ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD
Members Only
lock close icon

Glitter Revolution: Why Mexican Women Have Occupied Govt Building?

A different kind of ‘revolution’ has unfolding at the country’s human rights commission headquarters. Read on!

Published
Gender
2 min read
story-hero-img
i
Aa
Aa
Small
Aa
Medium
Aa
Large
Hindi Female

On the day Mexicans were to mark their Independence Day celebrations, on 15 September, a different kind of ‘revolution’ was unfolding at the country’s human rights commission headquarters.

Just a week earlier, masked women protesters stormed the iconic building and occupied it – as a mark of protest over the rising crime and violence against women.

This building, they told The Guardian, will be used as a shelter home for victims of gender violence until Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (Amlo) takes decisive action.

At least 3,825 women were victims of rape, murder, forced disappearance, domestic violence in the country, in 2019 alone.
ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

THE MEXICAN GLITTER REVOLUTION

The occupation of the building in the middle of a pandemic is the extension of what is called the ‘Glitter Revolution.’

It all started in August 2019, when protesters set fire to a police station and bus terminal, in Mexico City, after news of rapes committed by police officers broke out.

It was dubbed ‘Glitter Revolution’ after protesters doused Mexico City’s security minister with pink glitter, at one such protest. For months, these women staged occupations at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

0

WHY HAVE THE PROTESTS SPIKED NOW

Gender violence has only gotten worse in 2020, thanks to the coronavirus-induced lockdowns.

The country’s President Amlo, meanwhile, has been accused of downplaying” the problem and cutting down the budgets of government departments that work for the welfare of women.

According to data released in July, femicide in the country climbed 7.7 percent for the first half of 2020 alone, as compared to the same period last year. As seen globally, Mexico also saw a sharp increase in the number of domestic violence cases.

The National Network of Shelters in the country claimed that it received 80 percent more calls since the start of pandemic. However, Amlo claimed that 90 percent of such calls were “false” and approved a 75 percent budget cut for federal women’s institute. He even proposed to withdraw funding provided to women’s shelter, run by NGOs.

(With inputs from The Guardian)

(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)

Read Latest News and Breaking News at The Quint, browse for more from gender

Speaking truth to power requires allies like you.
Become a Member
3 months
12 months
12 months
Check Member Benefits
Read More
×
×