Guatemala

The Gramma at one of the houses
 i stayed at in a Mayan Villiage!

Population: 13,824,463
Capital: Guatemala City
Language: Spanish (official) 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages)
Religion: Roman Catholic, Protestant, indigenous Mayan beliefs
Life Expectancy: 70.88 years
GDP per Capita: $5,200

• More then 2, 4000 women were murdered between 2000-06: 97% of cases are unsolved
• Abortion is illegal or severely restricted only to save a woman’s life
• 50-70% of births are not attended by a doctor, nurse or midwife
• 26-50% of women are illiterate
• Fewer then 75% of girls who start primary school complete it
• 5-14% of women are in government


Guatemala is a country very close to my heart…how could it not be after spending three months living there, exploring and building relationships? Before I traveled to Guatemala I watched a documentary film called “Killers Paradise,” its about the huge amount of rapes and murders that are happening to Guatemalan women and how the government is doing nothing about it. It’s crazy, women fear for their lives every time they go out, in Guatemala City I was never allowed to walk around by myself, not even during the day. I highly encourage you to watch this documentary, its on you-tube in 15 parts (and yes the beginning writing is in spanish, but don't worry the movies are in english!), below is the trailer and part one just to get you interested…

Another thing I wanted to talk about for the beautiful country of Guatemala is a indigenous woman named Rigoberta Menchu, before going to Guatemala I read her biography “I Rigoberta Menchu” (Elisabeth Burgos-Debray (Editor), Ann Wright (Translator)) and was blown away by her story and her bravery. Here is a link to a very short version of her biography. She amazes me, she has gone through so much, almost her entire family killed during the Gorilla warfare, she has worked hard, and had to flee her country but now is an activist of human rights and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, what an inspiration!

People in Guatemala have suffered so much, I remember one lady I met there telling me how when she was born the war was going on and at that time soldiers were outside her home, if her mother screamed while giving birth they would be discovered and most likely killed. Can you imagine, having to be quiet while having a baby! Crazy.

Also in Guatemala few young girls get the chance to finish school, its heartbreaking, but just so you know when I was there I saw lots of hope, I saw young girls actually getting the opportunity to go to school instead of getting married at age 16!

--So once again I highly encourage you to watch the documentary, it will blow you away, and maybe inspire you to do something for the suffering women of Guatemala. If you don’t have time to watch the movie at least read this:

"Deborah Tomas Vineda, aged 16, was kidnapped, raped, and cut to pieces with a chainsaw, allegedly because she refused to become the girlfriend of a local gang member.

Her sister Olga, just 11 years old, died alongside her.

The raped and mutilated body of Andrea Contreras Bacaro, 17, was found wrapped in a plastic bag and thrown into a ditch, her throat cut, her face and hands slashed, with a gunshot wound to the head.

The word "vengeance" had been gouged into her thigh.

Sandra Palma Godoy, 17, said to have witnessed a killing in her home town, was missing for a week before her decomposing body was found next to a local football pitch.

Her breasts, eyes and heart had been mutilated, reports said.

According to Amnesty International, which has collated these stories and others in a new report on the killing of women in Guatemala, the country's leaders must share the blame for an epidemic of violence that has killed more than 1,500 women in under four years”…..

“Neither the police nor the government take the problem of violence against women seriously.” Hilda Morales Trujillo, Network for Non-Violence Against Women…

….."Every day the numbers are growing, and for two reasons," Sandra Moran, another women's rights activist, told the BBC News website.

"Firstly, there is no respect for the body of a woman. People feel they can treat women however they want. Also, there is the idea that women are the property of someone.


If you want to read the rest of this article, here is the Link. The last quote by Sandra Moran rings so true in my experience, the men do not respect the women, everywhere you go there are catcalls and completely inappropriate comments being made to the women, Indigenous, Spanish and White it doesn’t matter, men feel like they can say and do whatever they want, its heartbreaking.



Thanks for reading
Below are a few pictures from my trip of guatemalan women if you are intrested,

Two women working on traditional Guatemalan clothing!
 They spend hours on each one!

A beautiful photo taken by my friend Jeff!
A young Mayan girl.

Here's me with two young Guatemalan girls,
 they were such sweethearts!

We played a mixer game with some of the women,
don't you just love the height difference...it brought laughter to all!