Guatemala
Guatemala’s brutal civil war was particularly devastating
to the country’s Mayan population, with massacres in
more than 600 villages. Medarda Castro is
founder of Naleb, an organization of indigenous Guatemalans
promoting educational and constitutional reform, economic
development, and cultural unity among the Mayan people. She
is a consultant to the Organization of American States and
cofounder of the first Mayan women’s political organization
in Guatemala. Bridging divides between the Mayan and Ladino/mestizo
communities, Ms. Castro was part of a group that called on
the Guatemalan congress to strengthen the implementation
of the peace accords and abandon policies that promote the
marginalization of the Mayan people. (Last
updated 11.2003)
Peace agreements signed in 1996 form
the base of a comprehensive platform for socioeconomic development
and democratization in Guatemala. Luz
Méndez, president
of the Advisory Council to the National Union of Guatemalan
Women, works for implementation, particularly of gender equality
provisions. She was formerly general coordinator of the Union,
which promotes women’s rights and gender-equitable political
participation. Between 1991 and 1996, Ms. Méndez participated
in the peace negotiations as the only female member of the
delegation of the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity,
contributing to the incorporation of specific commitments for
gender equity in the accords. A member of the advisory council
of the Global Fund for Women, Ms. Méndez has contributed
to women’s inclusion and leadership in conflict resolution
and post-conflict reconstruction in a number of countries.
In 2000, she was a member of UNIFEM’s gender experts’ team
at the Burundi peace talks. Three years later, she was an international
expert at a conference cohosted by the World Bank, UNIFEM,
Women for Women International, and Inclusive Security: Women Waging Peace; the
goal of this meeting was the inclusion of Iraqi women in the
reconstruction of their country. (Last updated 06.2004)
Read about other peace
builders.
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