STATEMENT BY INDIGENOUS WOMEN
Taking the opportunity of this International Women's Health Conference on "Reproductive Health and Justice," we would like to make some statements on how indigenous women are involved in the process of obtaining justice for our people.
"INDIGENOUS WOMEN AND POPULATION POLICIES"To understand the complexity of the struggle of the indigenous peoples and their cultures in the world, it is necessary to put yourself in their place. In your case, as feminist women, you must put yourselves in our place.
We come from native cultures that have 20,000 years of life. When in 1492 the Spaniards invaded our territories and raped our grandmothers to satisfy their desire for gold and lust, we lost our liberty.
We have the tradition of communities that lived and still are living in harmony with our environment; with a philosophy and an ideology based on the respect for Mother Earth and Mother Nature.
In some communities, women are still respected as life-givers and transmitters of culture who continue to play a very important role in the education of their children. With the influence of other, different patterns of life, these concepts have been modified and values have been disrupted; as seen, for example, in the change of attitudes of men towards women.
Analyzing the reasons for the changes, we find the answer in the imposition of a colonialist and patriarchal mentality, supported mainly by the Catholic religion, that in the process of conquering our consciences made us guilty of sin.
"Sin" and women's submission to men now affect all aspects of life, including sexual life, while in the indigenous world, sex was not taboo. When in religious marriage we are told, "woman, you will follow this man until death separates you," it seems that we must carry a burden all our lives.
Several female historians have stated that pre-hispanic cultures gave women a proper place. Think, for instance, of the image of Mama Ocllo and Manco Capac, who emerged side by side and jointly founded the "Incario"; Mama Huaco, representing a female warrior; and other examples such as Micaela Bastidas, who was Tupac Amaru's partner; Bartolina Sisa; and many others that the official history does not mention. When we bring these images to this meeting and compare them to what is happening nowadays, we observe that indigenous women are the most affected in terms of our ability to exercise our collective rights and our rights as citizens.
We are aware that it is necessary to build a bridge for solidarity and communication, respecting differences and diversity. We try to understand you and we ask you to understand our collective being. We indigenous women cannot isolate our struggle from a set of collective demands related to territory and language; to philosophical ideologies and cultural expressions. In this framework we would like to suggest the following points to think about:
1. Following the openness of the organizing committee of this meeting, we request that, in future meetings, at least one indigenous woman from each country should be invited.
2. Based on the respect for differences, we request your solidarity in allowing us space for our education because we also have to face challenges that our reality imposes on us.
3. You are all aware that the marginalization and oppression that our people have suffered is even more serious for women, who are denied access to education, information, and professional training.
4. We recommend that in your daily work with women of poor sectors, you should be careful not to reproduce the mistakes of colonialism, because reproductive rights must be exercised freely and with clear knowledge. Indigenous women have been used in contraceptive trials without adequate information.
It is important to consider what kind of development we are seeking, because Western parameters for development are not always suitable for us. We understand "development" as respect for our territory, use of our own resources, and improving our productive and intellectual capacities to participate in the political, social, economic, and cultural lives of our countries. We all wish to read and write in our own languages as well as in the national languages, and want our bodily and spiritual integrity to be respected.
5. We understand that tradition and modernization are not in conflict; for example, traditional medicine is complemented by modern Western science. We want our mothers to be able to know that uterine cancer is preventable and that tuberculosis can be cured.
The revival of traditional forms of organization, such as collective work (MINKA), work in solidarity (AYNI), and the practice of solidarity among large families (COMMUNITY), together with the capacity for resistance, have allowed us to provide concrete answers to poverty in our communities. The organizational and work capacity in the "comedores populares" * in Peru, and the birth of self-built "barrios" are positive examples of traditional forms of organizing in which indigenous women have been a determining factor.
6. It is necessary to recommend the humanizing of the medical profession, because indigenous women are often mistreated in reproductive health services. We see an increase in dehumanization and profit-making in the health profession.
We, indigenous women working with our collective conscience, work to have our territorial rights, our native religions, and our languages recognized. We want our children to learn to speak our language, our healers to be recognized legally; to be able to decide freely where to live, and to have access to education and information.
Social and economic realities force us not to continue having children who do not have enough to eat, who cannot find a job, who might want to change their face to be accepted. We want our husbands to have a decent job, and not to beat us. We want our grandparents to have a dignified old age and not to be beggars.
We do not want our children to be used as cannon fodder in the different armed conflicts.
For all these reasons, we ask you all, who live in our countries, for solidarity and assistance to make our dreams come true.
Tarcila Rivera Zea
PeruJosefa Xiloj
GuatemalaLuz Alvarez Martinez
U.S.A.Charon Asetoyer
U.S.A.E1iane Potiguara
Brazil*"Comedores populares" are neighborhood services that provide people with a free or subsidized basic meal.
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