Day 16: Las Dignas

I decided to stay in San Salvador for a few days to try and get in contact with various organizations that work with maquila employees.  I was given a few contacts by one of my professors on my thesis committee.  To my surprise, many of them no longer work with maquila workers.  Their attention has now turned to combating femicide in El Salvador. Femicide has become a huge problem in the region.  I have read about femicide in Guatemala and almost went on a delegation this summer to the country to explore the topic.

Las Dignas was the first organization I contacted.  Las Dignas, which is Asociacion de Mujeres por la Dignidad y la vida (Association of Women for Dignity and Life), is a well known feminist organization in El Salvador and often are seen in the national media fighting for women's rights. In the past, they had organized women maquila workers.  I went to their Centro de Documentacion (Documentation Center) to explore their library.  They had a vast collection of books, videos, and CDs.  The library staff member found various books for me on machismo, including one on masculinity and paternity in El Salvador.  She was also able to find an old Las Dignas published manual on maquila workers.  I was very excited and grateful for her assistance and spent a couple of hours making photocopies and looking through various books.  She also provided me with information on femicide in El Salvador which is something I would like to explore at a later date.

This is art work that I spotted displayed on some of the houses in El Salvador.  It reads: "In this house we want a life free of violence against women"