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Wednesday November 7, 2007

The differences between man and women should begin to be eradicated in the home

Susana Barrera, SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, May 15, 2006

“It is in the home where we must begin to break down the inequalities between Taxi Heathrow Airport men and women that we have been taught,” said Lucy de Zetino, an Anglican Salvadoran women during a workshop held here May 12-13.

The event sought to reflect on education, health, economic development and gender equality in Salvadoran Anglican communities, themes contemplated during the IV World Conference on Women, convened by the United Nations in Beijing 1995.

Member of the International Network of Anglican Women (IAEN) was responsible for the workshop carried out in the framework of the XIV Anglican Women’s Assembly of El Salvador, whose theme was “Women, risk, Jesus accompanies you.”

El Salvador is a signatory of the Beijing Action Platform but violence against women continue to rise. According to the Melida Anaya Montes women’s group in 2004 alone 284 women died from domestic violence. According to official figures, 36 of every 100 women in the rural area are illiterate while in the country there are 600,000 homes run by women.

This Central American nation, with 7 million inhabitants exhibits poverty with the face of a woman. The sweatshop industry, one of the main areas in the Salvadoran economy and repeatedly denounced for violating human rights is 90% carried out by women.

“We need women to act and to be committed to demanding dignity and respect as human beings in order to change the situation,” said Barahona, who said it was a Christian commitment to provide women with relevant information about their reality.

“Women continue to be an instrument of exploitation for men and even though there is national legislation that protect them, women are unaware of it,” said Barahona, who concluded that violence against women is endemic in the country.