Perspective on Afghanistan:

Session 2
Women in Peace Building in Guatemala
Maria Eugenia Villarreal
1. Introduction
The purpose of this volume is to show that Guatemalan women, especially indigenous women,
have organized throughout Guatemala’s history, but political repression has constrained their efforts.
Despite their marginalization and political exclusion, women have contributed to Guatemala’s political
transition. They created women’s organizations to mobilize against the military repression during the armed
conflict and have played an important role in efforts to eliminate impunity and human rights violations,
bringing international attention to the situation in Guatemala.
Guatemala is a country of
contrasts and contradictions, while
Guatemala is the largest Central
American country in terms of both
population and GDP, the majority
of its people live in extremely
difficult conditions. Distribution of
land, income and wealth is highly
skewed toward small elite. An
estimated 65% of Guatemalans
live in chronic poverty and
malnutrition;
its
sex million
indigenous people (Mayan) are
isolated socially, economically and
politically due to overt discrimination and geographic, cultural and linguistic barriers. 1
These factors help to explain the nearly four decades of internal armed conflict since 1960 to 1996,
between successive military governments and guerrilla movements.
This conflict formally ended with the signing of the Peace Accords at the end of 1996. In the
report entitled “Guatemala, Memory of Silence” presented on 25 February 1999, by the UN-appointed
Commission for Historical Clarification (CEH), registered a total of 200,000 killed or disappeared victims,
of which 83 percent of fully identified victims were Mayan, and the other 17 percent was constituted by
non-indigenous population (mestizos or Ladinos). 2
Around a million people were displaced, internally and in exile. The army committed acts of
torture and sexual violations, the burning of villages, as well as the destruction of symbolic culture such as
religious sites. The CEH attributes 3 percent of the registered human rights violations to the guerrillas and
93 percent to the state security structures, mainly the military. 3
Together with the loss in human lives, the consequences of the conflict generated the weakening of
the state and its institutions and the civil society’s capacity at organizing.
A historic lack of understanding and mistrust, combined with extreme racism towards the
indigenous people, facilitated the belief among the state and powerful sectors of the society that the
indigenous population was the enemy. The Memory of Silence qualified that genocide was perpetrated
against Mayan population from 1981 to 1982. 4
Therefore, while both men and women were exposed to forms of violations and suffer negatively
from the conflict, however the violations differed by gender women were more susceptible to harm and
abuse by the violent conflict, whether or not they were engaged in it. Women were subjected to 99% of
1
Oficina de Derechos Humanos del Arzobispado de Guatemala, Informe Anual, Guatemala 2005.
2
Guatemala Memorias del Silencio, volumen 1: Mandato y Proceso de trabajo. Causas y Orígenes del enfrentamiento armado, Guatemala,
UNOPS 1999.
3
4
Ibid
Ibid
the sexual violations, rape, forced prostitution and sexual slavery. Women lost fathers, husbands, sons,
property, and employment. 1 Women and children were the worst victims of the armed conflict…
Even in the absence of the armed conflict, Guatemalan women's were and are the most
marginalized sectors of Guatemalan society; their lives are valued less often subject to neglect and
exploitation. They have fewer opportunities for education and training, they do not have access to critical
health information, their decision-making capability is non-existent, and they suffer as victims of domestic
violence. In the workplace, disadvantages include unequal pay, less access to jobs and promotions as
compared to equally positioned men, difficulty participating in politics, and invisibility in public affairs,
lack of political representation, ignorance of their rights, lack of access to social networks, powerlessness,
lack of voice, and a tendency to be negatively stereotyped.
Women make up one of the most marginalized sectors of Guatemalan society, suffering from high
levels of poverty and violence, abysmal levels of education, difficult access to health care, lack of political
representation and ignorance of their rights.
According to the research elaborated by Central American Analysis Group 2 Women's inequality has a
negative impact on Guatemala's development, particularly as about a third of Guatemalan households are
supported by women. While women represent 50.85% of the Guatemalan population of 12.5 million and
60% of the working population in both formal and informal sectors, they make up only 19% of the
economically active population in the formal economy. Women have higher unemployment rates than men.
Recent studies show that rural women in Guatemala work, as a part of a family unit, as much as 18 hours a
day without remuneration, bearing the greatest burden of the country's poverty.
Compounding women's lack of access to the formal economy and well-paid positions is their poor
educational attainment: while Guatemalans on average complete 2.7 years of education, for women this
figure is a mere 1.3 years. Some 60% of Guatemalan women are illiterate; the Human Rights Ombudsman's
office argues that 75-90% of Guatemala's indigenous women are illiterate. 3
Women's health in Guatemala has improved over the past years, but the situation is still among the
worst in the Western Hemisphere. Life expectancy for Guatemalan women is 66.4 years, the lowest in
Central America, while maternal mortality—248 deaths per 100,000 as compared to 26 per 100,000 in
Costa Rica—is the highest in the region. Women in Guatemala also suffer from malnutrition and lack of
access to health care.
Another problem facing Guatemalan women is violence and discrimination in the home. UNICEF
estimates that 76% of all violence against women in Guatemala occurs at home 4 . A woman who wants to
participate in the formal economy will often have to obtain permission from her father or husband in order
to do so. Indigenous women suffer triple discrimination stemming from their gender, poverty and
ethnicity.
Women occupy fewer political positions than men do in Guatemala. Of the 80 deputies in the
national Congress, only 13 are women. Of the 12 Cabinet positions, only the Minister of Education is a
woman. Women constitute a mere four of the 24 vice ministers. Of all the judges and magistrates in the
country, 17% are women. Only 9% of union leaders are women, and women's representation in the parties
of the left is also very low. Some 325 of the 330 (or 98%) mayors are men in Guatemala. In general,
women occupy even fewer leadership positions in the rural areas of the country. 5
The armed conflict added to women and girls an additional level of complexity to their already
complicated lives. During the armed conflict, rape was an integral part of the counter-insurgency strategy
1
2
3
4
5
Guatemala Nunca Mas, Oficina de Derechos Humanos del Arzobispado, Guatemala 1999
Central American Analysis Group (CAG) and Valerie MacNabb. In Focus, Vol. I, Ed. 11, Guatemala City, 1998.
Ibid
UNICEF informe sobre la situación de la Mujer y de la Niña en Guatemala, Guatemala, 2003
UNICEF informe El progreso de las Naciones, Guatemala 2004.
against indigenous women. It was through this period that the prevalence of gender-based violence and the
complicity of Guatemalan authority developed.
Guatemala’s 36 year-armed conflict ended in 1996, with a comprehensive set of Peace Agreements,
which explicitly mentioned women, indigenous women and the roles they played in maintaining the peace.
Women contributed to Guatemala’s political transition despite their sufferance, exclusion and
marginalization. Women’s organizations creatively and effectively lobbied for full inclusion into the
negotiations. They succeeded ensuring that the Peace Accords included gender dimension. They lobbied
arduously for the inclusion of legislative and political protection and rights for indigenous women, gave
women access and rights to land ownership and also established an office for the protection of indigenous
women.
The Peace Agreements, also explicitly mentioned women, indigenous women and the roles they
played in maintaining the peace. One of the agreements contains an entire section on, “the role of women in
strengthening civilian power”. According to this clause, signatories must respect women’s organizations
and encourage and foster women’s right to participate in reconstruction and the political machinery.
Indigenous women, in particular, received unprecedented recognition in the text of the Accords.
Other demands incorporated by the Peace Agreements included the elimination by the government
of all forms of discrimination against women with respect to land, housing, credit and development projects.
The Peace Agreements also opened a space for participation and cooperation between indigenous and
ladina women. For the first time ever, women from diverse backgrounds chose to work together on gender
issues on a national level. 1
Guatemalan women participated forcefully in the process leading to the December 29, 1996
signing of the country's Peace Accords between the government and the guerrilla group Guatemalan
National Revolutionary Unity (URNG). Made up of 32 different organizations, the Women's Sector was
launched in May 1994 after various individual women and women's groups called for a specific women's
program within the Women's Sector of the Assembly of Civil Society (ASC), composed of 14 different
sectors. The Sector's objective was to make the women's movement a significant social actor in the
consolidation of Guatemala's democracy, and to introduce the demands of Guatemalan women in the
peace-building process. 2
The National Coordinating Group of Guatemalan Widows (CONAVIGUA) and Mutual Support
Group (GAM) were the first women’s organizations to mobilize against the military repression and to fight
against impunity and human rights violations, and CONAVIGUA was set up to support widows and
orphans facing particularly severe economic hardships.
Rigoberta Menchú Tum, an indigenous rights activist struggled against impunity and genocide
became one of the ten women to have ever been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992. She created the
Rigoberta Menchú Foundation, through this Foundation she continues working against impunity, genocide,
prevention of discrimination against minorities and liaises with international NGOs and UN agencies.
Rigoberta Menchu is one of the most important women peace builders in the country.
In 1997, the National Women’s Forum was created as part of the effort to implement the
gender-related provisions of the Peace Accords. The Forum was an important space for the participation of
rural and indigenous women to engage in the formulation of political proposals for gender equality.
In 2000, lobbying on the part of the women’s movement led to the creation of the Presidential
Secretariat for Women charged with implemented the national gender policy and led to the creation of the
post of National Coordinator for the Prevention of Intrafamily Violence and Violence against Women.
In September 2002, Guatemalan women participated in the "Women Peace Builders from the Americas"
1
2
Los Acuerdos de Paz Firme y Duradera de Guatemala, Gobierno de Guatemala, 29 Diciembre 1999.
Guatemala. Procurador de los Derechos Humanos. Defensoría de los Derechos de la Mujer. Los acuerdos de paz y la mujer guatemalteca.
Guatemala, PDH, 2001.
Conference held in Antigua, Guatemala. Guatemalan, Colombian and American women shared stories and
best practices and called for the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325.
Gender programs sponsored by NGOs, international organizations, and foreign governments have
helped Guatemalan women's organizations in several ways. They educate, raise awareness, and give
training workshops on topics ranging from education to political organization; offer opportunities for
organization and leadership; promote leadership at the rural, regional, and national level; allow for an
exchange of ideas between different cultures and countries; and participate in the promotion of legal and
political reforms.
Since 1997, UNIFEM has played an active role in strengthening the National Union of Guatemalan
Women to bring a gender perspective to the implementation of the peace accord and to the ongoing process
of democratization. This has been accomplished by supporting greater co-operation and cohesion among
Guatemalan women's organizations involved in the peace process, creating space for the voices of Mayan
women, incorporating women's demands in public policies, increasing gender awareness in the
peace-building process, and through the empowerment of women politically and socio-economically. The
initiatives strengthened women's participation in local governments and promoted women to run in the
1999 elections for municipal posts and Congress positions.
UNIFEM has developed the initiative "Engendering Governance: Strengthening Women's
Leadership in Post-Conflict Societies and Democracy Building in Guatemala" in order to expand women's
participation in maintaining peace in Guatemala. This programme supports gender-integration into
conflict-prevention, peace-building and post-conflict processes, especially through increasing women's
quantitative and qualitative participation in these processes.
Women's organizations have benefited from Guatemala's political opening launched in 1985 by a
new constitution and the first free and fair elections in twenty years. Women have, in turn, contributed to
Guatemala's democratization process by creating wider political spaces for expression. 1
Peace and democratization have benefited from women's initiatives, which have often had
significance beyond gender issues. Achieving organizational unity, improving the rights of women,
changing patriarchal and discriminatory attitudes, enforcing existing laws, and gaining equality of
opportunity in the public sphere continue to be an uphill battle for Guatemalan women.
The constraints facing Guatemalan women are still numerous, they continue to be a marginalized
and discriminated sector and the indigenous women's status remains vastly inferior to that of rest of the
population, because the lack of access to education. Gender experts regard education as the key to fostering
women's situation in the country.
In the post-conflict period the violence against women has risen sharply, the report “Guatemala:
No protection, No justice: Killings of women in Guatemala.” 2 examines the number of murdered women
after the armed conflict. “According to Guatemalan authorities, 1,188 women and girls were murdered
between 2001 and 2004. Many of the victims have been killed in exceptionally brutal circumstances. There
is evidence to suggest that sexual violence, particularly rape, is a strong component characterizing many of
the killings but this is often not reflected in official records. In a number of cases, the bodies were mutilated
and disfigured in ways associated with killings during the internal armed conflict.” The culture of impunity
in Guatemala as contributing both to the murders and authorities’ failures to investigate crimes, preserve
evidence and prosecute suspects.
Amnesty International published a report in 2005 that indicated that the number of women
murdered and sexually abused in Guatemala has risen considerably. Multiple causes are associated with the
more than two-thousand women violently killed in the last five years, including youth gangs called maras,
1
Guatemala. Procurador de los Derechos Humanos. Defensoría de los Derechos de la Mujer. Los acuerdos de paz y la mujer guatemalteca.
Guatemala, PDH, 2001.
2
Amnesty International report, published 2005, USA
acute levels of sexual violence in the home, the activities of clandestine groups linked to organized crime
and the legacy of Guatemala’s long civil conflict, where rape and sexual violence were an integral part of
the counter-insurgency strategy. According to Amnesty, a general climate of impunity is ultimately at fault,
as less than 10 percent of those crimes were duly investigated.
2. Conclusion
Guatemala represents a programming challenge in that it is both a developing country and a post
conflict nation. The country's fledgling democracy is fragile; mistrust of the State remains widespread; and
there is deep rooted discrimination toward a large proportion of its citizens.
This is important for two crucial reasons. First, one must approach programming in Guatemala
with a long-term perspective. Delays thus far in the achievement of peace targets seem to indicate that
although the country is gradually progressing toward the fulfillment of the Accords, the peace building
process will be taken many years beyond the time frame set out in the Accords.
Second, programming in Guatemala will require efforts to broaden consciousness regarding the
most vulnerable populations. Without a greater public understanding of the reality faced by Guatemala's
indigenous, women and rural poor, progress in development and peace building will be severely limited.
The inclusion of indigenous women in peace building represents a double challenge: in order to make the
voice of indigenous women heard among dominant groups of society, the indigenous women must be
integrated with positions at all levels of decision-making and in order indigenous women restore their
right to make choices about their own lives.
In this framework, the support for peace building can be enhanced by supporting women a wide
range of activities associated with capacity building, reconciliation and societal transformation and violence
prevention. The assistance must be focused on the following initiatives:
Ensuring the application of the Peace Accord commitments. There are still enormous problems of
poverty -- especially in the rural areas -- and of participation, credit and economic opportunity, a decade of
peace has done little to reverse the toll of four decades of armed conflict on women's health, economic
security, education and political access. In fact, despite the presence of a strong women's movement, the
access to land, livelihoods and education continue to present formidable obstacles to Guatemalan women,
especially indigenous women who make up a majority of the population.
Ensuring the application of the Agreement on Identity and Rights of Indigenous Peoples of the
Peace Agreements, this established the recognition of a multiethnic, pluricultural and multilingual nation.
The government of Guatemala has committed itself to recognizing the identity of indigenous peoples. It has
promised to legally recognize the practice of indigenous religions including the conservation of holy places,
the use of native languages in both education and national life, the wearing of traditional clothing and the
use of indigenous customs to settle community disputes. Other government commitments include the
prohibition of racial discrimination, violence toward and sexual harassment of indigenous women, the
creation of legal rights offices throughout Guatemala and access to land for those without.
Support the recognition of the specific (individual) rights to the indigenous woman: right to full
participation, to take part in all decisions that concern them, equality in all areas, health care, education,
culture, identity, right to own land, the right to organize and the right to progress. The indigenous women
rarely receive the necessary health care or psychosocial support and rehabilitation, which is sensitive to
their culture and language.
Make efforts to strengthen the unity between different women groups of indigenous peoples, to
promote their mutual cooperation and reflection on their rights and values.
The mass communication and education measures, such as peace radio, peace-education projects
and conflict-resolution training and dialogue between people of various ethnicities or opposing groups can
lead to deepened understanding and help to change the image of the enemy group, it can also help parties to
overcome grief, fear, and mistrust and enhance their sense of security, and help to repair the social fabric
that has been destroyed by the armed conflict.
Encourage indigenous women to use the media to highlight their suffering during the armed
conflict and their perspectives and recommendations on how to bring about peace and development in their
communities and in the country.
Encourage indigenous women to seek decision-making positions and build mechanisms which will
enable women to have access to such positions whether in the traditional or modern governance systems.
Set up and advance mechanisms to promote dialogue between governmental structures and
indigenous women. The Guatemalan government should reform the educational system, such that it
reflects the views and values of indigenous peoples, promotes respect, tolerance and acceptance of cultural
differences. Education should become a conduit for cultural survival.
Raise the profile of indigenous women in conflict prevention, conflict resolution, and post-conflict
peace building both among indigenous peoples and among the general public, through:
The strengthen grass-roots organizations or networks for peace building.
Train indigenous women in negotiations; design training, peace building
Provide financial assistance to indigenous women to build their capacity to effectively participate in
conflict resolution and peace building efforts.
Encourage indigenous women to forge networks and linkages with other women’s organizations
and networks at all levels (committees of housekeepers, federations of women, women’s unions, etc.) and
mobilize them to play key roles in peace building and development processes. Enhance women’s capacities
to promote human rights.
Ensuring full access of women and girls to all resources and benefits provided in reintegration
programs, including skills development programs.
Finally, peace and democratization have benefited from women's initiatives but their contribution
to conflict resolution and peace building are underutilized, nevertheless they can offer valuable experience
and insights that may contribute to a gendered knowledge about their approaches to peace building.
References
ASIES, IV Seminario sobre realidad nacional. Guatemala, mayo 1988.
Arriola, A. M., Guatemala: contrainsurgencia y guerra de exterminio. ENIAL, México DF, 1982.
Amnistía Internacional, Los derechos humanos en Guatemala. Guatemala 1980.
Bauer P., Alfonso e Iván Carpio Alfaro, Memorias de Alfonso Bauer Paiz. Historia no oficial de Guatemala.
Rusticatio Ediciones, Guatemala, 1996.
Carmack, R. M. (Comp.), Guatemala: cosecha de violencia, FLACSO, San José Costa Rica, 1991.
Centro de Investigación y Documentación Centroamericana, Violencia y contraviolencia: desarrollo
histórico de la violencia institucional en Guatemala. Editorial Universitaria, Guatemala, 1980.
Central American Analysis Group (CAG) and Valerie MacNabb. In Focus, Vol. I, Ed. 11, Guatemala City,
Guatemala, 1998.
Comisión de Derechos Humanos, Consejo Económico y Social de la ONU, El derecho a la reparación.
E/CN.4/Sub.2/1996/18.
Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe. El desafío de la equidad de género los derechos
humanos en los albores del siglo XXI. Santiago,CEPAL, 2000.
Comité Pro Justicia y Paz en Guatemala, Los derechos humanos en Guatemala. Guatemala, 1986.
Coordinadora por los Derechos Económicos, Sociales y Culturales [COODESC], “Mujer en el contexto de
los derechos económicos, sociales y culturales en Guatemala” (2000); Comisión Interamericana de
Derechos Humanos, Guatemala 2000.
Davis, S. H., Introduction: sowing in seeds of violence, en: R.C. Carmack (Ed.) Harvest of violence.
University of Oklahoma Press, Oklahoma, 1988.
De la guerra... a la guerra. La difícil transición política en Guatemala. Fondo de Cultura Editorial,
Guatemala, 1995.
Fernández F., José M., Comunidades indígenas y conflicto social en Guatemala. Universidad Complutense
de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias Políticas y Sociología, Madrid, 1988.
Gómez R., Reina y otros. Derechos humanos de la mujer, Guatemala, CDHG, 2000.
Guatemala Memorias del Silencio, volumen 1: Mandato y Proceso de trabajo. Causas y Origenes del
enfrentamiento armado, Guatemala, UNOPS 1999.
Guatemala Nunca Mas, Oficina de Derechos Humanos del Arzobispado, Guatemala 1999.
Guatemala. Procurador de los Derechos Humanos. Defensoría de los Derechos de la Mujer. Los acuerdos
de paz y la mujer guatemalteca. Guatemala, PDH, 2001.
Gutiérrez, E., La difícil transición en Guatemala, en: Revista Verdad y Vida. Año II, Núm. 5. ODHAG,
Guatemala, Enero-Marzo, 1995.
Los Acuerdos de Paz Firme y Duradera de Guatemala, Gobierno de Guatemala, 29 Diciembre 1999.
McClintock, M., The american connection (Vol. II) State terror and popular resistance in Guatemala. Zea
Boocks, Londres, 1987.
Memorias del Silencio, Comisión para el Esclarecimiento Histórico, United Nations, Guatemala 23 Junio
1999
Misión de Naciones Unidas para Guatemala – MINUGUA-, “Los desafíos para la participación de las
mujeres guatemaltecas”, Guatemala, 2002.
Oficina de Derechos Humanos del Arzobispado de Guatemala, Informe Anual, Guatemala 2005.
Secretaría Presidencial de la Mujer de Guatemala, “Informe Nacional sobre la Situación de la Mujer
Guatemalteca y Cambios a partir de Último Informe”, Guatemala, 2002.
Solís, M. E. Glosario jurídico popular : género, salud, política. Guatemala, Oficina Nacional de la Mujer;
Mujer y Reformas Jurídicas; PNUD, 2000.
Toriello G.G., Guatemala: más de 20 años de traición (1954-1979). Editorial Universitaria, Guatemala,
1979.
Truth Comission of Guatemala, United Nations: DPA-Americas Division 1997.
Tomuschat Christian Clarification Commission in Guatemala, Human Rights Quarterly, Vol 23, 2001.
UNICEF informe sobre la situación de la Mujer y de la Niña en Guatemala, Guatemala, 2003.
Valenzuela, S., M. del Rosario. Mujer y género en Guatemala : magia y realidad. Guatemala,
Artemis Edinter, 2001.