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By Juliana Quintana, from Asunción.
Photos: Jess Insfrán.
At 5:00 p.m., the Paraguayan International Women's Strike (#8MPy) organization sent a statement via their WhatsApp group, comprised of over 245 participants, announcing that the march would not be canceled due to rain. With the slogans “Ore rembiapo ovale” (Our work matters) and “ore kuña ropyta” (We strike), more than 3,000 women—domestic workers, farmers, Indigenous women, residents of the Bañado Sur neighborhood, students, and LGBTQ+ individuals—marched.

The march departed from Plaza de la Mujer (formerly Plaza Italia) on Jejuí Street around 7:30 p.m., heading towards Plaza de la Democracia. International Women's Day in Asunción was celebrated with glitter, handmade t-shirts, poetry, dancing, and songs in Guaraní, one of the favorites being “Che reté, che mba'e” (My body is mine). But among the groups that championed the value of their work, sexual minorities stood out.

“Trans people suffer double discrimination in the workplace, and it’s very difficult for us to find jobs in cisgender heterosexual jobs. My first job was at McDonald’s. They told me customers shouldn’t see my face and made me clean the floor all the time. One day, when they finally let me work the register, 350,000 guaraníes were missing, and that was impossible. They would cause any kind of altercation to get me fired. My coworkers stole, and then they docked my pay,” Emily Marin, a 20-year-old trans woman, told Presentes.

According to the feminist manifesto of the coalition, in Paraguay, women earn 30% less than men for the same work, and they also dedicate twice as much time to unpaid, unrecognized work. “What they call love is unpaid labor,” journalist Noelia Díaz Esquivel read from the stage in Plaza de la Democracia.

Feminist communicator and poet Fátima Aguilar believes that freelance work is the most precarious form of labor, particularly for women. “In freelance work, while we don't have to keep to set hours, we have to meet a multitude of objectives and manage our time beyond all gender roles. Within this context, we face incredibly difficult pay, lack social security, and our work is rendered far more invisible,” she stated.
This week, 200 employees were dismissed without prior notice from the Superior Electoral Court (TSJE). In an interview with Presentes, Liz Insfrán, from the human resources department of the TSJE (Superior Electoral Court), explained that, as a lesbian woman, her current situation is difficult because, if she is not reinstated, she will have to start a new job search in a country where discrimination against lesbians and bisexuals in the workplace translates into unjustified dismissals and aggravated harassment with a lack of reporting mechanisms.

“When I started at the TSJE, I had a partner who was also my coworker. The truth is, the harassment and the veiled comments were terrible. At the time, I let it go, but now I realize how awful it was. Once, a department head suggested we make a pornographic video; luckily, it didn't escalate and it stayed there,” Liz recalled.

But even LGBTQ+ individuals with job security suffer harassment. More than being seen as a blonde, an Argentinian, or a lesbian, Natalia Pintus likes to be seen as a person. In the 10 years she has worked as general manager of a technology magazine called Paraguay TI, she has never been judged by her appearance, unlike in other jobs. “I understand that I am part of a privileged sector within the LGBTQ+ community, and I know I am very fortunate for the work experiences I have had,” she said.



Concepción . LGBTQ+ women demanded equality and the eradication of the patriarchal culture ingrained in all workplaces.