In Mexico and the world in 2021 came as a hope from the hand of the vaccines and the recovery projections, after 2020, which was a year marked by an unprecedented crisis in economic, labor and health matters. And although huge consequences remain in society and new barriers have arisen, women and their struggle to exercise their rights and freedoms has not stopped.
Here are some of the historical events and advances that women and men feminism reached in 2021:
Legal abortion in Latin America
The decriminalization of abortion was approved by the Senate in Argentina the early morning of December 30, 2021, and the enactment of the law took place on January 14.
As a historical fact and after a list of rejections in Congress, Argentina became the fifth country of Latin America in guaranteeing women and pregnant persons their right to Voluntary termination of pregnancy legally, free and safe.
In Mexico, the struggle of women in matters of sexual and reproductive health also took important steps. On the one hand, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Colima and Baja California joined the list of entities that decriminalized abortion until the 12th week of gestation, along with Oaxaca and the Mexico City.
Additionally, a ruling of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation declared that it is unconstitutional to penalize women or pregnant people to terminate their pregnancies voluntarily until the 12th week of gestation. This means that no person can face punishment or criminal prosecution for aborting, regardless of the cause. Legislation is still pending in 26 states so that the voluntary interruption of pregnancy is part of the transversal policies of sexual health and reproductive.
Women in journalism
In April 2021, Alessandra Galloni she became the first Reuters editor-in-chief after the British news agency’s 170-year history. Alessandra was born in Rome, Italy, is an economist by the Harvard University and has a master’s degree for London School of Economics and Political Science.
In 2004 he won the award Overseas Press Club Award for his international coverage of the Parmalat scandal. In 2005 she also won the award for the best journalist of the year of the United Kingdom.
For its part, Sally Buzbee, became the first woman to run the American newspaper The Washington Post, after 144 years of history of the medium. Sally was born in Washington, studied at the University of Kansas and also obtained a master’s degree from Georgetown University.
The American journalist formed a large part of her career at the Associated Press news agency.
Although it is one of the most persistent violence, it is one of the least seen: the absence of women in important positions, leadership or management. The world of journalism Y media is no exception.
According to the most recent figures from the UN WomenIn the world, women represent only 24% of the people heard, seen or read in the media: 26% in newspapers, 24% on television and 21% on radio.
Menstruating with dignity is public health
In Mexico, women spend an average of 720 pesos each year on towels, tampons and other feminine hygiene products, contributing close to 3,000 million pesos to tax collection for VAT paid on these products. This not only puts the entire female population in a situation of inequality, it also makes it unaffordable for the poorest and most vulnerable women to access these products.
Thanks to the constant struggle of groups, organizations and women, by 2022 feminine hygiene products will go from having a 16% VAT rate to having a 0% rate, as part of the approval of the project of the Tax Miscellany 2022, with what is expected a drop in the price of all pads, tampons and menstrual cups, which could increase women’s access to these products.
Women and their resistance in Afghanistan
Another of the events that marked 2021 began in August with the decision of the US president Joe Biden to withdraw his troops from Afghanistan. The Taliban groups took control of the country and began the transition to the new regime that, among other things, stands out for the oppression of the freedoms and rights of women and girls.
But they didn’t stop; the muslim women and also those that are not constantly took to the streets to defend their rights; International and collective organizations joined the call made to the Taliban in power to respect and guarantee women their rights. Among other things, dozens of Afghan women continue to take over the city of Kabul, demanding the right to education, employment and political representation.
The struggle of women in Afghanistan is also a mirror of all the mobilizations that women also lead in other countries of the middle East and the North Africa. In this region of the world the road is still very long, but women are not slowing down in the fight for their rights.
Women in the world of the arts
During 2021 the representation of women in the Nobel Prizes under; there was only one winner: Maria Ressa, a Filipino journalist who received the Peace Nobel for his independent critical journalistic exercise and for his effort to defend freedom of expression.
María Ressa has investigated and evidenced corruption, abuse of power and human rights violations within the Philippines, her country of birth, especially in this process that the president Rodrifo Duterte It has started in order to “end drugs.” Ressa is also a co-founder of the journalistic platform Rappler.
For its part, Laurence des Cars Élisabeth de Pérusse, a French historian, became in September 2021 the first woman to lead the Louvre Museum in 228 years of history; occupying the head of the most visited museum in the world.
Des Cars studied art history at the University of Paris IV Paris Sorbonne and in the Louvre school, then joined the National Heritage Institute and held her first position as curator at the Orsay’s Museum in 1994. She is an expert in 19th and early 20th century art and has built a long career as a curator of cultural heritage in France and Western Europe.
Women in politics
In 2021 the American continent saw Kamala Harris become the first vice president in the history of U.S, a Mary Simon in the first governor general of Canada already Xiomara Castro in the president of Honduras.
In Mexico, Victoria Ceja becomes the first woman to head the central bank and Graciela Marquez Colin the first woman to head the National Statistical Institute.
Female representation in politics, beyond parties, ideals or currents of thought, is fundamental. According to the gender inequality reports from UN Women, the absence of women in certain areas of the study, such as politics, has a direct impact on the academic or work preferences of women.
Seeing women occupying positions that historically had been occupied by men substantially encourages new generations to take part and prefer to develop in various fields. Specifically in the public sector, female representation is essential because it provides a gender perspective in decision-making: women represent half of the world’s population and their particular needs must be considered in the same proportion.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx