De acuerdo con la organización política Diversa, en al menos 25% de las familias sólo existe la figura materna. Y en el 67.5% de estos hogares los hijos ni siquiera reciben una pensión económica de parte de los padres.

Cecilia Loría, integrante de Diversa, explica que en esos casos la irresponsabilidad de los padres no se limita al aspecto económico, sino que también se percibe en la convivencia: 42% de los padres nunca ve a sus hijos; 35% convive con ellos de vez en cuando y un 15% lo hace con frecuencia.

Para empeorar la situación, la legislación mexicana no apoya a las mujeres que se quedan solas con sus hijos. Un estudio de El Colegio de México reveló que de 100 mujeres que intentaron obtener pensiones alimenticias para sus hijos sólo siete la obtuvieron. Del resto, 13 ganaron el juicio para conseguirla y nunca la recibieron; otras 20 reciben la pensión pero en un ambiente de violencia y un 60% abandonaron los trámites antes de lograr resultados.

Del otro lado de la moneda, debido a que en muchos hogares los padres han pasado de ser los que mantienen y castigan a ser figuras decisivas en la educación y la formación de los hijos, por primera vez se está analizando la posibilidad de crear una prestación laboral que se denominaría "licencia por paternidad", que permitiría a los hombres ausentarse del trabajo cuando nacieran y se enfermaran sus hijos.

El objetivo de esta medida sería facilitar que los hombres tuvieran una participación en la crianza y el cuidado de los hijos y "desfeminizar" lo relativo a la procreación. Las cuestiones reproductivas y del cuidado de los hijos están tan centradas en las mujeres, que a la fecha nadie, ninguna institución pública o privada, sabe cuántos padres hay en México.

http://www.fempress.cl  

Laura Asturias

Journalist, Feminist

info@@@transwiz.org

Laura E. Asturias lives on the outskirts of Guatemala City, thousands of miles from Women’s Justice Center. She is an irrepressible feminist who, while raising a daughter and son for an independent life, adopted empiricism as a way of life, convinced that in the experiences acquired at each step taken, together with professional education and also without it, there are a wealth of lessons for oneself and for others.

Laura became involved in the field of sexuality and AIDS as a facilitator of workshops for adults and adolescents. She has worked as a journalist and columnist, and since 1992, she has published hundreds of opinion pieces in diverse media both in and beyond Guatemala. Laura was also one of the hosts of “Voces de Mujeres”, which started in the 1990’s and, at the time, was the only feminist radio program.

In 1997 Laura founded the weekly electronic feminist magazine “Tertulia”, which for a number of years was the only extensive information service about women published and disseminated from Central America. In 1998, she co-founded “La Cuerda”, the only feminist publication in Guatemala (distributed widely in the country with 20,000 copies printed monthly and distributed electronically to all continents). She started as co-editor, and later became editor until 2007.

Currently, Laura runs a translation service working exclusively with international non-governmental organizations whose works conform to her convictions.

It’s likely that just a decade ago we wouldn’t have found each other, but a little over ten years ago, in what seemed a local electronic conversation about the Teresa Macias case, Laura joined the discussion, asking questions as if she were seated on the other side of the table.

Today, in a way that has not lost its magic touch, Laura is a friend, colleague, and integral part of the Women’s Justice Center community, as well as we are in her life. We routinely go to Laura for her fast and impeccable translations. Laura also used to incorporate our work in her own electronic magazine. Most invaluable are our easy chats through electronic mail sustaining our camaraderie.

Laura tells us that, in the Guatemalan capital, women are able to access the net in offices and Internet cafes, and many women now have their own personal home computers, and still others have laptops. But for the great majority of women who reside in rural areas, she says, such access is often impossible due to continued isolation exacerbated by female illiteracy (which in some remote towns is as high as 95%), by the 24 different languages that exist in the country, and the lack of respect for indigenous values and culture in general.

Laura feels confident that people can learn and are willing to better their lives when they have complete and accurate information and adequate resources. But her optimism is tempered by what she considers a hard reality: the presence of the ultra-right religions in all corners of her country, and the proliferation of sexist men in all levels of government.