Women Human Righst Defenders Risk Death, Dsicrimination by Laura Carlsen

http://alainet.org/active/45177&lang=en

It is no secret that Mexico is fighting an intense drug war, and that casualties as a result of this war are high. Certain regions are all out no-go zones, with people dying daily while others go into exile in hope of saving themselves. In this climate of violence, peaceful protest is shoved to the side, and rights movements are filed under "deal with later". It should be no surprise that activists are dropping like flies, especially women's rights activists. In the mind of the government, this probably lacks in importance when compared to the drug war. However, that does not mean that the issue should be avoided and forgotten, as it is now.

In climates of violence, women are always more particularly at risk of loosing their basic rights. In fact, the article speaks about the increasing amount of violence, both physical and psychological, that women in Mexico have to deal with. The ennemies in this case are not only the cartels, but also the troops sent by the government who view the women brave enough to speak out against thing as trouble makers, more than they can deal with. This discouraged women to speak out. The fact that women human rights activists are turning up dead by the score is not helping. But since when does one issue block another? Are the women not suffering as much as the men? Do they not have as much right as they to be protected? I think that in cases like these, the International Community has an obligation to reach out and offer their support, though I reconize that, with a lack of information and transparency, this is far from being easy.

Women such as these, defending human rights at the risk of their own, and defying patriarchal rules in doing so, are to be applauded and supported. Despite the risks, they continue to attempt to be heard. It would be naive to thing that things will get easier for them; at every turn, the climate of violence seems to be deepening, and human right activists will continue to be targeted until such time that things stabilize. What is important is that they never give up, and that help eventually comes to them.