Being a woman in Guatemala:

Feeling oppressed by living in a sexist country is something that makes me sick of life. When I think about that, a giant and negative feeling takes over me. To know that every woman has ever experimented harassment or inequality in this country makes me lose hope. Thinking every single day if we will get back home mustn’t be our first thought. It’s a critical affair; raped girls, women without voice and families with murdered daughters. Maybe for our third-world country it is okay, it is what it should be. In this blue essay, I’ll emphasize my point of view about being a woman, then; I'll point out cases of lives taken, and finally; I'll talk about a perfect utopia to be a woman.

Since I was a child, my family gave me many pieces of advice about my behavior as a woman. According to my gender, I should’ve been more delicate, more polite and suitable for society and my family. For instance, If I wore a short skirt I felt embarrassed, as if I'd commited a sin. I was a kid who had no idea what they were talking about. It’s troublesome to want to leave most convictions. All of this is because of old generations and shortage of interest in understanding how our system set us up as victims every single day. I am absolutely fed up with being affected for this situation and to be unable of enjoying my life. Even when I am already in my house, I continue thinking about my mom and my sisters. Taking an Uber, taxi or Indriver and having to frequently share your location to “feel you safer,” isn’t freedom and those are only some examples. Each day I wake up and think, I hope to be able to come back without damage, safe and sound. Despite that, I believe that being a woman is amazing, it’s just that for me my gender one easily can become a prey.

Last year, about 128 femicide were registered just in Guatemala City, it was 7% less than other years. It is nothing, for me, it doesn’t mean anything. It comes to my mind Fatima’s case, she was just a kind when her life was taken away. Justice does nothing, a girl with a life that was just beginning should not have suffered that. Being murdered and raped by the same men she knew. I continue thinking that life imprisonment was not enough punishment for them. We also have Melani Fernanda, she was 27 years old, she went to a party with her “friend” and never came back to her house. Even among women they can’t each other.

What does it really mean to be a woman? Well, many time women have to work more than men for getting the same opportunities; it is an evidence about our capacity. While I’m walking on the streets, I’m thinking that I live in a real world and not in a utopia. In my utopia women are free, we can achieve anything like men, it’s generally a perfect world where women live. Making a change that benefit us. Living in harmony and with respect, without fear of going out on the streets alone or without need to be in constant communication with someone in case something happens to you. So they know you’re still alive. This is what should not exist, insecurity and fear of being a woman.

Even with the above obstacles, we women continue fighting to be truly free. In order that there aren’t more girls who are violated and murdered. It is a long and rocky road and perhaps many of us here will not be able to see it, but perhaps future generations will have the happiness of living safely. We don't want more families without their girls, we don't want oppressed women and even unwanted pregnancies. We want to be safe in the broadest sense.