Twenty Women Receive the National Award for the Promotion of Rights of Indigenous Women, “Martha Sánchez Néstor.” The National Institutes for Women and Indigenous Peoples (INMUJERES – INPI) presented the awards in Mexico City, on October 13.
The National Institute for Women (INMUJEREs) and the National Institute for Indigenous Peoples (INPI), with the participation of the National Council to Prevent Discrimination (CONAPRED), held the award ceremony for the 1st Edition of the National Prize for the Promotion of the Rights of Indigenous Women: “Martha Sánchez Néstor.”
The award makes visible the work of indigenous women who promote their rights and community organizational processes, from a gender perspective and with cultural relevance.
Martha Sánchez Néstor
Martha Sánchez Néstor was an Amuzga leader, born in Xochistlahuaca, a municipality on the small coast of Guerrero, a tireless fighter for the rights of indigenous women.
During her life, she founded and headed various civil society organizations, including the Plural National Indigenous Assembly for Autonomy (ANIPA). Her work focused on promoting and strengthening the autonomy of indigenous women to guarantee the full exercise of their rights.
Sánchez Néstor led community and political work, training and accompanying women and influencing local and federal public policies.
Her primary sphere of action was her native state of Guerrero, yet her work transcended the local to the global, participating in UN forums in New York and in Geneva where she advocated for indigenous women.
She died on July 30, 2021 in Ometepec, Guerrero.
Award’s Objective
Inspired by her legacy, the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INPI) and the National Institute for Women (Inmujeres) made a call for the first National Award for the Promotion of the Rights of Indigenous Women: “Martha Sánchez Néstor.”
The call invited Mexican women promoters of indigenous rights, 18 years of age and older, to apply.
The award categories included:
- Equality and non-violence against women
- Political participation and representation in all spheres and levels
- Indigenous autonomy processes
- Defense of the land, territory and care of the environment
- Indigenous languages
- Indigenous cultural manifestations
- Integral development
The awardees were recognized for their active role in their communities despite conditions of discrimination, exclusion and social and political marginalization. The ceremony celebrated the women’s essential role in advancing community development and revitalizing indigenous culture.
The General Director of the INPI, Adelfo Regino Montes, assured that the National Award for the Promotion of the Rights of Indigenous Women “Martha Sánchez Néstor” is a worthy recognition of the Amuzgo defender.
“In our indigenous communities there are men and women with the ability to lead, not only the institutions at the community, municipal or state level, but all the institutions of the Republic,”
Adelfo Regino Montes, General Director of the INPI.
In the context of October 12, Regino Montes pointed out that the “Día de la Raza,” is an expression that offends and hurts indigenous peoples and communities:
“The idea of having a day of the race perpetuates the colonialist and racist logics that have existed for a long time,” said Montes, who read a quote from the book “Moctezuma” by Belgian historian Michel Graulich.
“Today, like 500 years ago, there are those who think that indigenous peoples should join “universal” values by abandoning their own traditions and integrating into the dominant society,”
Adelfo Regino Montes, General Director of the INPI.
Meanwhile, Nadine Gasman, president of INMUJERES, thanked the 93 participants from 31 different indigenous communities, and congratulated the 20 winners:
“We want to follow the example of Martha and so many indigenous women to collectively weave a transformation that is based on social justice, on the recognition and in participation with a feminist sense,”
Nadine Gasman, President of INMUJERES.
On her part, Claudia Morales Reza, head of CONAPRED, highlighted that Martha was a valuable voice, and her memory lives on. “We have to keep working for our communities,” she said.
The meeting was attended by Dara Azul Sánchez, Martha Sánchez’s niece, who thanked her for her tribute. She said of the award: “It is one of the most successful ways to keep alive the legacy that Marta Sánchez Néstor has left us.”
The women awarded were: Sara Francisco Apolinar from Oaxaca; Erika Sebastian Aguilar de Guerrero; Celerina Patricia Sánchez Santiago of San Juan Mixtepec; Susana Mercedes Jiménez Pérez from Chiapas; Maria de Lourdes de la Cruz Olivares de Hidalgo; All Saints Dolores Villalobos of Chihuahua; Ma. Guadalupe Antonio Galan from Veracruz; Rosalinda Ponce Ojeda from Oaxaca; Ananiela Garcia Ruiz from Oaxaca; Rubicelia Cayetano Heavy from Oaxaca; María de la Luz Villa Poblano from Baja California Sur; Diana Carolina Santiago Bautista of San Luis Potosí; Micaela Guzmán Girón from Chiapas; Teresa Lino Bello from Puebla; Gabriela Andreina Molina from Sonora; Martha Morales Gonzalez from Veracruz; María Isabel Hernández Martínez from San Luis Potosí; Constantina Sánchez Silva from Mexico City; Teófanes Josefina Santiago Santiago from Oaxaca and Evic Julián from Oaxaca.
INPI supports indigenous and Afro-Mexican women
Since 2018, the Dirección de Derechos de las Mujeres Indígenas y Afromexicanas has supported the implementation of 655 projects for the exercise of the rights of indigenous and/or Afro-Mexican women, said the director, Violeta Hernández Andrés.
She specified that, to date, there are 35 Casas de la Mujer Indígena y Afromexicana distributed throughout the Mexican territory, in which care, channeling and accompaniment actions are carried out for indigenous and Afro-Mexican women, with cultural, linguistic relevance and gender.
In order to promote the exercise of the rights of indigenous and Afro-Mexican women, as well as to strengthen the implementation of actions carried out for the benefit of women, monthly support has been provided to 417 community promoters, she specified.
She added that 37 emerging supports have been provided for families with an emphasis on indigenous and Afro-Mexican women in situations of internal forced displacement, in addition to 2 training processes to strengthen the skills and knowledge of indigenous and Afro-Mexican women.
She concluded that 1,282 actions have been carried out for the exercise of the rights of indigenous and Afro-Mexican women, benefiting 233,507 people, of whom 169,414 are women.
Soledad Quartucci | Latina Republic
Dr. Soledad Quartucci is the founder and CEO of Latina Republic, a 501(C)3 California-based nonprofit organization. Latina Republic is committed to improving the diversity and professional development of storytellers in the media industry as representation matters and affects the stories we tell. Latina Republic makes space for and empowers unheard voices and trains the next generation of leaders in the U.S.
