In Asunción, thousands of women took to the streets in a historic day for the mobilizations of recent years. There was also a protest by various organizations in front of the prosecutor's office to demand justice for the murders of transgender women. At the close of the main event, two laws were called for: an anti-discrimination law and a gender identity law.

By Erwing Augsten Szokol, from Asunción

Photos: Verónica Duarte The March 8th agenda in Paraguay began very early and was hectic, with activities in different parts of the country. All of them were under the bilingual Guarani/Spanish slogan Pray rembiapo ndovaléiro. Pemba'apo pray rehe'y! Roikovese ha roikovéta! If our work isn't valued, then 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 PanambiThe Association of Trans People protested in front of the Public Prosecutor's Office. There, they denounced the inaction of that body in cases of violence against women, and especially in cases of femicide of peasant women, indigenous women, and trans women. "He doesn't respond, he makes excuses and he's violent towards us." Mariana Sepúlveda, a leader of the Panambí organization, explained that it was a performance piece directed by actor and director Omar Mareco. “Women from Conamuri and trans women from Panambí participated. This is intended as a denunciation of the prosecutor's office, which only makes excuses, fails to respond, and violates our rights. But we women, through our resistance, have historically demonstrated that we will not allow ourselves to be trampled on, that we will fight for our rights.” Mariana Sepúlveda and her companions protested the murders of 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 been a total of 57 cases so far this year. In none of them have the perpetrators been found, leaving them unpunished and without justice.” She also spoke about the importance of strengthening alliances with rural organizations, given that “there are also trans women in the countryside who suffer even greater violence. If those of us here in Asunción continue to face discrimination, what must it be like in the interior of the country? We march for them and for all women, for the diversity of women.”. "Peasant women, indigenous people and trans people are subjected to a lot of violence" Cony Oviedo, spokesperson for the National Coordinating Body 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 Attorney General's Office (Public Ministry) as responsible for all the violence that women from all sectors experience. And as the institution responsible for guaranteeing and maintaining the privileges of the people and institutions that perpetrate violence against us.” [caption id="attachment_2376" align="aligncenter" width="765"] Conamuri members pictured during the intervention.Cony and her colleagues also demanded justice for the murdered trans women. "We understood that peasant, Indigenous, and trans women are subjected to a lot of violence, just like all women, because the very fact of being a woman already generates violence against us," says Cony. Her organization works on the rural-urban alliance and since last year has begun working on LGBTQ+ issues within the organization. "That meeting allowed us to connect with our colleagues from Panambí, 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 don't belong to 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 us classmates got together because we are victims of sexist harassment on the streets and in public places in the city every day. We joined because we are tired of violence against women, and especially street harassment,” they told Presentes en Asunción.

#8M: They demand an anti-discrimination law

The march's main event took place in Democracy Square in the city center. It drew a record-breaking 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) transformed the event into a celebration. Among the demands of the women, those related to sexual diversity occupied a prominent place. These included the discrimination and violence suffered by lesbian, bisexual, intersex, and transgender women within their own families and in society. Spokespeople from the various organizing groups, before the reading of the manifesto at the main event, demanded that the Paraguayan State approve the "Julio Fretes" Law against all forms of discrimination. Paraguay is the only country in the region that does not have this type of law. They also demanded the approval of a Gender Identity Law and the implementation of the long-delayed comprehensive sexuality education program.

The Rohendu line came out to the square

From 2011 to 2014, there were 75 femicides in Paraguay. 79% of the women murdered died at the hands of 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. So far this year, at least 13 femicides have been recorded. However, these figures do not indicate how many lesbian or trans women were victims. The Paraguayan government's data is not disaggregated, despite several recommendations from civil society and international organizations. In this context, the "Rohendu" hotline (Guarani for "we listen")—which receives reports of discrimination against LGBTI people—becomes the only tool available to estimate violence against LGBTI people. On March 8th, the “Rohendu Tent” was set up in O’Leary Square, one of the main locations in Asunción where the day’s activities were concentrated. The idea of ​​the lesbian-feminist organization Aireana, which runs the hotline, was to raise awareness of the “Rohendu” service. People were able to approach and receive advice. [READ MORE: " A voice on the phone against LGBT discrimination "]

"Women are no longer staying silent"

[caption id="attachment_2380" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Carolina Robledo in the Rohendu tentCarolina Robledo, from Aireana, stated: “As a lesbian woman, I experienced the strike with great joy. For the first time in Paraguay, this March 8th has brought together a huge number of people and organizations from different sectors. It's not just feminists and social organizations here, but also different groups: artists, human rights activists, women from all walks of life. I think it's one of the largest demonstrations in our country in recent times. I'm happy and reclaiming all our rights as lesbian women.” Carolina believes it's a historic moment: throughout the world, cases of violence against women are becoming more visible. “Paraguay is not lagging behind. We are making progress, although the laws are still unjust and the new laws are not yet fully implemented. Now, women are no longer silent. They are denouncing domestic violence. They don't see it as normal just because it happens within the family, and the same goes for harassment. It existed before, but now it's more visible.”.

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