By Cara Ta
Domestic violence is an international issue and a phenomenon
that affects women across the globe. After four days in El Salvador, I began to
understand the scope of the problem and the number of people who are affected
by it. As a student and an advocate for the end of domestic violence against
women, I have always viewed the issue from a distance. Facts and statistics
have always affected me, but until now the problems have never felt personal.
Along with expanding my world view, this trip has allowed me to question and
evaluate my personal motivations for fighting domestic violence.
At this point in our trip we have traveled from San Salvador
to Morazon and we have now arrived at Amando Lopez. Amando Lopez is a small
community of 750 people that was established after the Salvadoran civil war; it
is a community that enabled many refugees and guerrilla fighters own their own
plot of land for the first time. To my surprise, I was welcomed with open arms
into my host family’s home. Along with a friend, I stayed with a young lady. She is eighteen years old; she runs a household with two
rooms, a kitchen, and an area for chickens. Kind and wiser than her years, she is
also a mom of a two year old. After settling in, my friend and I
observed that we were surrounded by a number of women. Two of her relatives
were also working around the house and we took that to mean that it was a household
run by women.
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| A Meeting with the Elders of El Chile |
Later in the day, we had the chance to speak to our host and
one of the issues we touched upon was women’s rights. She responded excitedly
by telling us that she took classes in women’s rights through a local
organization named ACUDESPAL and she had just been certified to teach classes
by that organization. After showing us her certificate, she told us that she
was involved in a number of women’s organizations. However, she was quick to
mention that although her husband supported her, he refused to attend men’s
classes for women rights and domestic violence. This aside, she began to share
a few stories of domestic violence abuse experienced by her fellow women’s
rights workers.
One story involved a husband who discovered that the child
he was supporting was not his. As a result, the child and woman were beaten to
death and the community was collectively helpless. Another story involved a
woman who consistently suffered from domestic abuse. However, her story had a
happier ending in that she was able to open a bakery and escape her situation when
she was economically independent.
After
hearing these stories, I began to observe our host’s interactions with her
husband. As a leader in the community, he attended university
and earned a degree in social work. Along with his volunteer work as one of the leaders of Amando Lopez,
he also worked for the ACUDESPAL organization. At first, I believed that the
household was very equal between both our hosts. However, I began
noticing that she was more submissive in the presence of her husband. She
consistently deferred to her husband in conversation, and would act on his
commands to take care of their daughter. Additionally, when my friend asked if
he knew how to cook as we shared a meal, he said that in their culture, men do
not participate in women oriented activities. Afterwards, my friend and I
remarked that for such a progressive leader and member of the community, the
subtle culture of machismo persisted both in his household and conversation. Among
the many themes that I have explored on this trip, women’s rights and domestic
violence have struck me personally as I listened to women in El Salvador speak
about their experiences fighting for their rights as well as their stories of
those affected by this global issue.
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