Project Report
| Jul 28, 2020
A narrative for change in Chiapas
By Stephanie Ahlgrain | Manager of Fundraising at Amextra
There's a young girl who does not want to get married and pleads with her mother not to force her to do so, but the mother tells her it's her duty. The wedding is celebrated...Over time, when the girl's husband arrives home - sometimes drunk - he gets angry because his food is not ready. Also, sometimes, he wants to have sex with the girl, but she refuses because of his aggressive tone, because he smells like alcohol and because he is spending money on beer, instead of buying food for the family. Since she doesn't want to have sex, he calls her a prostitute and accuses her of having a lover. To prevent him from hitting her, the girl succumbs to his sexual advances.
The story you just read is not real, but it´s written to seem as if it were. The characters and story line are based on data obtained from the analysis of more than 120 interviews carried out in five Tzeltal communities, and is part of the educational materials that will be used to inspire a deep and honest dialogue on gender relations and violence in Ocosingo., Chiapas.This story, and 24 others that are in the process of being drafted and translated into Tzeltal, are supported by testimonies and reflect the difficult reality of many women in indigenous communities in this state.The stories will be grouped into five books and are a fundamental part of the project "Ending violence through Community Narrative Practice" that is being carried out by Amextra in collaboration with the American anthropologist Dr. Kathleen Cash.
Thankfully, at the moment the Covid-19 global pandemic is not affecting our timing on this project, as we are in the phase of drafting the stories and fictional characters from these interviews, which can be done from a distance. Once all 24 stories are created we will plan the thirf phase of the project, in which local leaders are trainedto lead focus groups using these story books to inspire reflection on the violence and gender roles they expose.
Thank you for joining us on this journey. With every story written we are one step closer to bringing them to communities and beginning the implementation stage of the Community Narrative Practice project in Chiapas.
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Apr 1, 2020
80,000 strong standing up for womens rights
By Stephanie Ahlgrain | Fundraising Manager at Amextra
At the beginning of March there were two historic days calling for a widespread stop of violence against women in Mexico. On Sunday, March 8th, nearly 80,000 people (primarily women) marched from the Monument of the Revolution to the Zocalo in Mexico City to call attention to the alarming rates of femicides and other acts of gender-based violence in the country. Then, on Monday, March 9th, women staged a national strike, with 7 out of 10 women participating in some way. To participate in the strike, women were invited to miss work, not buy anything, and not use social media as a simulation of disappearance and as a way of remembering and reflecting on all the women who have disappeared or been killed in Mexico.
These recent events have caused us to see even more clearly the importance of projects like Community Narrative Practice (CNP), which open discussions of gender relations in communities. With CNP, men and women talk about the current relations in their community not by being pressured to talk about their own lives, but by talking about characters in storybooks who were created based anonomous interviews in their community. With reflection about the current situation comes an opportunity for change.
Currently, Dr. Kathleen Cash is in the process of reviewing the more than 120 interviews collected in Chiapas and finding the patterns. Then, the storybooks will be created, local leaders will be trained, and discussion groups can begin. Once we evaluate the program in Chiapas, Amextra plans to implement the program in other regions where we work as well, starting with the Highlands of Guerrero.
Thank you for joining us on this journey.
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Jan 6, 2020
Great news for our project in Mexico!
By Stephanie Ahlgrain | Fundraising Manager at Amextra
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Dear friend,
We have some great news to share from Chiapas, Mexico! Last week, the Vista Hermosa Foundation, an ally of ours for over a decade, approved a grant to support the second and third stages of Community Narrative Practice (CNP) with tzeltal families. This ally, along with all of you, will allow us to provide follow-up on the 135 interviews collected with women and men regarding gender violence and reproductive health in five tzeltal indigenous communities.
Since receiving your support this summer and the most recent support of the Vista Hermosa Foundation, Dr. Kathleen Cash has been analyzing the patterns in the interviews to find common threads. This is a process Kathy has carried out in all her CNP projects, and is essential to making sure the program matches the community´s real issues. In approximately April of 2020 Kathy will be traveling to Mexico again to teach us this process so we can replicate it in other regions where Amextra works, and in the future share the process with other non-profit organizations in Mexico.
We´ve been in contact with Kathy during this data analysis and story-writing time in case she has questions about any of the interviews. As the project advances we´ll be sharing with you, our community of supporters, information about the storybooks that have been created as well as other updates from the field.
Thank you for believing that a world without gender violence is possible. We´re honored to include you in this journey that has the potential to change the lives of hundreds of women and men in Mexico through reflection on current beliefs and brainstorming of alternatives.
With gratitude,
Stephanie Ahlgrain
Manager of Fundraising and Strategic Alliances
Amextra
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