In Asunción, thousands of women took to the streets in a historic day for recent protests. Organizations also held a strike outside the prosecutor's office to demand justice for the murders of trans women. At the closing ceremony, two laws were demanded: anti-discrimination and gender identity.

By Erwing Augsten Szokol, from Asunción

Photos: Verónica Duarte The March 8th agenda in Paraguay started very early and was hectic, with activities in different parts of the country. All of them under the bilingual Guaraní/Spanish theme. Pray rembiapo ndovaléiro. Pemba'apo pray rehe'y! Roikovese ha roikovéta! If our work isn't worth it, produce without us! We want to live! Strike in front of the Prosecutor's Office One of the first activities of the morning was the joint intervention of the National Coordinator of Rural and Indigenous Women of Paraguay (Conamuri) and Panambí, the Transgender Association, in front of the Public Prosecutor's Office. There, they denounced the body's inaction in cases of violence against women, especially in cases of femicides involving peasant, indigenous, and trans women. "He doesn't respond, he makes excuses, and he abuses us." Mariana Sepúlveda, a representative of the Panambí organization, explained that it was a performance led by actor and director Omar Mareco. “The women of Conamuri and transvestite colleagues from Panambí participated. This is meant to be a denunciation of the prosecutor's office, which only gives long excuses, offers no answers, and abuses us. But we women, with our resistance, have historically shown that we will not let them trample on us, that we will fight and strive for our rights.” Mariana Sepúlveda and her companions protested for murdered trans women. “We stood in front of the prosecutor's office to raise our voices against the femicides and murders of trans women. There have now been a total of 57 cases so far this year. In none of them were the perpetrators found, leaving them unpunished and without justice.” She also spoke of the importance of deepening alliances with peasant organizations, given that “there are also trans women in the countryside who suffer greater violence. If we who are here here in Asunción continue to be discriminated against, what would happen in the interior of the country? We marched for them and for all of them, for the diversity of women.” "Peasant, Indigenous, and trans women are subjected to a lot of violence." Cony Oviedo, spokesperson for the National Coordinator of Rural and Indigenous Women of Paraguay (CONAMURI), recalls that they have historically mobilized on this date. But this year was different. “We wanted to do something different, and we began to think of the State Attorney General's Office (Public Ministry) as the entity responsible for all the violence we women in all sectors experience. And as the institution responsible for guaranteeing and maintaining the privileges of the people and institutions that violate us.” [caption id="attachment_2376" align="aligncenter" width="765"] Members of Conamuri photographed during the intervention.[/caption] Cony and her colleagues also demanded justice for their murdered trans women. "We understood that peasant, Indigenous, and trans women are subjected to a lot of violence, just like all women, because the mere fact of being a woman generates violence against us," says Cony. Her organization works on the rural-urban alliance and began addressing LGBTI issues within the organization last year. "That meeting allowed us to connect with our Panambí colleagues, and we invited them to join this action."

"Tired of street harassment"

Marian and Meli are university students majoring in design. They consider themselves "self-organized women." They are not involved in any feminist organization and were among the women who participated in the march on their own. "This is the first time we've participated in this type of activity. A group of classmates from the program got together because we are victims of sexist harassment on the streets and in public places in the city on a daily basis. We joined because we're tired of violence against women, and especially street harassment," they told Presentes en Asunción.

#8M: They demand an anti-discrimination law

The march took place in Democracy Plaza in the city's downtown area. It drew a historic turnout of between seven and ten thousand people. The presence of local artists and the "Tatucada" (a percussion group made up of bisexual, lesbian, and heterosexual women) turned the event into a celebration. Among the women's demands, the demands for sexual diversity occupied a prominent place. Among them was the discrimination and violence suffered by lesbian, bisexual, intersex, and trans women within their families and in society. Before reading the manifesto at the main event, spokespersons from the various organizing sectors demanded that the Paraguayan State approve the "Julio Fretes" Law against all forms of discrimination. Paraguay is the only country in the region without this type of law. They also demanded the approval of a Gender Identity Law and the implementation of the long-delayed comprehensive sexuality education.

The Rohendu line came out to the square

From 2011 to 2014, there were 75 femicides in Paraguay. Seventy-nine percent of the murdered women were killed by their boyfriends, husbands, partners, or ex-partners. During this same period, more than 321 cases of physical violence were recorded, and a total of 285 women were sexually coerced, according to the Report on Violence against Women in Paraguay: Progress and Challenges, published in December 2016. Meanwhile, so far this year, at least 13 femicides have been recorded. However, these data do not provide an estimate of how many lesbian or trans women were victims. Paraguayan government data are not disaggregated, despite several recommendations from civil society and international organizations. In this context, the "Rohendu" (Guarani for "we listen") hotline—which receives complaints of discrimination against LGBTI people—becomes the only tool available to estimate violence against LGBTI people. On March 8, the "Rohendu Tent" was set up in O'Leary Square, one of the areas in Asunción where the day's activities were concentrated. The lesbian-feminist organization Aireana, which operates the line, aimed to raise awareness of the "Rohendu" service. People were able to come and receive advice. [READ MORE: « A voice on the phone against LGBT discrimination »]

"Women no longer remain silent."

[caption id="attachment_2380" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Carolina Robledo in the Rohendu tent[/caption] Carolina Robledo, from Aireana, said: “As a lesbian woman, I experienced the strike with great joy. For the first time in Paraguay, this March 8th brought together a huge number of people and organizations from different fields. It's not just feminists and social organizations who are here, but also different groups: artists, human rights activists, women from all walks of life. I think it's one of the largest protests in our country in recent times. I'm happy and I'm demanding all our rights as lesbian women.” Carolina believes it's a historic moment: cases of violence against women are becoming more visible around the world. “Paraguay isn't far behind. We're making progress, although the laws continue to be unjust, and new laws have yet to be implemented. Now, women are no longer silent. They're denouncing domestic violence. They don't see it as normal because it occurs within the family, the same goes for harassment. It used to happen, but now it's more visible.”

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