-portraits. Heroeuvre reflects themes of identity, pain, and cultural heritage.
The artistic career of MexicanmuralistMaría Izquierdo is often juxtaposed with that of her contemporary, Kahlo.[43][44]Carmen Mondragón, also known as Nahui Olin, was a painter, poet, and muse during the early 20th century. Muralist and scenic designerLola Cueto derived inspiration from Mexican folk art and indigenous cultural motifs.
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Amongst contemporary Mexican artists,Ángela Gurría was the first woman elected to theAcademia de Artes (Academy of Arts).Carmen Parra's artistic oeuvre explored social and political concerns, particularly advocating forwomen's rights through her work.Verónica Ruiz de Velasco's paintings frequently explored themes of nature, spirituality, and Mexican culture.
Amalia Hernández established theBallet Folklórico de México, a dance ensemble that performs at thePalace of Fine Arts in Mexico City.Google celebrated Hernández on the anniversary of her 100th birthday.[45]
Dolores del Río is one of the earliest Latin American filmactresses to achieve widespread international acclaim.María Félix, affectionately known as "La Doña," flourished during theGolden Age of Mexican cinema.Silvia Pinal became a prominent film, theater, and television actress, whileVerónica Castro starred intelenovelas.
Contemporary Mexican actressSalma Hayek emerged as a multifaceted performer with global recognition.[46] Conversely, IndigenousOaxaca actressYalitza Aparicio starred inAlfonso Cuarón's filmRoma.[47] Meanwhile,Eiza González became a prominent performer with international acclaim.
Mexican women have made significant advancements in the field ofarchitecture.
The first prominent woman architect in Mexico wasRuth Rivera Marin (1927–1969). She was the daughter ofDiego Rivera andGuadalupe Marín Preciado. Rivera was the first woman to study architecture at the College of Engineering and Architecture of theNational Polytechnic Institute. She focused primarily on teachingarchitectural theory and practice and was the head of the Architecture Department at theInstituto Nacional de Bellas Artes from 1959 to 1969. After her father's death, she worked with Mexican architectsJuan O'Gorman and Heriberto Pagelson to complete theAnahuacalli Museum inCoyoacán.
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In the early twenty-first century, Mexico has had several importantwomen architects at the forefront of architectural innovation. Sustainability, balance, and integration with nature have been important motifs in their works.Beatriz Peschard Mijares' ultra-luxurymodernist projects balanceminimalist structures with their surrounding landscapes. This aim of functionalist balance is rooted in Peschard's own personal struggles balancing “family life, being a mother, and her work” as an architect.[48] A major proponent of experimentation inMexican architecture, Peschard stated in 2017 that it's important to “invent new things, not to copy either theMexican or the foreigner... [but to] search ourhistory and combine what we find withtechnological and technical advances to create something personal andinnovative.”[48]
Another prominent 21st-centuryMexico City architect,Tatiana Bilbao (1972) has designed several buildings which merge geometry with nature. Her practice has largely focused onsustainable design andsocial housing. Bilbao was born inMexico City into a family of architects, and she studied architecture at theUniversidad Iberoamericana. Bilbao is a strong advocate of architecturalsocial justice, and many of her projects have sought to createlow-cost housing to address Mexico'saffordable housing crisis.[49]
Many women in the workforce do not have legal protections, especially domestic workers. In 2019, PresidentAndrés Manuel López Obrador signed into law protections and benefits for domestic workers, including access to health care and limits on hours of work. The legislation comes after years of activism, including that byMarcelina Bautista, who foundedSINACTRAHO, Mexico's first domestic workers union, in 2015. Awareness of the issue got a boost from the 2018 filmRoma byAlfonso Cuarón, whose main character is an indigenous female domestic servant. Enforcement of the legislation will be a challenge, since costs to employers will significantly increase.[50]
As of 2012, Mexico has the 16th highest rate of homicides committed against women in the world.[51] In the first 4 months of 2020 987 women and girls were murdered.[52] Approximately 10 women are killed every day in Mexico, and the rate offemicide has doubled in the last 5 years.[51]
According to the 2013 Human Rights Watch, many women do not seek out legal redress after being victims of domestic violence and sexual assault because "the severity of punishments for some sexual offenses are contingent on the "chastity" of the victim and "those who do report them are generally met with suspicion, apathy, and disrespect."[53]
According to a 1997 study by Kaja Finkler, domestic abuse is more prevalent in Mexican society as women are dependent on their spouses for subsistence and self esteem, caused by the embedded societal ideology of romantic love, family structure, and residential arrangements.[54]
Mexican women are at risk for HIV infection because they often are unable to negotiate condom use. According to published research by Olivarrieta and Sotelo (1996) and others, the prevalence of domestic violence against women in Mexican marital relationships varies at between 30 and 60 percent of relationships. In this context, requesting condom use with a stable partner is perceived as a sign of infidelity and asking to use a condom can result indomestic violence.[55]
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In Mexico City, the area ofIztapalapa has the highest rates ofrape,violence against women, anddomestic violence in the capital.[56]
Gender violence is more prevalent in regions along the Mexico-US border and in areas of high drug trading activity and drug violence.[57] The phenomenon of thefemale homicides in Ciudad Juárez involves the violent deaths of hundreds of women and girls since 1993 in the northern Mexican region ofCiudad Juárez,Chihuahua, a border city across theRio Grande from the U.S. city ofEl Paso, Texas. As of February 2005, the number of murdered women in Ciudad Juarez since 1993 is estimated to be more than 370.[58] The civic organizationNuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa A.C. was founded byNorma Andrade in Ciudad Juárez. Her daughter was one of the rape and murder victims. Andrade was subsequently attacked twice by assailants.[59] In November 2019, Mexico vowed to stop gender-based violence as new statistics showed killings of women rose more than 10% in 2018.[60]
Women in the Mexican Drug War (2006–present) have been raped,[61][62] tortured,[63][64] and murdered in the conflict.[65][66][67][68][69] They have also been victims ofsex trafficking in Mexico.[70][71][72][73][74][75]
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Even as late as the 1960s, the use of contraceptives was prohibited by civil law, but there were private clinics where elite women could access care.[76][77][78]
Surging birthrates in Mexico in the 1960s and 70s became a political issue, particularly as agriculture was less productive and Mexico was no longer self-sufficient in food. As Mexico became more urban and industrialized, the government formulated and implemented family planning policies in the 1970s and 80s that aimed at educating Mexicans about the advantages of controlling fertility.[79] A key component of the educational campaign was the creation oftelenovelas (soap operas) that conveyed the government's message about the virtues of family planning. Mexico pioneered the use of soap operas to shape public attitudes on sensitive issues in a format both accessible and enjoyable to a wide range of viewers.[80] Mexico's success in reducing the increase of its population has been the subject of scholarly study.[81][82]
One scholar, theStanford University historian Ana Raquel Minion, has attributed at least part of Mexico's success to forced sterilization programs. In her 2018 textUndocumented Lives, she writes:
"After the newLey General of 1974 passed, some medical authorities in public health care institutions responded to the growing pressures to lower birth rates by forcibly sterilizing working-class women immediately after they delivered via cesarean section. Because most of these cases went undetected and undenounced, their exact number is unknown. However, a governmental study performed in 1987 found staggering results. Ten percent of the women in the national sample claimed to have been sterilized without having been asked; 25 percent affirmed they were not informed that sterilization was an irreversible method of birth control or that other options existed; and 70 percent declared that they had been sterilized immediately after giving birth or having an abortion."[83]
Contraception is still a big issue for Mexican women with a population of 107 million. It is the second most populous nation in Latin America. The population trend is even expected to grow in size in a little over thirty years. With a population that keeps increasing it was the first nation in 1973 to establish a family planning program. It is called MEXFAM (The Mexican Family Planning Association); the program has been recorded to have decreased Mexican households from 7.2 children to 2.4 in 1999.[84]
Contraceptive use in rural areas is still far lower than that of urban areas. Approximately 25% of Mexican women live in rural areas, and of that, only 44% of those use birth control, and their fertility rate, 4.7%, is almost twice that of urban women.”[84] Mexico was even able to incorporate a sexual education program in the schools to educate on contraception, but with many young girls living in rural areas, they are usually not able to attend.
Emergency Contraception in Mexico Since the introduction of Emergency Contraception (EC) into the Mexican family planning guidelines in 2004, knowledge and usage of EC has been rapidly growing.[85] The past years, EC has been available as an over-the-counter product without age restriction and also free of charge in the national health system. So far, there are 13 different kinds of pills that can be purchased without prescription (LNG-EC products) and one where a prescription is needed (UPA-EC product).[86] The rapid growth in education and use of Emergency Contraception, can be seen in a study conducted byHan et al. (2017), comparing data from the ENADID survey from 2006, 2009, and 2014. EC knowledge among women has accordingly inclined from 62% in 2006, 79% in 2009 to 83% in 2014, and the use EC among women who have generally used contraception rose from 3% (2006), to 11% (2009) to 14% (2014).[85] However, certain disparities in the increased knowledge have been identified. Reproductive health experts have concluded, that "stigma, gender, relationships and ethnicity may all play a role in a woman´s experience in receiving birth control",[87][full citation needed] leading to less, or even denied access to EC. Lower wealth and education, rural living and indigenous status on access and knowledge are associated with less possibilities of contact to EC resources, denying women in certain living situations the chances to break out of sometimes repressive gender roles and with less bodily autonomy. So while the rapid growth in knowledge and use of Emergency Contraception in Mexico can be seen as a successful step in women's empowerment, a lot of steps still must be taken in order to include Mexican women in all kinds of living situations.
There are still persisting inequalities between levels of sexual experience between females and males. In national survey of Mexican youth published in 2000, 22% of men and 11% of women of the age 16 had admitted to having experienced sexual intercourse.[88] However, these rates for both men and women remain fairly low due to the cultural perception that it is inappropriate to engage in intercourse before marriage. This shared cultural belief stems from the traditional teachings of the Catholic Church which has had great influence over Latin American cultures.[89]
Mexican women have participated in international beauty competitions.
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In 2020, activists called for a one-day strike by women on March 9, the day afterInternational Women's Day (March 8). The strike has been called "A Day Without Women," to emphasize women's importance in Mexico. At the March 8th demonstration in Mexico City, there was a crowd estimated at 80,000 people. There was a widespread response to the strike the next day as well, with both events reported in the international press.[90][91][92] The strike is part of a new wave of feminism in Mexico.[93] PresidentAndrés Manuel López Obrador has been called tone-deaf on the issue, a source of feminist criticism.[94]
A number of women have been active in various kinds of human rights movements in Mexico.
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The original logo of the Government of Mexico, in force sinceAndrés Manuel López Obrador assumed the Presidency on December 1, 2018, caused controversy by showing five men protagonists of the history of Mexico and no woman. In the image the characters appear, that López Obrador has qualified as his references on various occasions. These areBenito Juárez (1806–1872) president who faced the French and American invasion;Francisco Ignacio Madero (1873–1913), forerunner of theMexican Revolution, andLázaro Cárdenas (1895–1970), president who nationalized oil. AlsoMiguel Hidalgo (1753–1811) new Hispanic priest who starred theGrito de Dolores with which the War of Independence began, andJosé María Morelos (1765–1815), one of the main leaders of the independence struggle.
A new official logo featuring prominent women in the country's history on the occasion of the commemoration ofInternational Women's Day. In the green and gold logo, used in official events and in government social networks five celebrities appear on the motto "Women transforming Mexico. March, women's month." In the center of the image appears holding a Mexican flagLeona Vicario (1789–1842), one of the most outstanding figures of theMexican War of Independence (1810–1821) who served as aninformant for theinsurgents from Mexico City then capital of the vice-royalty. To her left, it is also drawnJosefa Ortiz de Domínguez (1768–1829), known as "la Corregidora" who played a fundamental role in the conspiracy that gave rise to the beginning of the independence movement from the state ofQuerétaro. The nun and neo-Hispanic writer sistersor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648–1695), one of the main exponents of the Golden Age of literature in Spanish thanks to her lyrical and dramatic work, both religious and profane stars in the far left of the image. On the opposite side, the revolutionaryCarmen Serdán (1875–1948), is drawn, who strongly supported from the city of Puebla toFrancisco Ignacio Madero in his proclamation against the dictatorship ofPorfirio Díaz, which was finally overthrown in 1911. On her side is locatedElvia Carrillo Puerto (1878–1968), who was afeminist leader who fought for theright to vote of women in Mexico, which was achieved in 1953 and that she became one of the first women to hold office elected when elected as a deputy in the state congress ofYucatan.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain:"Health Profile: Mexico"Archived 2009-09-10 at theWayback Machine.United States Agency for International Development (June 2008). Accessed September 7, 2008.
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