Feminism(s) | Part IV: Feminism in Mexico

ONLINE TEA TIME WITH CLARA FRANCO YÁÑEZ (GIGA)

2nd March, 7-8 pm

Feminist movements have been a political force since the late 19th century and have shaped the world as we know it today. Our contemporary feminist discourse in Germany is dominated by prominent Western figures, from second-wave feminists Gloria Steinem and bell hooks to fourth-wave activists fighting against gender norms and for intersectionality. 

However, feminist movements shape the world of women and men beyond the West. During the 74th United Nations General Assembly, Mexico announced its commitment to implement a Feminist Foreign Policy until 2024. Moreover, a look back on the history of Mexico’s foreign policy reveals a commitment to feminist issues in the past. 

Nonetheless, on the domestic level, the situation of women* is alarming. According to the organization Impunidad Cero, 1012 women have died from femicides in 2019. This translates to 2.7 women every day, and if one counts the murder of women in general, the number increases to 10.5 women. Abortion laws are very restrictive and in many cases end deadly. Especially marginalized women are affected by this. Moreover, budget cuts in February 2019 hit, among other things, women’s shelters for indigenous women and victims of violence, as well as the childcare program particularly hard. In addition, feminist protests are met with repressive police violence.

Together with Clara Franco-Yáñez* we want to learn more about these seemingly incompatible realities in Mexico. How do these developments fit together? What are the agendas of feminist movements in the country? What is the impact of abortion legalization in Argentina on the discourse on reproductive rights in Mexico? How does sticking to the austerity measures during the pandemic impact vulnerable groups?

If you want to join our virtual Polis Tea Time via Zoom, please register below. We will send you the Zoom link and log in details as well as a few voluntary background readings to provide some context a few days prior to the event. We are looking forward to an engaging and interesting discussion and hope to see many of you there!

This event is organized by Polis180’s program Gender and International Politics. It is part of our event series Feminism(s) that takes a look at feminist movements, ideas and actors around the world. Previous tea times discussed Islamic feminism and feminism in China.

*Clara Franco Yáñez is a Research Fellow and Doctoral Student at the GIGA Institute. Currently, she is completing her PhD thesis on “The politics of advocacy for maternal health: Portraying persons in transnational advocacy for and against the legalization of abortion. The cases of Mexico and Chile in the last decade.” Her main research areas are advocacy on health-related issues, gender issues, human rights and advocacy with a regional focus on Mexico and Chile.