INDIGENOUS RIGHTS
By Myrna Cunningham, Board Member, Global Fund for Women
In 2002, indigenous women from around the world, convened the First Summit for Indigenous Women. The Summit, which met in Oaxaca, Mexico, was designed around the principle of empoderamiento or empowerment, in which the strategy of making change is based on the idea that women define and name social problems, as well as the solutions.
We used the momentum that had been building from the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR) held in Durban, South Africa in 2001. At WCAR, as well as other international meetings before that, indigenous women had been learning from one another—sharing proposals and strategies. Thus, we began to shed our fear of speaking out, while gaining power through forging a unified international identity.
At the Summit, we named our situation as indigenous women and identified opportunities to do our own research. For example, while we were aware of research that shows the economic gap between indigenous groups and other ethnic communities, many of us realized the gap between indigenous men and indigenous women in inland villages is not being analyzed. National surveys do not measure these distinctions. Rather, they simply present national averages measuring literacy, health, schooling and salaries.
We discussed how the rising levels of violence challenge our development. Throughout the Americas, young girls and boys are being forced into prostitution. Armed conflicts and militarization contribute to rising numbers of refugees and migrants suffering under the burden of poverty, institutionalized racism and social alienation.
We acknowledged that another challenge to women's full development is men's reluctance to accept us. We need a campaign to raise awareness among men, who are, in many cases, the first obstacle to women's access to political participation. Although there have been important advances in the opening of participatory spaces for native peoples in the political, economic, social and cultural spheres, native people still face problems integrating the perspective of women. There tends to be a lack of openness towards the indigenous woman and her contribution within different indigenous organizations.
This is especially ironic given the indigenous people's historic philosophy of duality that deeply values women's roles. Duality comes from the indigenous belief system that says all spiritual and human beings are interrelated; balance and spirituality are the prime movers of the universe. For centuries, the wealth of indigenous peoples had its origin in the transfer of values from generation to generation through oral histories. Women played an important role as midwives, counselors, spiritual guides and leaders perpetuating knowledge, traditional values, community wisdom and natural talents. In this context, the relationship between men and women has always been understood as complementary in all areas of private and public life. Obviously, this principle has been undermined by external cultural contacts and changing community dynamics.
In the Declaration and Action Plan of the First Summit, we emphasized that the wellbeing of our people depends upon the level of equality between men and women in terms of decision-making in public and private areas of life.
In order to continue the struggle of indigenous women's movements, we must establish and reinforce alliances with all social movements around the world, in particular those of other women. Therefore, we urge all women to create, implement, and/or expand channels of participation involving indigenous women in decisionmaking processes at every level; from local to national to regional to international. We also invite women to use their access to media and other modes of communications to help create a support network that is integrated with the rest of society.
International organizations committed to women's rights have a critical role to play in promoting the creation of new democratic processes, the exchange of experiences, capacity building and collaboration with indigenous women. We all have a role to play in uprooting racism and discrimination.
Myrna Cunningham is a medical doctor and surgeon who lives and works in Nicaragua. She is Vice President of the Iniciativa Indigena por la Paz (Indigenous Initiative for Peace), an international movement of indigenous people. An indigenous woman, she is a long-time activist for women's rights and the rights of indigenous people in Central America.
Photo © Alexander Panichev