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Text
F'OIA Number:
2006-0198-F-4
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the William J.· Clinton
Presidential Library Staff.
Collection/Record Group:
Clinton Presidential Records
Subgroup/Office of Origin:
First Lady's Office
Series/Staff Member:
Speechwriting
Subseries:
Christine Macy
OA/ID Number:
17206
FolderiD:
Folder Title:
Vital Voices: Voices
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:'
Position:
s
58
3
8
1
�Withdrawal/Redactio11 Sheet
Clinton Library
DOCUMENT NO.
AND TYPE
DATE
SUBJECT/TITLE
RESTRICTION
001. email
Noa Meyer to Christine Macy, re: Success Stories (3 pages)
11110/1998
P6/b(6)
002. email
Noa Meyer to Christine Macy, re: Success Stories (3 pages)
11/10/1998
P6/b(6)
COLLECTION:
Clinton Presidential Records
First Lady's Office
Speechwriting (Christine Macy)
ONBox Number: 17206
. FOLDER TITLE:
Vital Voices: Voices
2006-0 198-F
wr764
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act- [44 U.S.C. 2204(a))
Freedom of Information Act- [5 U.S.C. 552(b))
PI
P2
P3
P4
b(l) National security classified information ((b)(l) of the FOIA)
b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of
an agency [(b)(2) of the FOIA)
b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) of the FOIA[
b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
information [(bX4) of the FOIA)
b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy [(b)(6) of the FOIA)
b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIA)
b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
financial instit~tions [(b)(8) of the FOIA)
b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
concerning wells ((b)(9) of the FOIA)
National Security Classified Information [(a)(l) of the PRA)
Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2) of the PRA)
Release would violate a Federal statute [(a)(3) of the PRA)
Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or
financial information [(a)(4) of the PRA)
PS Release would disclose confidential advice between the President
and his advisors, or between such advisors [a)(S) of the PRA)
P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy [(a)(6) of the PRA)
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed
of gift.
PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C.
2201(3).
RR. Document will be reviewed upon request.
�Withdrawal/Redaction Marker
Clinton Library
DOCUMENT NO.
AND TYPE
001. email
DATE
SUBJECT/TITLE
Noa Meyer to Christine Macy, re: Success Stories (3 pages)
11110/1998
RESTRICTION
P6/b(6)
COLLECTION:
Clinton Presidential Records
First Lady's Office
Speechwriting (Christine Macy)
ONBox Number:
17206
FOLDER TITLE:
Vital Voices: Voices
2006-0 198-F
wr764
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act- 144 U.S.C. 2204(a))
PI
P2
P3
P4
National Security Classified Information l(a)(l) of the PRA)
Relating to the appointment to Federal office l(a)(2) of the PRA)
Release would violate a Federal statute l(a)(3) of the PRA)
Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or
financial information l(a)(4) of the PRA)
PS Release would disclose confidential advice between the President
and his advisors, or between such advisors la)(S) of the PRA)
P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy l(a)(6) of the PRA)
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed
of gift.
PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C.
2201(3).
RR. Document will be reviewed upon request.
Freedom of Information Act -IS U.S.C. 552(b)l
b(l) National security classified information l(b)(I) of the FOIA)
b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of
·
an agency l(b)(2) of the FOIA)
b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute l(b)(3) of the FOIA)
b(4) Release wouJ;j disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
information l(b)(4) of the FOIA)
b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy l(b)(6) of the FOIA)
b(7) Release woul~ disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes l(b)(7) of the FOIA)
b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
financial institutions l(b )(8) of the FOIA)
b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
concerning wells l(b)(9) of the FOIA)
�-....
..
Record Type:
To:
Record
Christine N. Macy/WHO/EOP
cc:
Subject: National Symbols
---------------------- Forwarded by No a A. Meyer/WHO/EOP on 11/10/98 02:29 PM --------"------------------
"Coffin, Marjorie"
< mcoffin @
usia .gov >
11/10/98 01:31:16 PM
Record Type:
To:
Record
N'oa A. Meyer/WHO/EOP
cc:
Subject: National Symbols
Noa, Here is some background on two major reconstruction projects that
are worth knowing about.
EL SALVADOR - SYMBOLS
National Palace
Metropolitan Cathedral
While both the National Palace and the Metropolitan Cathedral •ivere
virtually destroyed at one point in their history, their reconstruction
and restoration highlight the importance that El Salvador places in
preserving its national heritage. Working together in a spirit of
renewal; Salvadorans have joined hands to heal the w·ounds of the past and
build for the future.
NATIONAL PALACE
The first National Palace was destroyed by fire in 1889, and rebuilt
between 1905-1911. It has 108 rooms and more than 400' wood doors carved
by Salvadoran artisans. It represents the historical and political
heritage of El Salvador and serves as a symbol of the country's
republlcan roots and democratic progress.
Although the National Palace has survived three earthquakes with minimal
damage due to its high quality construction, constant office renovation
�took a terrible toll. Prior to the 1986 earthquake,- the building was
emptied and a study of the structure discovered that five layers of
modern paint covered the original murals, water pipes were installed
injudiciously, and the roof was covered with asbestos.
A massive restoration began in 1992 after the Peace Accords were signed.
When complete, the building will become the national history museum.
In 1995, after three years of hard work, this historical monumento had
recovered part of its splendor. The original colors again decorated the
facade; five rooms, restrooms, and the main entrance were ready for
visitors. At a ceremony celebrating the first phase of the restoration,
President Calder?n Sol said: "The National Palace is linked to the
development of this country. It has been witness of all ideological
thought fights and government offices for many years. It is time to
become a museum, a gallery."
METROPOLITAN CATHEDRAL
The Metropolitan Cathedral, was built to replace a wooden church that
burned down in 1951, but then badly damaged in the 1956 earthquake. The
current reconstruction is not expected to be complete before the year
2000.
The facade of the Cathedral is dominated by a gigantic mosaic (22.25 mts.
high, 16 mts. wide, or almost 100 square meters) of the "Last Supper"
and "Adam and Eve" in Salvadoran costume. Salvadoran painter Fernando
Llort (pronounced yort), internationally-known for his unique primitive
style, created the design; his shop "Arbol de Dios·~ (The Tree of God)
manufactured 2, 700 tiles, a project in which 1 5 people worked for 1 5
months producing one tile on each shift ·of 8 hours.
The cathedral dome, representing God's Glory and the Book of Revelations,
was donated by the Spanish painter Andr?s Garc?a lb??ez who devoted over
a year to the project from March 1997 to April 1998. Spanish granite
tiles form the floor.
*********************************
Marjorie Coffin
Public Affairs Officer
San Salvador
tel: (503) 228-3086
fax: (503) 278-6015
inet: mcoffin@usia.gov
*********************************
�EL SALVADOR:
I.
•
BEAL'l~B
CORE OBJECTIVE
Underscore the importance of efforts to improve health care
for women and children, especially.in rural areas.-
II.
BACKGROUND
Poor Salvadorans. - particularly thos~ in the countryside
suffer.from inadequate health care arid the diseases associated
with poverty that strike children particularly hard: diarrh~a
and malnutrition. In spite of this, there have been significant
improvements in recent years.
The infant·mortality r~te has fallen to 30 deaths per 1,000
births from 41/1,000 in 1993 (the rate was 81/1,000 in 1980).
For children under five, the 1997 mortality rate was 40/1,000
compared to 52/1,000 in 1993. The number of deliverie·s attended
by,trained personnel increased from 65% to 67% in 1997. The
fertility rate is 3.9, down from 5.3 in 1980. Vaccination
.coverage is good and improving. For example, 80 percent of
municipalities report diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus immunization
rates over 90 percent. Health promoters and traditional birth
. attendants are the primary means of providing basic:.;~nd
preventive health services to women and children i~rural
communities. In 1997, health promoters were serving in threefourths of the country's townships.
Many of these improvements occurred in part thanks to U.S.
Agency for International Development (AID) programs. AID
supports 30 local NGO's providing primary and preventative health
care in rural areas to approximately 128,000 women .of
reproductive a_ge and approximately 97,000 children under age
five. The Salvadoran government has announced plans to expand
health coverage in unserved areas and to increase the corps of
community health personnel. The·Salvadoran government and AID
have targeted improved access to potable water,· to combat infant
diarrhea, as an important public health objective.
III.
•
•
POINTS TO BE MADE
El Salvador has made impressive progress, but much remains to
be done. The modernization of the health sector, particularly
health policy, needs more attention.
The keys are improving primary health care, apcess, espcially
· for mothers and infants, vaccinatipns, and providing safe
drinking water.
~
�NOV-09-1998
'.
202 216 3012
USAID/AA/LAC
19:11
P.~l
;
AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOP.MENT
WASHINGTON, :C.C. 20523
FACSIMILE COVER SHEET
DATE:
TO:
FAX:
November 9, ·1998
Christy Macy
456-5709
SUBJECT:
FROM:
OFFICE:
Mu-k L. Schneider
AA/IAC
FAX:
202-216-3012
PHON2:
202-712-4800
NUMBER OF PAGES INCLUDING THIS COVER SHEET:
MESSAQE;
1
�NOV-09-1998
..
19:11
USAID/AA/LAC
202 215 3012
P.02
17ze. Faces of Develooment
· The Road to a new life
The Department of Chalatenango, once the center of political conflict in El Salvador,
today is an ex:ample of what can be achieved when democratic values are seriously
embraced by peace-seeking people.
Located in the northeastern part of this small Central American nation, six of
Chalatenango's most remote municipalities have shown the rest of the country they
can for$0 regional pride and forget old differences. They got together and agreed r.o
help build a road to link the most remote communities.
The six Chalatenango communities were, not long ago, ghost towns with only
bombed~out buildings standino- after the war. The citizens had been either killed or
had fled to refugee camps in Honduras. Those who survived became beneficiaries of
the 1992 Peace Accords; they were included in the land transfer effort to resettle excombatants, but the resettlement occurred very slowly because of the isolation, poor
infrastructure and lack of crucial services.
The mavors representing three different political parties, each set out to capture
limited reconstruction funds for his own commumty. In a meeting with the USAID
reconstruction office, each mayor promoted his own municipality for the scarce road
improvement funds, but USAID explained that the available resources were
insufficient for projects in all six: communities. In the shon term, however, USAID
was able to support construction of small bridges, schools and health clinics.
Local NGOs launched a campaign to persuade the mayors· to cooperate, emphasizing
the need for unit)' in times ot scarci~, Eac:h local authority gave the issue at hand
careful thought. It was tempting to t1ght for rheir own ind1vidual communities; their
political futures were at stake.
Bur, afrer extensive discussions among: themselves, the six mavors returned to USAID
and offered to abandon their individual goals. Together, they"said thev had decided
that all road funds be dedicated to the two most needy and most remote communities:
Arcatao and San Isidro Labrador. USAID wanted to support the broad-based politica.;.
unity that had evolved, and was able to find funds for 39 Kilometers of road
reconstruction crossing the six municipalities.
Based on the apparent determination and dedication shown by the six m~yors to extend
roads to the two most remoce areas, the Austrian development agency·-offered to fund
housing and electricity projects in the re-settle~ent areas.
Two years after the road construction began, six municipaJities in Chalatenango, once
vacant and secluded, have become lively communities. Arcatao, for example, has
three scores, a pharmacy and an agriculture service center. Nearby San Is1dro
Labrador had only six tamilies a year ago; today 60 families are busy constructing
their homes and 50 more wait to follow suit.
·
Local decision-makers in Chalacenango have found that cooperation, local pride and
patriotism can help to better the lives of the people. USA!D's post-war reconstruction
effort played a vital role in stimulating the creat1ve uses of resources from numerous
donors to maximize benetits, particularly for rural communities.
t:S.-\fD/EL SALVADO-R lilllO R~
81
2
�NOV-09-1998
.;.
202 216 301?
USA I D/AA/LAC ·
19=12
P.03
::
SCENESETTER
VISIT TO THE MUNICIPALITY OF nQun.ISCO .
TIME:
October 10, 1998 9:00am - !0:30am
PLACE:
Restaurante "Casa Oriental 11
BACKGROUND: USAID's Municipal Development and Civic Participation Project
is providing technical assistance to 18 municipalities. Two of the
18 (Jiquilisco and Puerto El Triunfo) are located in the U sulutan
Cuenca, where all four of USAID's SO's are working. During
your last visit, July 28, 1997, an agreement was signed between
USAID, the Jiquilisc::o ·rocal government. Institute de Desarollo
Municipal (ISDEM) and Research Triangle Institute (RTI): Under
the terms of this agreement, USAID working in coordination with
ISDEM agreed to provide technical assistance to the Jiquilisco
. municipality to achieve the follo~iug results; a) Increased citizen
participation .in the decision making process; b) Increased and
more informed participation of local leaders from all sectors in
the local democratic process, with a special emphasis on women
and young people; c) Increased local revenues; d) Increased
capital investment from locally generated revenues; e)Improved.
financial administration and sustainability of priority municipal
services.
I
For the activities related to citizen partiCipation, an NGO
(FUNDE) was given a grant from RTI to facilitate the . ·
· participatqry planing process.· Leaders representing different
· economic sectors and territorial divisions were identified and
assisted in formaing a community development committee amde
across section of groups and interests in Jiquilisco: This
committee worked with the local governement in developing a
municipal action plan. A joint RTI/ISDEM; technical assistance
team is working with the muoicipality to improve the municipal
administration. This team also provides TA to six. other
municipalities in Usulutan. Supervision of this team is carried out
by the municipalities, with RTI advising mayors in this role. The
idea is to strengthen local govenunent skills in managing and
paying for their own technical assistance.
�[4]034
Wl'E> 10:16 FAX
09/23/98
···""'
Printed By: Eva A. Weigold Hanson
L
•
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ACTION AID-00
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FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 8393
l!NCLAS SECTION OJ. OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 003225
AIDAC
FOR: ARA/PPC EVA WEIGOLD
USAID FOR ~/LAG MSCHNE!DER
E.O. 12951,!: N/A
TAGS: Ov~p (CLINTON, HIL~Y), KWMN
SlmJE:C'r: HAITI: SUCCESS STORI.El$ FOR FIRST t.ADY 1 S TlU[' · 1\.l'l"D
VITAL VOICES CONFERENCE
.REF:
sTn~B
PORT AU PR
16'8192
Ol OF Ol
3225
1. AS REQUESTED REFTEL, TloJ'~S MESSAGE PROVIDES SUCCESS
STORIES AND STATISTICS F~OM HAITI RELATED TO WOMEN'S
ISSUES FOR USE IN PRBPARlNG REMAR.k.S FOR THB l(IRST 'LADY'S
TRIP TO THIS COUNTRY AND TO THE "VI';t'AL VOICES" CONF5R·
ENCE IN MONTEVIDEO,
2. THE MESSAGE PROVIDES BACKGROUND ON TWO WOMEN
P.ROMIN'ENT IN THE POLITICAL ll.tl.ENA 1\ND RULE OF LAW, ON 1.1.
WOMEN'S GROUP ACTIVE IN WOMEN'S RIGHT, AND A WOMAN WHO
HAS PLAYED~ PROMINENT ROLE IN HAITI'S PRIVATE BOSINESS
SECTOR.
Ml\.DAME ERntA PASCAI..-TROUILLO'l'
A LAWYER flY
TRAINING, SHE WAS TRE FIRST Fli:IIIA.t.IE JtltlGE IN HAITI) THE
'FIRST -FEMALE ON HAITI Is SUPREME. CO\JRT I ANI) THE COUNTRY· s
(~D THE'HEMISPHERli:'SI FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT {MARCH
'l£!90 TO FEBRUARY 1991) • MADr...i-IE PASCAL-TROUILLOT IS A
!:lEGAL SC!•lOLAR ·WHO HAS' WORl<EO EXTENSIVELY ON WOMEN'S
RIGHTS .ISSOES. SHE WAS VERY ACTIVE IN DRAFTING THE
DECREE OF OCTOBER e,. 19 82 ABOLISHING . GENDER INEQUALITY:
CHOSEN BY CONS ENS OS TO LF.AD THE COONTRY OUT' OF 'X'!IEPOLrTICAL IMPASSE CR~TEP BY GENERAL PROSPER A~IL, SHE
WAS, AS PRESIDENT, INSTR'OMENTAL ~N THE ORGANIZATIOlJ OF
HAITI'S FIRST ~8 ELECTORAL PROCESS WHICH.RESULTeD IN
THE ELECTION OF THE COUNTRY'S FIRST DBMO~TICALLY
ELECTED PR~SIDENT.
A.
FRANCOISE BOUCARD •- AT THE TIM~ OF JEANCLAUDE DUVALIER.'S REMOVAL FROM POWJ;:R IN 19FJG, MA.t:lAAE
BOUCARD HAS VERY ACTIVE IN THE COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT.
EDUCAAED IN SELGIUM AS A SOCIOLOGIST, MADAME BOUCARD IS
THE li'ORME.R HEAP OF THE :N'ATIONAL TRUTH liND JUSTICE
COMMISSION, A BODY CR~TED BY PR~SIPENT ARISTIDE ro
INVESTIGATE HUMAN ~IGHTS ABUSES DURING ~ITI'S COUP
0' E'l'AT. THE COMMISSION WAS IN'l'iNDED '1'0 HELP !'>RING. ABOUT
RECONCILIATION FOR THE STRENGTHENING OF DEMOCRACX IN THE
B •. M~A~E
COtlNTRY.
C.
KAY FAMN (PRONOtlNC!i:D !CIE Fi\..M) - • A CAUCUS OR
OF ~3 WOMEN'S GROUPS WORKING TO REFORM THE
LEG~ CODE TO BRING IT INTO COMPLIANC~ WITH
INTERNATIONAL NORMS AND INSTRUMENTS CONCERNING WOMEN AND
CO~ITION
tlNCLASSlFIEP
1
EB-00
USSS•DO
�09/23/98
WED
l4l 0 35
10:17 FAX
Printed. By: Eva A. Weigold
~~:
..
~anson
)
NON-DISCRlMINATION SUCH AS THOSE ADVOCATED AT T~E
BEIJING CONFERENCE. DESPITE THE L~GISLaTIVE GRID-LOCK
WHICH RAS HEZ.D SWA'!( IN AAlTI 1 THIS GROUP HAS
SOCCESSFULZ.Y BROUGHT TOGETHER CROUPS WHICH HAVE
TRADITION~LY BEEN AT ODDS, UNABLE TO COOPERATE EVEN ON
COMMON OBJECTIVES. THE Gaoop HAS SUCCESSFULL¥ BUILD
ALLIANCES WITH ~EY LEGISLATIVE LEADERS WHO ARE PUSHING
TREIR AGENDA IN THE PARLIAMENT. 1;. FULL DOSSIJ::R OF
' PROPOSED CHANGES HAS BEEN ORAFTEP AND OFFICIALLY
SUBMI~ED TO PAaLIAMENT FOR ACTION ONCE THE POLITICAL
.STALEMATE IS RESOI..VED.
GENEVIEVE OELATOt:J'R. IS TH!l: DIR.ECTOR OF THE
SERVICES", ONE OF HAITI'S LEJ\OING IMPORTERS
AND DISTRIBUTORS OF PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS. SHE IS
AMONG THE FOUNDING MEMBERs OF THE CE~&R FOR FREE
ENTERPRISE AND DeMOCRACY, CLEtl, WHICH ESTABLISHED IN
1992 TO HELP BRING A MORE FORW~D LOOKING, YOUNGER
GENERATION OF HAITIAN BUSIN~SS LEADERS INTO THE PUBLIC
POLICY DEBATE. THE GROUP HAS BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL ~T
OPENING DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE ~UBLIC ~ PRIVl\.TE S~C~OR
R.EGAAPING PUBI..IC POLIClES Tlo!ll..T STIMULATE OR. OISCDl.l'AAGE
PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT AND JOB CREATION WHICH ARE SO
NECESSARY TO CREATE WEALTH AND FIN~CE D~LOPMENT IN
HAITI. THE GROUP HAS WORKED CLOSELY WITH ~ERNANDO DE
SOTO ON AN INITI~TIVE TO fORMALIZ~ LAND TITLES IN THE
INFORMAL.SECTOR, PRI~ILY AMONG THE POOR, TO GIV~ THE
SECURITY NEEDED TO POSTP.R ECONOMIC GROWTH.
D.
"COMM~CIAL
3.
STATUS
OF WOMEr.l IN HAITI, SOME KEY FACTS ANtl
STATISTICS:
- HAITl:AN WOMEN 1-IP.VE ON~ OF THE HIGmJST AATES OF
ECONOMIC PARTICIPATION IN T~E HEMISPHERE.
ONE-THIRD OF HAI~IAN WOMEN HAVE NO EDUCATION AT ALL
EXPERIENCE THE HIGHEST RATE OF MATERNAL MORTALITY IN
THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.
AND
DESPITE A DESIRE FOR ONLY 3 CHILDREN, THE
WOMEN WILL GIVE BIRTH TO 6 CHILD~N.
AV~RAGE
HAITI~
40
PERC~T
OF KAITIAN
~OOSEHOLDS ~RE
HEADED BY WOMEN
HAITIAN WO~ ARE FREOUENTLY VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE,
VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ABqSE OF YOUNG GIRLS AND RAPE.
DOM~STIC
PORT AO PR
02 OF 02
3225
MORE THE 70 PERCENT OF.THE FEMALE POPOLATIO~ H~VE
EXPER~ENCED SOME FORM OF VIOLENCE, OF WHICH 37
PERCENT IS SEXUAL IN NATURE.
GENDER-BASED LEG~ CONSTRAINTS R~~rN, ESPECIALLY IN
THE AREAS OF PROPERTY AND INHERITANCE, FAMILY 4AW AND
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
C~OLE PROVERB WHICH MIGHT BE USEFUL IN A
IS "DOULE YO.tl' FANM S£ POU TOO'l' FANM,"
MEANING, "THE P~IN OF A WOMAN IS TlfE PAIN OF ALL WOMEN."
~.
A HAITIAN
PRESENTATION
5. SIMILARLY, THE FOLLOWING SONG WRITTEN BY A OSl\.ID·
FUNDED WOMEN'S MIRCRO CREOIT GROUP MIGHT BE USEFUL~
· A
WOI'IAN IS NOT A BROOM
A WOMA.iir IS NOT A BROOM TO BE KEPT BJOHIND A DOOR
UNCLASSIFIED
2
�09/23/98
~D
14]036
10:17 FAX
·-:0~1
A WOMA.tf .IS NOT. A CORTA:J;N 'I'loi'4T YOU l?l'ILJJ BACK AND FORTH TQ.,
·GET THROUG~,
•
A WOMAN IS NOT A BED THAT YOU DRESS ·up .TO STAY AT HOME,
A ltl~ IS THE MAIN POST OF LIFE~
MEN SAY THAT THEY WORK ~E~ THAN THE WOMEN
. WOMEN SA'i THAT THEY M.E THE SOURCE OF L!Ji'E.
A WOMAN IS !.'lOT A SLIND PERSON WHOM YOU CAN T.II.KE WHEREVER
YOU WANT,
A WOMAN IS lii"OT A CHILD WHO DOESN'·T KNOW HOW TO WALl< YET,
A WOMAN IS NOT .\ WOIU< OF ART WHICH CAN• T TAL!C.
MEN SAY THAT THEY ARE CHIEJi' OF FAMILY,
WOMEN SAY THAT THEY ARE THE PROVIDERS OF LIJi'E.
b. WOMAN IS NOT A BROOM! CJ!.f!NEY
tJN'CL.ll.SSIFU:D
3
�09/17/98
.
·~··
~-
141 00 2
THU 16:45 FAX
;/"
\
I
;
•
~•
.
l
486
UNCJ.ASSIFIEO
US!S 9/16/98
USIS·PAO:MBLOCKER
USIS:HBLOCKER
USIS:ECUBBISON
1
AUTH
DRFT
. CLRC
USIS
AMEMBASSY SANTO DOM!NGO
SECSTATE WASHOe. IMMEDIATE
INFO USIA WASHDC
STATE FOR
A~/PPC
EVA WEIGOLD; USIA FOR AR/SAMSON
OF WOMEN FROM · r/
THE
12
1.
CORRECTION IN PARAGRAPH 1 B. MILAGROS
ORTIZ BOSCH ONLY FOUNDED CNE PARTY .THE FOLLOWING ARE
SANTO DOMINGO'S RESPONSES TO kEFTBL.
2. NO~~BL~IcAN--WO~ANtl THSIR cONTRIBlTTIONS:
--·--·-··•- .. ~: ..•·-~--.
A. THE MIRABAL SISTERS . ( T.HESE HEROINES WERE KILLED FOR
THEIR COURAGE. THEIR SUCCESS LIES IN INSPIRING OTHERS
TO FIGHT FOR LIBERTY.) NOVEMBER 25 WAS CHOSEN IN 1981
AS THE lNT!RNATlONAL DAY AGAINST VIOLENCE TO WOMEN, IN
HONOR OF THE MIRABAL SISTERS WHO WBRE KILLED BY DICTATOR
GENERAL RAFAEL LEONIDAS TRUJI~~O'S HENCHMEN ON ~Hh1 DATS
IN 1960. THE BODIES OF THESE THREE CO~NT-EDUCATED
~UGHTERS OF ~ PROMINENT PAMXLY WSRE POUND NEAR ~HEIR
WRECKED JEEP AT THE BOTTOM OF A 150-FOOT -C~IFF ON THE
NORTH COAST. EL CARIBS, THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER,
REPORTED THEIR DEATHS AS AN ACCIDENT.
IT DID NOT
EXPLAIN THAT THE SISTERS WERE AMONG THE LEADING
OPPONP.NTS 0~ TRUJILLO.
PAT~IA, MINERVA Y HARIA TERESA
MIRABAL, WERE BORN IN OJO DE AGTJA, SALCEDO, AND :S!lCAM.S
UNCI.ASSIFIED
qtt.-4.
/'YlL.i
/1lR:
�14!003
09/17/98
THU 16:46 FAX
.,..
FAMOUS FOR THEIR LEGENDARY BEAUTY. MINERVA INctJRRBD THE
OICTATOR 1 S WRATH BY NOT GIVING IN TO HIS AMOROUS
RBQUSSTS AND PUBLICLY RBFUSING HIS ADVANCES. TR.UJ:UJLO
RETALIATgD IMPRISONING HER AND HER SISTERS AS WBLL.AS
THEIR HUS~S, THEIR f'ATHER AND EVEN SOME OF THEIR
FRIENDS. HE EVEN CANCELED MINERVA'S REGISTRATION AT THE
GOVERNMENT UNIVERSITY WHERE SHE WAS ENROLLED IN THE LAW
SCHOOL. ~SN THE SISTERS ALONG WITH THEIR HUSBANDS
FOUNDED THE POLITICAL MOVEMENT "14 DE JUNIO, "' TlUJJILI.rO
FOUNO THE EXCUSE TO IMPRISON THEM AGAlN. THIS TIME THE
MIRABAL SISTERS WERS FREED BECAUSE A COMMISSION FROM THE
ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATBS WAS PLANNING AN
INSPECTION OF THE JAILS. THE SlSTSRS WERE TOLD THAT
THEIR DEATHS WERE BEING PLANNED, BUT NEVER THOUGHT tH~
WOULD FACE. IT WHEN RETURNING FROM A TRIP TO VISIT THEIR
IMPRISONED HUSBANDS IN PUERTO PLATA. THE WHOLE COUNTRY
CRIED FOR THE MARTYRDOM OF THREE HEROINES AFFECT!ONATE~Y
CALLED 11 THE ~UTTER.i'LIES," LAS MAR.IPOSAS. AND TRUJILLO
PAID DEARLY FOR THIS CRIME, SE~USE IT SNOWBALLED UNTIL
IT CONCLUDED WITH HIS ASSASSINATION. MANY OBCAO~S
LATER, THE COUNTRY STILL REHSMaERS THEIR BELOVED
at~~ERFLIES WHO CHOSE TO OIE RATHEk THAN YIELD TO THE
DICTATOR. A l?ROU'O OESCENDENT OF THE TRIO IS THE CUR.R.ENT
VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC, JAIME OAVIO FSRNiNDEZ
MIRABAL, SON OF THE FOURtH AND ONLY RSMAINING SISTER.
MINOU TAVAREZ, O~UGHTER OF THE COURAGEOUS MINERVA AND OF
MANOLO TAVARE~ IS TODAY THE VICE MINISTER. OF FOREIGN
AFF~IRS. AN OBELISk,D2CORATEO WITH PORTRAITS OF THE
THREE IS PLACED· OVERLOOKING TH:B SEA ON ONE OF SANTO
DOMINGO'S MAIN THOROUGHFARSS.~THE-$TORY OF THE--MIRABAL
:-"
- .....
SISTERS IS THE SU8JEICT OF A BOOK WRITTEN' IN·- ENGli~SfJ/BY
,'rHE:-,D·oM-! NICAN- AHERICAN-AU~OR=JULlA~-ALVAREz=:-=·fNTITLED
'- __...
"!N 'I'HS: TIME OF THE StrrTB:ltFLIES".
..
.
B. SENATOR MILAGROS ORTIZ BOSCH. SENATOR BOSCH IS THE
D,R.'S MOST POPULAR SENATOR AND MOST POPULAR POLITICIAN,
SHE COULD EASlLY BE A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE XN THE YEAR
2000. SHE HAS BEEN ~HE PIONE~RING WOhAN IN DOMINICAN
POLITICS. SHE tS A FOUNDER OF THE PARTY THAT NOW HAS
THE MAJORITY IN CONGRESS, ~HE DOMINICAN REVOLUTIONARY
PARTY. HER MORl< HAS SINGLE HAND!LY MJ\05 IT ACCEPTABLE
UNCLASSIFIED
�09/17/98
... -
THU 16:46 FAX
?
·- . --
·~-
...,.....,.-
~t~oo4
.....,.,
3
AND DESIRAB~B FOR WOMEN TO BE ~OLITICIANS. BUT PERHAPS
MORE IMPORTANTLY HER FORTHRIGHTNESS HAS BROUGHT A
VIBRANCY AND HONESTY TO THE POLITICAL DIALOGUE.IN A
COUNTRY THAT HAS SUFFBRSD YFARS OF BACK ROOM DEALS .
. .
.. l
C. MU KIE'N SANG.
MS • SANG, THE DAUGHTER OF CHINESE
IMMIGRANTS, WITH A PH.D. IN HISTORY FROM THE SORBONNE,
. -------------------------_
_____________,
-·-··~·-
~~-
HAS· BECOME THE ADVOCATE FOR-GRASS=ROOTS DEMOCRACY IN-·THE
ooMI'NiCAN ·-·R.EPiJEL'fC:i. 7s:HE~Is-·THs~o:tREc-Toic:;p-.r:Hi-liiOJE:cT~
FOR DEMOCRATIC INITIATIVES (PID), A NETWORK OF OVER 300
LOCAL GROUPS THAT CARRY OUT PROJECTS IN LEADERSHIP
TRAlNING, CIVIC EDUCATION AND CIVIC ORGANIZING. IN A
~OUNTRY KNOWN FOR ITS AUTHO~ITAT!VE STRUCTURES IN
BUSINESS, GOVERNMENT, POLITICS, SCHOOLS, -AND HOMES, PID
STANDS OUT AS A NON HIERARCHAL ORGANIZATION THAT DECIDES
BY CONSENSUS, A TRIBUTE TO MS. SANG'S PERSONAL BELISF
'tHAT ONE MUST LIVE DEMOCRACY, NOT JUST DISCUSS IT.
MS.
SANG ~RITES ON THE NEED FOR DEMOCRACY AND HOW tO .
OVERCOME THE OBSTACLES TO ITS INSTALLATION IN HER WIDELY
READ COLUMN IN RUMBO 1 THE TIME EQU:XVAI..SNT IN THE 0. R.
SHE ALSO TEACHES THE OEVE~OPMENT OF·DEMOCkACY THROUGH
HISTORY AS PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AT THE D.R.'S MOST
RESPECTED UNIVERSITY AND SHE HAS OFTEN SSRVED AS ADVISOR
TO THE PRESIOENT ON GRASS ROOTS ISSUES.
3. HOST GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE. THE DOMINICAN CONGRESS
PASSED THE LAW AGAINST INTRAFAMILY VIOLENCE (~W 24-97)
IN LATE 1997. AS A FOLLOW-UP TO COMHITMBNTS IT MADE AT
VARIOUS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES SUCH AS l'HS 1''4
CONPERENC~ ON POPULATION ANO DBVELOPMENT IN CAIRO, TH!
1995 CONFERENCE ON SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN COPSNHAGEN, AND
THE 1995 WOMEN'S CONFBRENCB IN SEIJING. THE LAW WAS
ENACTED THANKS IN PART TO A STRONG LOBBYING EFFORT BY
SENATOR MILAGROS ORTIZ BOSCH, WHO WAS THEN THE COUNTRY 1 5
ONLY FEMALZ SENATOR. LAW 24-97 IS SXTREHSLY BROAD,
COVERING VIOLATIONS FROM SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND OTHER
FORMS OF SEX DISCRIMINATION TO RAPE AND PANDERING.
IT
~LSO COVERS PHYSICAL ABUSE AGAINST WOMEN, FAILURE TO P~Y
CHILn SUPPORT~ AND ~ CRIMBS CONCERNING CHILDREN.
UNCLASSIFIED
�14!005
09/17/98
THtT 16:46
--
I - . ,... , .
• • • Ill
~T...,..
VJ
·"""'
4
lN 1991, 12.3 PERCENT OP MANAGERS &
IN THE D.R. WERE WOMEN. IN 199' 21
IN 1996, 9 PERCENT OF WOMEN OVER THE AGE
HIGHER EDUCATION WHEREAS ONLY 7 PERCENT
THE CONGRESS ELECTED IN 1994 THERE WERE 5
OF 1'HB HOUSE OUT OF 140 AND ONLY 1.
30. IN T.RB CONGRESS ELECTED IN 19~8
WERE 28 FBHALE MEMBERS OP TRE HOUSE ~ 2
4. STATISTICS.
ADMINISTRATORS
PERCENT WER~.
OF l' HAD SOME
OF MEN HAD. IN
FEMALE MEMBERS
SENATOR OUT OF
~HIRE
S:ENATORS.
s. QUOTES: THESE ARE FROM MU KIEN SANG'S COLUMN IN RUMBO
MAGAZINE. SEE ABOVE FOR HER BIO. •THERE IS ALWAYS
SOMEONE WITH. THE WILL TO BEGIN A ROAD.
AT EVERY TIME·
AND IN EVERY MOMENT THERE IS A PERSON ifHO ASSUMES THE ".
CHALLENGE OP STARTING SOMETHING NSW; OF COMBINING WILLS
TO CONSTRUCT SOMETHING WHERE THERE IS NOTHING YET.''
"I AM STILL CONVINCE:D THAT HOPE IS THJ$ MOTOR BEHIND
HUMAN' ACTION."
''THERE IS NO OO'OBT •· THERE ARE ONLY TWO
WAYS, TO ASSUME TH~ CHALLENGE THAT CHANGE BRINGS WITH
At.T1 'I'HE RISJC THAT 'l'HlS OP'J:'ION IMPLl:SS Cl\ TO DEFEND THE
INHER!TANCE WE HAVE RE~EIVED WITHOUT CRITICISM, OUT OF
SELF INT2REST OR FOR PERSONAL B!NEFIT.P ##BLOCKER.
UNCLASSIFIED
�0
0
.
:.
·Noa A. Mey,ew
.
.
Record Type:
To:
,··,(._..
Record
Christine N. Macy/WHO/EOP
cc:
Subject: Enterprise Success Story
----------~----------- Forwarded by Noa A. Meyer/WHO/EOP on 11/10/98 07:2l PM ---------------------------
"Coffin, Marjorie"
< mcoffin @ usia.gov>
11/10/98 06:24:05 PM
Record Type:
To:
Record
Noa A. Meyer/WHO/EOP
cc:
Subject: Enterprise Success Story
Noa, This is a great story. I'm working on more peace stuff, and
quotations, and will try to get you something tomorrow. Marj
HORTENSIA AND THE VILLAGE BANK STORY
"I did not have a bed to sleep in," said Hortensia Contreras Linares as
she described her situation in 1991, when she first heard about the
USAID-supported village bank program. "I was selling small cakes on a
table at the side of the road barely making enough money to feed myself
at the end of the day."
·
Then she attended a meeting about loans for small business people. At
first, Hortensia was fearful of the loan, worried that she would never be
able to re-pay it. She finally did apply for a $46 loan, of which 20
percent was retained as savings. She used the money to expand her
products from cakes to sodas and· ice. She also purchased better baskets
and other equipment for the road-side market. Three weeks later her
entire stand was robbed--she lost everything: current supplies, new
baskets, and equipment. All she had left were the $10 in savings from ·
her first loan. But Hortensia was not about to quit.
She re-established the shop .inside her house on a main road one kilometer
from the old bus stop where she sold her first cakes. With profits from
the new shop, she continued to expand the number of items in her store
and make improvements to her one-room home.
�,
One cannot miss the sparkle of pride in Hortensia's eyes as she points
out the improvements to her house/shop financed by profits from her
business. In five years these improvements totaled more than $8,000.
She purchased two real beds. She added a second room, paid for the
electric hook up, a cement patio for cooking, two refrigerators for the
store, a television, and finally a new stereo. This year Hortensia, who
is practically illiterate, was elected president of her village bank
group which has great confidence in her leadership abilities, and
appreciates her enthusiasm for business. "Courage is half of life,"
sighs this single mother of seven.
*********************************
Marjorie Coffin
Public Affairs Officer
San Salvador
tel: (503) 228-3086
fax: (503) 278-6015
inet: mcoffin@usia.gov
*********************************
�I·~ Noa
I·<J
A. Meyer-
Record Type:
To:
Record
Christine N. Macy/WHO/EOP
cc:
Subject: Peace Success Stories
---------------------- Forwarded by No a A .. Meyer/WHO/EOP on 11/10/98 03:33 PM ---------------------------
"Coffin, Marjorie" <mcoffin@ usia.gov>
11110/98 02:32:26 PM
Record Type:
To:
Record
Noa A. Meyer/WHO/EOP
cc:
Subject: Peace Success Stories
No a,
Perhaps the most obvious indication that El Salvador is on the path to a
new, democratic future can be found in the election process. The FMLN,
former leftist guerrilla movement, is a registered political party. FMLN
members have been elected to 27 of the 84 s'eats in the national
legislature; FMLN members, alone or in coalition, serve as mayors in
approximately 50 of the country's 262 municipalities. And, the party's
candidates for president and vice president in the March 1999 elections
are both former guerrilla commanders.
While the FMLN deputies do not always see eye to eye with their ARENA
{incumbent party) colleagues in the legislature, they are working
together, peacefully and consistently, to draft the legislation that will
secure democracy and stability for El Salvador. The Embassy had a first
hand example of this during the exercise Nuevas Horizontes {New Horizons)
in which U.S. military and reserve units lend their expertise and
equipment for infrastructure projects. Two of the deputies from the
department {state) of Cabanas are former combatants: one a former Army
colonel, the other an ex-guerrilla leader. Standing next to each other
at the site of a base camp for U.S. units building schools, roads and
wells in the former conflictive area, they put their arms around each
other and marveled that only a few short years before they had been
trying to kill each other. It was much better, they agreed, to be
working together to improve their community.
�Here are two other peace stories:
THE ROAD TO A NEW LIFE
The Department of .Chalatenango, once the center of political conflict in
El Salvador, today is an example of what can be achieved when democratic
values take hold of the heart and minds of peace-seeking people.
Located in the northeastern part of this small Central American nation,
.]
six of Chalatenango's most remote municipalities have shown the rest of
the country they can forgo regional pride and forget old differences.
They got together and agreed to help build a road to link the most remote
communities.
The six Chalatenango communities were, not long ago, ghost towns with
only bombed-out buildings standing after the war. The citizens had been
either killed or had fled to refugee camps in Honduras. Those who
survived became beneficiaries of the 1992 Peace Accords; they were
included in the. land transfer effort to resettle ex-combatants, but the
resettlement occurred very slowly because of the isolation, poor
infrastructure and lack of crucial services.
The mayors represented three different political parties, each set to
capture limited reconstruction funds for his own community. In a meeting
with the USAID reconstruction office, each mayor promoted his own
municipality for the scarce road improvement funds, but USAID explained
that the available resources were insufficient for projects in all six
communities. In the short term, however, USAID was able to support
construction of small bridges, schools and health clinics.
Local NGOs launched a campaign to persuade the mayors to cooperate,
emphasizing the need for unity in times of scarcity. Each local
authority gave the issue at hand' careful thought. It was tempting to
fight for their own individual communities, their political futures were
at stake.
But, after extensive discussions among themselves, the six mayors
returned to USAID and offered to abandon their individual goals.
Together, they said theY had decided that all road funds be dedicated to
the two most needy and most remote communities: Arcatao and San Isidro
Labrador: USAID wanted to support the broad-based political unity that
had evolved, and was able to find funds for 39 Kilometers of road
reconstruction crossing the six municipalities.
Based on the apparent determination and dedication shown by the six
mayors to extend roads to the two most remote areas, the Austrian
development agency--offered to fund housing and ele~tricity projects in
the re-settlement areas.
Two years after the road construction began, six municipalities in
Chalatenango, once vacant and secluded, have become lively communities.
Arcatao, for example, has three stores, a pharmacy and an agriculture
service center. Nearby San Isidro Labrador had only six families a year·
--)
·
·
�ago; today 60 families are busy reconstructing their homes and 50 more
wait to follow suit.
Local decision-makers in Chalatenango have found that cooperation, local
pride and patriotism can help to better the lives of the people. USAID's
post-war reconstruction effort played a vital role in stimulating the
creative uses of resources from numerous donors to maximize benefits,
particularly for rural communities.
FROM BULLETS TO BABIES
Jos? Chavez Mejilla is a rural health promoter, responsible for the
health and well being of over 1,000 people in this rural community.
is often the only medically trained person they ever see.
~
He
J
~
Jos? is a former FMLN combatant. At the age of fifteen he joined the
FMLN and fought for more than eight years. Besides working as a
specialist in artillery and missiles, he was a trained medic. When the
.war was over and ru.ral health programs began, the community elected Jos?
as their health pr.omoter. Since then Jos? has been working with a
. Mission maternal health and infant survival program.
Like other rural health promoters, Jos? has an important role. Each day
he visits six to eight families. Families with children five years old
and under and pregnant women are his top priority. Jos? monitors the
growth and level of nourishment of these children. He teaches expectant
mothers to recognize possible signs of danger for their unborn, in hopes
of minimizing problems during birth. Jos? knows health problems such as ·
malnutrition, diarrhea and pneumonia can be easily prevented. When asked
how many people he has helped, Jos? can't give a precise answer; "Too
many to count," he responds. Jos? is proud of what he does. He knows he
is helping his community, and its future.
*********************************
Marjorie Coffin
Public Affairs Officer
San Salvador
tel: (503) 228-3086
fax: (503) 278-6015
inet: mcoffin@usia.gov
*********************************
�Withdrawal/Redaction Marker
Clinton Library
DOCUMENT NO.
AND TYPE
002. email
DATE
SUBJECT/TITLE
Noa Meyer to Christine Macy, re: Success Stories (3 pages)
11110/1998
RESTRICTION
P6/b(6)
COLLECTION:
Clinton Presidential Records
First Lady's Office
Speechwriting (Christine Macy)
ONBox Number: 17206
FOLDER TITLE:
Vital Voices: Voices
2006-0 198-F
wr764
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act- [44 U.S.C. 2204(a))
Freedom of Information Act- [S U.S.C. SS2(b))
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P3 Release would violate a Federal statute [(a)(3) of the PRA)
P4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or
financial information [(a)(4) of the PRA)
PS Release would disclose confidential advice between the President
and his advisors, or between such advisors [a)(S) of the PRA)
P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy [(a)(6) of the PRA)
b(l) National security classified information [(b)(l) of the FOIA]
b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of
an agency [(b)(2) of the FOIA)
b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) of the FOIA)
b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
information [(b)(4) of the FOIA)
b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
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purposes ((b)(7) of the FOIA)
b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
financial institutions ((b)(8) of the FOIA)
b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
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C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed
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PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C.
2201(3).
RR. Document will be reviewed upon request.
�----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~-------------------
fn Guatemala, USAID is w~rking '.Vith FUNTIAP and other local organizations to develop new
techniques for providing technical and credit services to client groups in more remote areas for
microenterprise development. Alba Argentina Xica de Cot6n, a FUNDAP client, was able to tell
her story at the Regional Consultative Forum on Microenterprise in Costa Rica during May 1997.
~
li
Alba Argentina Xica de Cot6n
FUNDAP
Guatemala
Alba Argentina Xica de Cot6n, began working at age 10 to help her parents in their struggle to
enable her brothers to become professionals in the workforce. With her entrepreneurial spirit and
determination to get ahead, Xica has become a business professional in her own right. Several
years ago, Xica de Cot6n received a small loan from FUNDAP, a local microcredit institution
supported by USAID, to expand her business. Today, she owns a sewing supply business, which
she runs with the help of her husband and daughter. Affordable credit remains an essential part
of her life.
"Without those loans we wouldn't have knom1 what to do," she said. "Today we are beginning to
generate some of our own capital,. but it is not enough. We need credit to grow the business and
improve customer service."
USAID provided $600,000 to an inter-agency cooperation project to develop a technical .
assistance, training and credit reference sen·ice among six micro .lending organizations in El
Salvador, one of which was FINCA. These organizations have lending operations with over
45,000 active clients, 76% ofwhom are women. Hortensia Contreras is one ofthem. ·
Hortensia Contreras
FINCA
El Salvador
Hortensia started working as a housekeeper at age seven to support her family. After being left .
by her husband, she worked as a cook, laundry woman and vendor of meat, soap, etc: to support
her five children. Hortensia experienced some very rough years during which she found a Village
Bank program whichwas part ofFINCA's extensive network. Her initial loan of 400 Colones
(roughly $40) allowed her to sell soda and ice. Little by little, Hortensia was able to expand and
diversify sales, obtain bigger loans and increase her savings. After her fifth loan, she was able to
put electricity in her home and buy a refrigerator. Today, she has saved nearly $400.
4
�09/17/98
@022
THU 16:51 FAX
. ..
Printed By:
VN'CLASSIFIED
.:
'
Eva A. Weigold HanBon
ACTl:ON l\.RA-01
LOG-DO
TED~-oo.
PM-Oo
lNFO
STR•OO
ADs-oo
sso-oo
SAS-00
OSIE-00. ) /OOlW
····-----------•••6A692S
R l42249Z SEP 98
FM AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 7590
(AS-01
150002Z /f>9
tlNC!.AS S.ll.lll SALVADOR 003688
D~PT FOR ARA/PPC
EVA WEIGOLD
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS, OVIP, XWMN
sUBJECT,~
.succE.Ss- sio~IEs · oF· woMEN-I
REF: STATE 168192
1.
THE
SUCCESS STORIES OF WOMEN IN RURAL
OFFER INTERESTING ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE OF TKB
~OLLOWING
nEVELOPME~
IMPACT WOMEN ARE
--
HAVI~G
ON SALVADORAN
DEVELO~MENT•
HORTENSIA~L!NARES :·oVfiic~R6BBERIEi:'-=-!:t;~:· Ex~F?Et'i'ATIONS
OF OTHERS.-ANO:~.HER otJiN!FEARS- OF-FA1Ll'.l'RE--TO ·TURN"'HBR"RO.Aif.
siDE CAKEs-sTJiW2~~:pR6ii:i:i'.iu:ILs AT .HoME aasiNESS •w.rn/ :.
THE ·HELP.:oF. A ·46. DOLLAR. LOAN:· b:NE bl.NNOT MISS THE
SPARKL:£ 'o:F·-PRIDE. IN :HORTENSIA• S EYES AS SHE POINTS OUT
THE IMPROViMENTS TO HER HOUSE/SHOP FINANCED BY PROFITS
FROM HER 2VSINESS. IN FIVE YEARS THESE IMPROVEMENTS
TOTALED MOR.'E THAN $8, 000. THIS ':!EAR_I>!ORTJ::NSIA, ..WHO .!S
l?RACT;I:CALJ;,.'/
Il:JLITERATE, WAS-EtEcTED -PRESIDENT· OF:-HER-{.
VILL.rJ:i;E ·B~K-GROUP"WHICHcHAS ·!lREAT CONF;tD~CB--·IN ·HER;
L~ERSHI!i'.:;ABILITIES; ANrl "1\PPRECIATES--HER·BNTHUSWf.i' FOR
BUSINESS. "COURAGE IS Rl>.LF. OF-·J.,IFE;" SIGHS THIS SINGLE
MOTHER OF SEVEN.
-- MARIA os::r;,. CARMEN CABALLERO IS ONE OF.,..-i7o~HEALTii.~',:
PROMOTERS .AND!.clS o~·MIDWIVES~WHb-HELP""'PISSEMINATE-cRUc'rAL
INFORMA'i'.IbN:!:ON::NU'l'RITlON ;::- SANITATION' AND OTHER--HEALTH-;
ISSUES ·:REIATEl':l"'TO:-:PiiE -AND . POST :'NATAL . CAAPL :'HELPING· To.l
BROA:DEN-~:TR!l:.:_~E~ST~ru;)l.§.;:9!t P~q:!>!;!li; .:t..IKE -RUTH: ;:; : ·. ·
"miEN I:-:FIRST-LEARNED-I:--WAS:-l?REGNANT·, ' 1 .sHE· SAYS,
7
"I KAD
NO IDEA I WAS SUPPOSED TO TAKE VITAMINS, EXERCISE, DRIN~
GOOD WATER AND TRY TO EAT BETTER.
I JUST THOUGHT 'WELL,
IF MY KID DIES (AT CHILDBIRTH), lT'S THE WILL OF GOD.
NOW," SHE ADDS WITH A SMILE, "I KNOW I CAN GIVI!i: 'GOD A
LITTLE HAND . 11
-- DORA .. E:\!GENIA-GASTEAZORO;-:-J,\1. ~,::HE:ADS:.:.THE::OFFICS:.:oF
ENVIRo'NMENTAL-.S:DUCATION. MOSoCIAI:. MARKETING J>.T THE
LEAO ING::::sAL~~OR..!uJ.. ENVIRONMENTAL:·ORGANIZATION='-:.--:::-',
SAl.VANATtTRA. R.J::CSNTLY, THE. O:OVSRNMEN'l' OF SPAIN AWARDED
SALVANATURA $lJ5,000 TO INCREASE ITS ENVIRONMENTAL
EDUCATION ACTIVITIES IN EL SALVADOR'S LARGEST NATIONAL
PARK, S:t.. IMPOSIBLE,
GASTEAZORO WAS INSnUMENTAL IN
WRIT;I;NG THE WINNING PROPOSAL.
G.I>.STEA20R.O HAS CREATED
EXTRAORDINARY CAMPAIGNS, MOTIVA~XNG PEO~~E TO CONTRIBUTE
TO THE PRESERVATION OF HER COUNTRY'S DWINDLING NATURAL
RESOURCillS,
"If'S IMPORTANT NOT TO ROMANTICIZE THE
Slll'VIRONMENT,
11
O:ASTEAZORO NOTES.
"IT'S
~T~~ST,ABOUT--
.,.,
11'LOWERS_AND_PRETTLBU.TTER.ll'LI·ES~~,i~!'~'!lAI:iK~NG····ABOUT:::,f)UR..l
:ECOtl'OM!C DEVELOPMENT.
,NA.'l'tl'RAL .RESOURCES, ·
... '
-~--
·!·F
·WE:.CONTIND:E TO ·I>ES,'!'ROY-OUR
J
WHATdilWE~ WE'. LE11'T?.~·c.
- PEOPLE IN THE RURAL COMMUNITY OF EL PATERNO AGREE
THAT BABY CARLITOS OWES HIS LIFE TO ORBELINA GUTIERRSZ,
UNCLASSIFIED
l
NSCE-00
�09/17/98
141023
THU l!J: 51 FAX
lrtnted By, EVa A. WeigQlQ Hanson
THE
HEALTH PROMOTER
CARLITOS WAS BORN
WEIGHING JUST ONDER 3 POUNDS, TO ~4 YEAR
OI,D SUSANA, IN AN ISOLATED s.Al.VADOR.I'IN VILLAGE. OR.Bt:LINA
CAREFULLY MONITORED SOS~'S PREGNANCY THROUGH REGULAR
TWO wgEK PRE-NATAL APPOINTMENTS, AND THEN DILIGENTLY
FOLLOWED CARLITOSL.POST~NATAL~I>ROGR.I'l:SS- .. WITR FRE;QUENT
11 [
VISITS,
WJ:\Nt'ED TO SHARE WMA'l' .I KNEW ABOUT HEALTlff'
CAAi;:-:-1\ND-:Hl~LP ciMI?ROVI!l' THE~ QUALITY- OF~L-IFE-=-i-ORCTHESE"
~OCAL
PRiMATOREL~,
RURAL.F}U.ji~I.ES,-11,., SAID.,:OR-BiLIN~"'WHEN ASKED WHY~SHE-AGRSED ,}
THREE YEARs .liC;o To.AccsPT 'l'HE s2oo "'K .MoNTR-:PasfifoN:.- HER
ISOLATED,-MOUNTAINOt1S J'!,!GION
COVERS--THREEf-SMALL
'·
coMMDNITiss-wJ:l't-t-uo-F.AMII.Jl:ss, soME oF wHOM AAE: MoRE THAN
TWO-HOUR.S-WJ\LlCFROM-HER -CLINIC·,../ SHE USUALL')C SPENDS TWO
HOURS EACH MORNING IN THE OFFICE SEEING I?A'l'IENTS, AND
THE REST OF THE DAY SHE WALKS THROUGH THE COUNTRYSIDE
WITH A BAG OF ESSENTIAL EQUIPMENT AND PHARMACEUTICALS
VISITING FAMILIES AND ~SWERING QUESTIONS ABOUT BASIC
HE.l\.LTH CARE AND HOOSii:HOLD SANITAUON- IN ADDITION TO HER
20S'lr DAYS, S~E ALSO VOLUNTgERS TO TEACH LITERAC~ CLASSES
SEVERAL EVENINGS A WEEK AT THE LOCAL SCHOOL NEAR HER
HEALTH CARE Bt:!ILDING. AND, "WHEN I GET HOME A'£ NIGHT, I
AM GREET!:!! B'( MX OWN FOUR CHILDREN li.GSS SEVEN TO
THII!.TEEN, WHO ALSO NEED SOME Oi MY TIME, 11 SAID ORBELINA.
"I MAY BE TIRED,. BUT I ~ VERY HAPPY." THE COMMUNITY OF
e~ PATERNO APPEARS TO aE HAPPY, AS WELL.
RECENTLY T~EY
GAVE HER 20 POUNDS .OF THEIR SCARCE aEANs AS ~IDBNCE OF
THEIR APPRECIATION FOR ~L THAT SHE DOES FOR THEM.
2 • IN ADDITION TO THE WOMEN SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN
THE VITAL VO!~ES CONFER.ENCE, THE FOLLOWING SALVADORAN
WOMEN HAVE MADE VALUABLE CONTRIBUTl.:ONS TO THE DEVELOPMENT
OF WOMEN IN SAL~OR,
--MERCEDES ·MAORIZ DE. VIERA ~TAMIRANO: WITH HER
HusaAND.-.co=iOUNDin THE nRsT MoRNING DAILY m:wsPAE'ER IN
ElL SALVADOR:- .AND-lNDEEn IN CENTRAL AMERlCA, "SX.. DIARIO DE
HOY" IN 1936. li.T VARIOUS TIMES AND I!'OR SEVERAL YEARS
DURING HER HUSaAND'S EXILES SHE DIRECT~D AND ADMINISTERii:D
THE NEWSPAJ?Il:R, WHICH REMAINS ONE OF THE COUNTRY'S TWO
LEADING DAILIES TO THIS DAY •
. -- MIRNA"IilElVANO~DE-MARQt:lES:
DURING
AS MINISTER
OF
!?WINNING
THE ClliSTIANI_;APMINISTRATION, SliE W1l.S RESPONSIBLE
FOR COORDINATING ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL POLICY, PUBLIC
REF: STATE
~68~92
INVESTMSNTS, AND FOREIGN ASSISTANCE. SHE HAS ALSO SERVED .
AS GOVERNOll. OF THE IDB AND THE WORLD aANK, AND FOt!NtlED
HER OWN CONSULTING FIRM ~0 GIVE ECONOMIC, FINANCIAL, AND
MARKETING ADVICE TO LOCAL Bt:!SINESSES,
-- .ETHELVINA MORILLO-DE-iSCOBAR-:~PROFESSO'I:< EMERITUS AND
COORDINATOR OF THE SCHOOL OF NATURAL SC!ENCSS AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF !!:~ SALVADOR. THE FIRST WOMAN TO INTRODUCE
THE STUDY OF THE SOLAR CELL ENERGY TO IMJ?ll.OVE LIVING
CONDITIONS IN ~L SALVADOR, SHE HAS SERVED ~S PRESIDENT OF
THE "ASSOCI:ATION'FoR-SOLAA-ENEitGY·or EL"SALVADQR:,::::.t::SHE HAS
LECTUREJ5-0N-SOLAR--ENERGY--THROUGHOUT-THE-WORLO-li.ND--'~-::;_.
PlJBLISHE!l SEVERAL ARTlCI,ES.:_ANDBOOI<S ON THE-TOPIC. SHE!--..,._:;)
SUPERVISED A PROJ~CT TO INSTALL-SOLAR REFRIG~RATORS IN
RURAL AREAS. QTJO'l'E 11 WHAT I DO IN T.Hli: .AR.EA OF SOLAR
RESEARCH, AND SCIENCE IN GENERAL, I !lO TO IMPROve THE
I.JIVING CONDITIONS IN EL S~LVADOR AND TO ~IGNIFY THi
STATT]S OF THE SALVADORAN WOMAN, ~lNLY'THOSE I~ THE POOR
COMMUNITIES. . I WANT TO DEVELOP IN THIS COUNTR'i THE SENSE
OF FEMALE WORTH AND RESPECT FOR THE ON8S WHO 00 NOT HAVE
UNCLASSIFIED
2
�09/17/98
~024
THU 16:51 FAX
.
.
_,Priii.tee By: Eva A. Weigold Hanaon
.•·
ACCESS TO EDUCATJ;ON,
WE NEEO 'l'O S'l'O~ THINKING TAAT WOMEN
SliOULil liE LIMITED TO DOMESTIC CHORES, 11
3.
POST HOPES THE ABOVE INPORMATION IS USEFOL IN
DEVELOPING THB FIRST LADY'S SPEECH,
DAWSON
UNCLASSIFIED
3
�I'.
PERSONAL STORIES OF CLIENTS OF USAID
SUPPORTED MICROENTERRPISE PROGRAMS
Although the term microenterprise development is typically associated with providing small
loans to microentrepreurs, it also encompasses a wide range of non-financial assistance, which is
essential to the long-term sustainability of a microenterprise. Here is the story of Edeliza
"
Zevallos, a woman who benefitted from one ofUSAID's non-financial assistance programs.
Edeliza Zevallos
Peru
Por Su Salud ("For Your Health") is a female-headed microenterprise that provides solid waste
collection in a poor section of northern Lima. Edeliza Zevallos, its principal owner, has built the
business to the point that it successfully won a legally binding contract with the government to
provide services to 7,000 payingcustomers. Pdt Su Salud now employs 17 people, ·turning solid
waste into compost at its own sanitary landfill, and supports tree-planting and other community
campaigns. Moreover, the business serves as a model to.other women-owned and operated solid
waste microenterprises throughout Peru.
Zevallos and other owners of small solid waste collection businesses have participated in
USAID's Sustainable Environment and Natural Resources (SENREM) Project, a larger
environmental project that includes activities·to strengthen public and private capacity and
policy, develop and test cost-effective environmental practices, and develop biodiversity
conservation. The fact that support for microenterprise is part of what is officially termed an
"environmental project" illustrates how this type of private sector support can accomplish
broader social objectives.
With ACCION International's technical assistance and $5.9 million from USAID, Bolivia's
PROD EM became the first non-governmental organization to transform into a formal financial
institution, now called BancoSol. Alicia Lopez de Maya is one ofPRODEM's success stories.
Alicia Lopez de Maya
PROD EM
Bolivia
Twelve years ago, Alicia's small business selling candies generated little income. She wanted to
expand sales by offering many basic household products that were not available in her
neighborhood. This desire brought her to PRODEM, a·usAID-supported microfinance
institution in La Paz, Bolivia.
Alicia began with a loan of $60, which allowed her to stock her store with a variety of goods and
increase sales. Gradually, she borrowed more and with ten loans over five years, she
transformed her business into a full-fledged general merchandise shop including clothing and
shoes.
�r,
\
Alicia's success has allowed her to send four of her children to universities in La Paz. She has
recently been able to borrow $5,000 to invest in a minibus for her husband, who works as a
driyer in La Paz. :
·
·
.
.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~-------------
USAID provided over $850,000 to the Katalysis North/South Development Partnership to
expand its lending program in Honduras. One of the partnerships' members is the Organization
for Women's Enterprise Development, which started a community bank in Luisa Zelaya's
neighborhood. Here is her story;·
Luisa Zelaya
ODEF
Honduras
. When Luisa Zelaya started a small business in Honduras selling household goods, she had no
assets or capital, so she financed her purchases by borrowing from loan sharks who charged
exorbitant daily interest rates-rates so high that they ate up most of her profits,' keeping her on
the margin of survival despite her dawn-to-dusk efforts. Then Luisa joined a Community Bank
started by the Organization for Women's Enterprise Development (Organizacion de Desarrollo
Empresarial Femenino or ODEF). ODEF is a leading microfinance iinstitution in Honduras and a
member of the Katalysis North/South Development Partnership. Luisa is one of over 20,000
microentrept:eneurs served by the Katalysis Partnership.
·
As a, community bank member, Luisa received a loan of $68, business training, and support from
other women. With this help, she opened a fish stand in Lima's busy marketplace. Netting more
and more sales, Luisa now employs three people (including her husband) and expanded her
product line to include vegetables, fruit, and natural medicines.
------------------------------------------------------------------------~-----------------------------~---------------
USAID has helped ACCION International's affiliate in Ecuador, Banco Solidario, to begin a
microenterprise division, This example is fairly rare in that Banco Solidario is a·formal sector
commercial bank moving into the microenterprise development arena, but seems to be the
beginning of a trend. Emma Lagla Correa considers herself fortunate to have es.tablished her
relationship with Banco Solidario.
·
Emma Lagla Correa
Banco Solidario ·
Ecuador
2
.
'•
�Coming from ·a long line of herbal practitioners, Emma Lagla Correa opened an herbal shop in
Ecuador. To get her business started, Emma borrowed $880 from moneylenders, which she
secured with her apartment. The interest was 10 percent a month, but she had to pay $17 every
day. With sales of only $22 a day, she did not have much left for feeding and clothing her four
children.
One day Emma heard a radio advertisement for Banco Solidario, an ACCION affiliate in
Ecuador. Emma immediately appliedJor a loan, and in eight days she received a loan which she
used to pay off the moneylender. This loan had an affordable interest rate, and from then on,
Emma was never late in her payments. Two subsequent loans helped her build inventory and
sales. The business is now providing stable support for Emma and her family. She has been able
to buy a typewriter for her son, who is in junior high, and a television. With her next loan, Emma
plans to buy glass casesfor her medicines.
USAID provided funds for equity investments in Accion Comunitaria del Peru (ACP), a
Peruvian microfinance institution in the ACCION International network. These funds help ACP
to. expand its portfolio by borrowing from commercial sources and transform itself into a licensed
formal financial institution. Lilia Cecilia Chavez Guzman is one of ACP's clients.
Lilia Cecilia Chavez Guzrilan
ACP
Peru
When Cecilia's husband left her, she decided to open a store to make ends meet by· selling food.
She began selling what she could and then cooking the rest to sell door to door, but her profits
were painfully small.
Her first loan from Accion Comunitaria del Peru (ACP), ACCION's affiliate, was for only 400
soles (US $150). The small loan allowed Cecilia to invest in more products, increasing sales and
profits. After six loans from ACP, Cecilia's store has grown to fill nearly the entire first floor of
· her house, and she has even been able to add a second floor to her home. Cecilia plans to offer
telephone service, and with the help of more loans from ACP, she also hopes to open a juice
stand.
"The loans have helped a lot,' 1 Cecilia says. ''I'd like to keep making a better life especially for
the children."
�..
In Guatemala, US AID is working \Vith FUN"TIAP and other local organizations to 'develop new
techniques for providing technical and credit services to client groups in more remote areas for
microenterprise development. Alba Argentina Xica de Cot6n, a FUNDAP client, was able to tell
her story at the Regional Consultative Forum on Microenterprise in Costa Rica during May 1997.
Alba Argentina Xica de Cot6n
FUNDAP
'
Guatemala
Alba Argentina Xica de Cot6n, began working at age 10 to help her parents in their struggle to
enable her brothers to become professionals in the workforce. With her entrepreneurial spirit and
determination to get ahead, Xica has become a business professional in her own right. Several
years ago, Xica de Cot6n received a small loan from FUNDAP, a local microcredit institution
supported by USAID, to expand her business. Today, she owns a sewing supply business, which
she runs with the help of her husband and daughter. Affordable credit remains an essential part
of her life.
"Without those loans we wouldn't have kno>rn what to do," she said. "Today we are beginning to
generate some of our own capital, but it is· nor enough. We need credit to grow the business and
improve customer 'service."
USAID provided $600,000 to an inter-agency cooperation project to develop a technical
assistance, training and credit reference sen·ice among six micro lending organizations in El
Salvador, one of which was FIN CA. These organizations have iending operations with over
45,000 active clients, 76% ofwhom are women. Hortensia Contreras is one ofthem.
Hortensia Contreras
FINCA
El Salvador
Hortensia started working as a housekeeper at age seven to support her family. After being left
by her husband, she worked as a cook, laundry woman and vendor of meat, soap, etc. to support
her five children. Hortensia experienced some very rough years during which she found a Village
Bank program which \Vas part of FINCA's extensive network. Her initial loan of 400 Colones
(roughly $40) allowed her to sell soda and ice. Little by little, Hortensia was able to expand and
diversify sales, obtain bigger loans and increase her savings. After her fifth loan, she was able to
put electricity in her home and buy a refrigerator. Today, she has saved nearly $400.
4
�NGOs Advancing Civil Society
1. Partners of the Americas Parag:uavan Development Resource Center (Asuncion.
Parag:uav):
Following the fall of Stroessner in '-1989, a groups of citizens decided to begin holding
public forums ~o address local development concerns. Among the citizen groups
were "Women-for Democracy'' and ":\1ultisectoral Women." Representatives of
these organizations traveled to Paraguay· s sister state of Kansas for training arranged
by the local chapter of the League of Women Voters. Upon return, they began
organizing regularly scheduled public forums in the local marketplaces, inCluding
ones where candidates for office were ask.e~ to respond 'to'citizens"questions directly.
The organizations then moved on to es~ablish voter education programs and civics
classes for children.
2. Nicarag:ua: Follow·ing the election of\"ioleta Chamorro, citizens interested in nonpartisan democracy-building were free to assemble and organize. Two outstanding
examples of new civic organizaiions Rre Gruoo FUNDEMOS and Mujeres
Nicarag:tienses Conciencia. Grupo Fl.~DE\-"lOS began its activities by organizing
public forums to edudlte citizens on rl:e principles ant! advantages of market-based
development and democratic go\ emmer:I. Its members then moved on to work at the
departmental (state) level to support er':ons by local pe:litical party leaders to
strengthen their parties and J inkngts tc> citizens, and ttJ ;:-oro mote collaboration among
political leaders for local ~evdopme~'.! projects.·
,Mujeres Nicarag:tienses Concienci<J. is a ·,zrnss-ro~)ts org:anization of women \.Vho
decided to supp~rt the fomtation <J.nd de~elopment of ~itizen groups in tO\.vns and
villages throughout Lhe country. These groups operate on democratic principles to
undertake self-help proj~::ts and lobby iocal officials on behalf of their communities.
(Both organizations receive support from l'SAID.)
1
3. Free Access (Oaxaca. rvfexico):
Acceso Libre (A.L.) was established in 1996 to advocate an end to discriminatory
treatment of physically disabled persons. Through the concerted action of its
members, it successfully lobbied the state to install ramps to ease access to public
buildings. A.L. has also obtained a g:rant from the Kellogg: Foundation to establish a
_.....
Rehabilitation Center. It is now turning its attention to special efforts to organize
women with disabilities.
-
-
�4. Federation of Bolivian \\lomen (Santa Cruz. Bolivia): The Federation was formed in
1988 in the Department of Santa Cruz as a coordinating body for several
organizations of women who had immigrated to that region from nine other
departments of the country. Its mission is to promote national integration, citizen
participation and knowledge of citizens' rights and duties. Among its many activities
are the development of civic education classes and civic participation activities for"
students in the final two years of secondary school, and the training of newly elected
community level leaders of its member organizations in legal rights and
responsibilities. The Federation has profited from collaboration with Conciencia
Argentina and Partners of the Americas.
5. National Civic Association for Women CANCIFEM. Puebla. Mexico): In 1994,
representative~ of ANCIFEM visited Oklahoma under a USAID-funded Partners of
the Americas program to learn about American electoral processes. These Mexican
leaders were especially impressed with mock election programs for youth they
witnessed, and· decided to adapt the program at home. In 1995, almost 2,000 students
between the ages of 14 and 17 participated. In 1997, ANCIFEM organized the
preparation of a database on candidates for office in the state which was circulated to
about 20,000 voters who learned facts not easily available to them previously.
ANCIFEM has also worked over the years to improve election procedures; for.
instance, organizing citizen obsen.:ation efforts at pole.s, and promoting the use of
photo identification by voters and the use of transparent ballot boxes.
�~~P-18-1998
.
..
(Cji(.~) .
17:40
AA/LAC/EMT
'1~.
,,,,,,,,
.......,
US.
AGiNCY FOR.
INnill'IATIONAL
ot:valj~~- AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPl\1ENT
RONALD REAGAN BUILDING
WASBlNGTON, D.C. 20523-5900
O~CEOFREGIONALSUSTMNABLEDEVELOPMENT
DATE:
TO:
FAX#:
TEL#:
# OF PGS.
FROM:
'l'EL#:
FAX#:
202-216-3262 ~ (5.09 - 062U)
202-216-3403 - (5.09- 091U)
..
REMARKS:
320 T~n·FtllST StaErr,·N.W., WASHJ:>~c:;ToN, D.C. 20523
�SEP-18-1998
''"-"
------·' .,
'
'
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VISIT TO THE INTER·AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF .HUMAN RIGHTS
BY THE FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES, HillARY CLINTON,
AND SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE ALBRIGHT
SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA
MAY 8, 19CJ7
-------- - ... _,
PRESENTATION
The Inter-American lns.tirute of Human Rights is pleased to publish the remarks of the First Lady
and rhe Secretary of the State of the United States, of IIHR staff and of the Central American participants
. on the occasion of their visit to the IIHR during the afternoon of May 8, 1997.
First Lady Hillary Rod ham Clinton and Secrerary of State .Madeleine Albright visited the Institute's
headquarters in San jose, as part of President Clinton's recent official visit to Mexico, Costa Rica and
Barbados. ·
Our £wo distinguished visitors were thus able to learn more about IIHR activities throughout the
hemisphere and its different areas and programs. The Executive Diredor of the IIHR, Juan Mendel,
opened the session by explaining the Institute's approach to the problems of human rights and
democracy in the region.
The Institute's Gender and Human Rights Program organized a working session on the topic of
women 1S rights as human rights and invited four colleagues from Central America to make short
presenta£ions. The women who took part were ·the Human Rights Ombudswoman of El Salvador,
Victoria de Aviles; Sonia Cansino, also from El Salvador; Marla Eugenia Mijangos of Guatemala; and
Patricia Rlos de Herrera of Nicaragua. (The Iauer three work for non-governmental organizations
5
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invoJved in different aspects of women's human rights). Gilda Pacheco, of our Gender and Human
Rights Program, described die Institute's activities in the promotion of women's rights. The basic
objective was to present the IIHR's general priorities and those of that program for the next three
years, and to discuss the progress being made and the challenges that lie ahead in regard to such
issues as the rights, health, political participation and legislation affecting women.
:~.
--·-----~·
. -· --· -·--·--·-----.
- -~-- -( Mr:s.J:Iil'l~Q!'I c.!~foke aooilftn~__!leecttg c~so_lidate and further_cJeYelop.democr~c-y.Ibe~Fifsf~apy
of Costa.J~·~fg~~tte de Figueres; anq,the Seco.m::JJ/ic_~]'r~s.19~m. R:ebec.i Grynspan,also-eont~!P_u~ed---~ 7
to the--discussion; whi.le_fv1rs: Albrigh't-reaffirmed that human right~9Dd~democracy-will-continue to/
be a-key.:obje.<;tlye ofU .s. forefgn_pol'if'y~~e also said thatas.Jong as~she is_~~-cre!~iy_-_ofState:shewiU
continueJQl..liPPof:t: human rights, and tlie lhstitute's programs iri pankulii:Soniaj'jcadp,_Vtce PresidenJ.
of the Institute, closed the meeting~- ) 1 -~- - - - - -~---~-~-- --~-~
.
This session was undoubtedly a milestone in the life of the Institute because of rhe importance of
our visitors. Therefore, we are proud to present to our friends this small remembrance of that afternoon.
----_,.)
Juan E. Mendez
Executive Director
Inter-American Institute of Human Rights
6
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MENDEZ: Good afternoon. My name is Juan Mendez: and I am the
Executive Director of the Inter-American Institute of Human Righrs. It is a great pleasure to welcome
you to the Institute. We wish to acknowledge/ and appreciate, the presence of the First Lady of Costa
Rica, Mrs.--Josette Figueres; the Second Vice Presidenr of Costa Rica, Rebeca Grynspan; and Ambassador
Sonia Picado, the Costa Rican Ambassador to the United Stares/ who is also Vice Chair of the Board
· of Directors of this Institute, and my predecessor as Executive Director. We are also very happy to
have with us Ambassador_ Harriett Babbitt1 the Head of the United States Mission tq the OAS, and
Mark Schneider, our good friend, and Director for Latin America of USAID. We are also privileged to
have with us four dear friends and colleagues who have come to Costa Rica for this occasion: Victoria
Marina de Aviles, rhe Human Rights Ombudswoman of El Salvador; Sonia Cansino, also from El
Salvador, a specialist on women arid citizenship; Patricia Rlos Herrera, coordinator of a Nicaraguan
network of women's health rights; and Maria Eugenia Mijangos, from Guatemala, a women's rights
attorney at the Center for Legal Action on Human Rights_
joining us in this colloquium also will be Gilda Pacheco, a program officer at this Institute in
charge of gender-based rights. Madame First Lady, let me express my admiration and that of the
enrlre staff and Board of the lnstirute for your outstanding contributions in the area of women's and
children's rights and the universal availability of health care; contributions we have long been familiar
with and admired, Madame Secretary of State1 we also wish to commend you for your leadership at
the United Nations, and elsewhere, in pursuing peace and settling conflicts by attributing importance
7
�SEP-18-1998
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to human rights, and particularly for establishing truth and justice in response to atrocities, as an
integral part of peace-making and peace-building.
.
T~J~1!!tute~~~s~fouQ.~eC,f ip;~];~:s~~)~,. [~a.·~~:~~ch.and~~LIS~tl9rc· ~anp~?~~r~!~~ri_,~~~~J
Court of Humarr:R:Ight$:·1~"a.~s,umed;1ne~tjiSk:ofpromotmg h9rnan r•gn
n(:.ttjkr:noGr:acy,~at~a'-tlmewnerl-mOsf[ati'r.t:Am~ricanC.9l}ritri~were govef'he·d by m,i lisary-di~a~ers~ ips,~~i3,.h~-r!gf!ged ,j n:mass.iy_e I~
systemar·ic,dolati.q__r.t§:gh~e ffiosi ~a~J{~~s:gverli~_~it~e~~~"&~~3~~eie~~~s;in~·~~al i ng
wittl'Lthe-traumatic..Jegactes-ottnose abuses, tn··t~t::penod generally.,referred -to~a.s our--trans 1t1on -to.J
~1:iettfocracy;~~t:l
·
Today au~ !egi~.n-~~,7~pede_ncing-a~·~eH;de:~!-v~~j.n.~~we_.P-efi<idwif~;e~s~tutiona[
cgg\l~rn ment.<5~'f~~~~,th~~-~tl!I;J~gl eJo r-h~r:pan. 1:-1g~ ts-~~"~l~Lrt@~}~~~'!'_Oc;'{~r;Jti·~·neW!eo~.~ext .
undoubt@Y~P!~s~~!~-~~~!~_lil.:_n~~::_~balle:nges~~u~ a_lso. ojfers;.~s_gre_;:~~ ~pportun 1t1es f~r huma~ ngh rs
work.Jn· most of our countnes we suffer from what we call tnsuff1c1ent democracy , by wh1ch we
mean thar authoritarian attitudes often co-exist with elected and representative governments. For
example, the independence of civil society organizations and their efforts to solv~ society's problems
are not always valued and recognized. Freedom of expression is vigorously exerc1sed, but not alwa~s
respectedJ and much less encouraged, despite its key role in fostering informed debate in a democratic
society.
8
Va~c;9r~,of-so_ci~~ty:~"~~J~cr~asi~gJY-rQa~Ifialized,_not. onl;fro~-I~e :e~_ooc;;;y~:but~alsqJFQ!Tl-;~;
~artic!P:ati~~irf.:t~e·_-£Jeci~~~9tW9i~~e~J.reir.!~~~~:-~~?._~?taJning~~oress fro":' th~,courtscwhen-their ·"
JL\.
rJghts.ar.e_v.tola_ted\ Our lnstJtute"behe~e~ tnat-tne pnnc1pal::~a?:~-facln~-o~;-~~-r~~~on tS t~~~'1e~~-~o-~!~~- _
our ~e~o.cracJes-no~ ~ni("J~'~~s~~~le~::~ut:als-?-=":or~.::-fJ'l:~~Dm&fHl-ln~conte·ntlifa~·e•rrm~l~,y,~;af-':d"l~.:_j ~"~"'-~/
underpn~tleged-:and tne ·vlcttms-of.:.lnv•daous:dlscr.tmlnaJJ9n~_::~e~ also feel very strongly that what
makes a system democratic is that public officials are accounrable to'th~~.blile;qflaw::and to their
·~onstit~ents, In that sense,. we stri\Le:_tQ_fDalfe~ cOurts rTH~~e .a~ces~i-~~~~-~gt ~~o mdre lnoep?r;fa~t~·~~~)' .#
lf'J18artla~.-S!:?;=!b_~t!Jcts of-to~JJ_r~e;-_murdecand-pther :abuse comm•tteil by: member.s:ohhe~a[llled and -- ---~i:f
sec;r;rty'forces do no[ gc)·'"-unpor11shea: -~ >
-~ -"~-- ~
,The-civi F
sq~i-~ti_e'sMour-cou~tri es-h-~veproouced~some remarkabre-ex peri m'entsin'accourlfapi Lixy-;
?uring='tne~tr~n:s·ition-fr'?m-~J~tatorship to· democracy. We are moving again towards policies tha['
favor £ruth and justice, as well as reconciliation, and reject the norion that the atrociries committed in
the past should be overlooked and go unpunished.
These Latin American lessons can also be applied by the international community in tackling
difficult problems such as war crimes and crimes against humanity. We pursue £hese objectives at the
Institute rhrough a combina(ion of programs and advisory services, which we make available to
governmental. institutions and independent civil society organizations. For example, our Center for
Educational Resources prepares materials for use in reaching human rights and values of peace and
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dem9cracy, tntended prtmarily for elementary-school srudents. These materials have been mcorporateu .
into the official curr:icula of some public schools ·in our region and widely disseminated in rhe
hemisphere. ·
·
.
·
We [hink of this
a·s our long-term strategy for fostering a cufture of tolerance and peace, which we
believe will ultimately replace o_ur present ''insufficient democracies" with democracies that are
more meaningful, comprehensive and inclusive. Some of those materials are included in the packages
that we have prepared for you. There is a video gam~ that teaches human rights values, a book of
children's drawings commemorating the Fortieth Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, and a video that is now permanendy on display at the children's museum in San Jose, Costa
Rica, and soon will be at a similar museum in Lima, Peru. There is also a CD-ROM containing .
internarional documents in two languages related to human rights protection, and rhe latest issue of
our academic publication, including articles by Larin American scholars on the promotion of an
international criminal court.
..
Madame First Lady1 allow me to turn the floor overto you. After your presentation we will engage
in a discussion. Thank you very much.
HILLARY CLINTON: Thank you very much, Director Mendez. Thank you very much for arranging
this opportunity for the Secretary of State and others in our party to meet with you to discuss issues
10
pertaining to human rights. vye ~~e obviously a~ a p~in~·~n:~~i)'~~~~ularlyln this r~~ioo,~5@~~;
we can be thankfulthat the massiVE(RiTman·~ri'gtl~JblafionsoJ th~J~~~~~are ad east beh.nd ~~~:That, .
doe's. not!'flean-~tnat we: ~C:a!i lej~uff on our vigilance about th~liTiportanc.e _ofJliim~n~~rfg6i~-or-thEf~"eec;l _}
to mal<~insufficieni democrades~sufficiencaemot;ra_(,::i~~s. ~-~-=~}
'
-- ....
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~-
. . Secretary Albright an~ I particularly want~d~~ C()_me hei~.to honor_~be_·roJ~Jh~ctl:leJi1sli:uite~bas··
played in defending human-rights 1-at a~i~~when that took .enor~mous courage.;We know that many
of your colleagues put themselves ird1arm's way when they spoke our against human rights abus_es,
but we also know that their courage has saved countless lives and hastened the end of repressive
regimes. WP. wanr to hear about rhe work you are doing now a.nd, parricularly, how we can make
human rights the centerpiece of both domestic and foreign policy in our countries and around the
world.
1'R~~rymuch-·in-favor-of-youri!Uflati~;hav~~;;;ma~~~t
~a-r~crlm-es}rlbl.lnalfl
visited the tribunal in Arusha (Tanz'ariia) andreceived a briefing about the work they are doing there.
Much of what they have had to contend with is the necessary start-up problems that you will always
confront when you are beginning an enterprise of such importance, trying to get it staffed and putting
into place the necessary steps. ·
·
We are also interested in he~ring about rhe human rights problems thar continue to exist in this
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region, particularly those that affect women and children. I appreciate your having expertise represented
here from around the rc;gion on those particular issues-. We would also like to know what is being
done to address these challenges. I am particularly concerned about any limits that are placed 'either by law or by practice or by repression- on women's political participation.
r
Todiy?Thrnl<it-is·fair:tO-say·tnat:thisjnstitute-rernains:a-JeaderEi·n-:-defenoing.,basic~human·rights! I
greatly appreciate the way in which you are expanding the definitfon of your work to include the
comm,itm~ntth~J m_?I!Y of us made in Beijing to the ~rqpg_sitiooJb~t'1'9!!l~rl'~ -~ights are human rights
as weii._We know thflt democric)l;insuffidenror~lie~iset.is not sustai~gg_BY,. tf~'ii'~nd:fairele_s:tjpr's
.~,
alone:_lt d~s on Th~'i~lernall'mioifof. :v.alu . ·
~:~<lnge in a~'tt,tcl_es,_on.J5e _4Q;.T;~ij!fue~~~fr7 ·
""p>~I'(Ff~I~F.m•Cfi~rmlmlffu~the questions and co ·rns that we bring to this table are not unique
to Central America, but you have led the way in addressing those concerns and we hope that you
will share the lessons thar you have learned with us.
Finally, I want to close by just recognizing what may be obvious to all of you- that the presence
of the United States Secretary of State at a meeting such as this sends, I hope, a very strong message,
as it is intended to send. · ·... • · ... ·· · . · .· here in two. capacities_: as. an. individual who cares
deeply about human rights
--ofiher
· ar:ti~ulating .
that concern,
.
workihg.to
rrial<e::htJrn~n-rightS~an
·gn poli~y. ·
Farrr:delightecfto
-- ·- -- ·
12
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MENDEZ: Thank you very much, Madame First Lady, for those kind
words. We'll now open up the floor for discussion and I will try and make sure that everybody has a
chanc~ to p~rticipate .. Also, I will reserve t~e las~ part for a presentation by Madame Secretary of
State, tf that ts okay wt[h you. Let me start wtth Gilda Pacheco.
·
· GILDA PA~HECO (II f-IR): Thank you and welcome to all of you. In january of 1991, the Gender
and Human Rtghts Progra-m was established, thanks to the support and vision of Dr. Sonia Picado,
who at rhe time was Executive Director of the Institute.
C~rre.nd)' it provides advisory services, technical assistance and training to civil society
orgamzat1ons and other human rights groups working to eliminate gender inequalities, in line with
the theory and practice of human rights. This program coordinates with other branches of the Institute
to incorporate this perspective into their work.
·
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One ofthe m~i~ goals of our pr~gJ.:~~s:tO:invoi~C?~e,~i."_~l~~~i~~X''}~~~~~[:i"n'~'the?~of
hun;ta'
•ts. Th1s 1s a task for spec1ahsts m the legal f1eld, but women's groups, non-governmental
hum nghts organizations, organizations for the advancement of women's rights, and national and
international networks should also be engaged. As examples of how we tackle these challenges, we
should mention the'SO~sc;bolarships ~~arc:Jed.~'? Warn~rl's o.rg~r;~izati0rJS f~§-~~§ !iaitnAme~i.~an.:and~
caribcear?countries~thaf-'weie~tery ·a~Hve~in t~e 'c.o~f~~nce_:J[l~whfctl.you participated, th~
Workshop on lnternationai.. Protedion-ofthe Rignr~-ofWomen which was attended by 30 women
lawyers from 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries, as well as rhe dissemination of publications
on this subject in Latin America.
The main focus of the Gender and Human Rights Program over the next few years will be the
protection of women's rights at the national, regional, and international level_?: qne of the priority
objectives is to l~crease'such-protecrion by means of techn~~~Jtraining an~,~,sJaia(:e:fGcc.ornm_~:tPit,y1
group{leg~tJi~mi_ non-gov@lnmentai_Q_rg~!:'i_'?atio~fan(:fd~fense offices, on the use of national and
--. -·
---·. ..
l
international laws thar.aaC:fre.ss the defense and protection ofwomen's rights- and here we want to
stress our interes[ in training women lawyers and paralegals in this struggle. Also, we su'pport
organizations that work to advance human rights education and protection at the adolescent level,
by producing educationa.l materials and designing methodologies. In addition, we are advising Latin
American and Caribbean governments on the process surrounding the ratification of the Optional
Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Like
14
you; we feel this is not an easy path, but it is encouraging to see how there is now greater awareness
of the importance of sec.uring women's rights. This is a necessary task that must involve both men
and womenjf our goal is.to attain peace in all aspects of human life. Thank you.
~~--~
. tVICTORIA de AVILES 't'uman RightsOmbudswornan of El Salvador}: Distinguis~ed government
representatives, allow me to begin my very short presentation by addressing one of our special
gue\t~. ~illary~g_dh~ Clinton. You hav~ ~~-i~_on nur:n.eroos~occasiorts-thara~mo~~y,]iQ~fty~a:n87
il!stis~~ag'!res~~d)ointly~an'd-fl'1at goverflmen~§~tfon1110uTc0:!~ e_ff~ctfy~;a's w~ll-as~ethi'c;:;;)l:-7
I subscribe totally lo this approach, and, on thar basis, would like to share with you ~o-rne· idea·s-fron:i'"'"'
the human rights perspective.
'
I believe that the Central Am~rican nationS.r(I\.ISt addre.ssnuma-n~iglits il:'tsheirb.ilater:aLr:el.~ti~nsnipsy
) \
nor as a_~. isolated subject·but~~~!'~r~l-part of1Ji'efroverall pol icf~s,~afqngsiOeJr;~p~; :Jmmig@tiP[I;:;
drugsi:e,tc,.1n.~eptrai-America and· in alrof:tatin-America, numan "rignts must l:?e L.lii.d_erstoO:d~·.as-~Q.]
iss~.;~~~thar 5Liis across alh~lationships-wit.h-other::n~tion~Jlet me explain. Democratic development
in 'l:atin Anre-rica· is a question of achieving politiCal rights, fundamental liberties, economic rightS, .
cultural rights and a respect for the democr."uic rule of law. I believe it is essential to have open
economies, but also to combat poverty and maintain national social welfare policies.
In o1Her:words, llli-ink-that-the-developmentotdemocracy_and open. market economres in Latin
... --·- ~--.. ~-.
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Amefic~J.hQ.':£1d_g2;h,?ncJ:in:nan(fwitn-effomJruhe:-area ot~fiuman-.;.~gn!!t-l~;?~~;~~~?..~~~~ . _ P · 08/12
. respecdhe citlZehry,-'Judidal systems are independent, and the state and society maintain a minimum
commitment to the poor. To that end, it behoov.es the United States to maintain respect for human
·rights as the mainstay of its policy in the region.
·
Along the same line, the institution of the ombudsman is a state institution that defends the
· interests of the general public. .This institution must take on the difficult task, especially when it
comes to women, of investigating violations of human rights by the government, prosecuting those
responsible and ensuring respect for victims' rights:We fTIUSt contend with the arbitrary use of power,
which, in Latin America, has caused us many problems and even placed our lives at risk. As a
watchdog entity, we must place special emphasis on the protection and promotion of women's
rightS, as we fight to eliminate all forms of inequality, ·disadvantagement and discrimination. We
·want to bring the resolutions of Beijing to life, so that they may become accepted norms of behavior
for all of us, both men and women. As for children (a very vulnerable segment in our societies), their
rights must be protected to ensure our future.
·
No government ciim turn its back on its citizens who cross national boundaries in search of better
living conditions. Therefore, as an ombudswoman, I wish to convey to you my deep concern regarding
Central American immigrants in the United States. I recognize that your government has the right to
take the necessary legal measures- which I am convinced must reflect the principles of respect for
human dignity - to protect its sovereignty. I further recognize your dedication to democracy, and
16
your efforts on behalf of a population that today is experiencing suffering, uncertainty and distress.
Howeve:, I ask for youi'" support in ensuring that such measures be flexible and ensure respect for
human nghts, given the social, economic and political realities that our countries face today. Thank
·you.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MENDEZ: We will now give the floor to Sonia .Cansino.
SONIA CANSINO (a specialist on women and citizenship from El Salvador): Good afternoon to
everyone. In post~war El Salvador, scarred by extreme poverty ·and political authoritarianism, the
women's m~vement has been a leader .in the formulation of proposals.. Dur:ir~g-the-l92_~''"ele.ctions,
the first el~ctrons f?llo:v!_ng!~~Uvj\r,Jh~ wpn:en's me~entgot!_O.g~~~er t~P-~~~'i'pofiiiCal=plafform
characterrzed by _, ndep·endence-from-polincal'"'pan:ies:.ln-the· post=~~iJLr:fg_ef:a,~we~have~been_able=ro-J
put~Jbe national agenda-th~ -topJ~s ofTmportance r"{jci~:=:E)o~::tolime resrr-ktions, .Cwill:-men.tion •. _.
only-.a.
se___ i n_c. lude:_. ·e.
flS.
men· as ?
$C5)
requr~~menHhat 30-per~~nt o_f_d'ie_ex-ousband s-Eh.nstrnas conus. go to-.women=re.cetVI!Jg-=.e.tuld-_--:~ ~supp~n:-~aym*:~§;-and, recently, for tne March election, a decree that requires successful congressional
cand1dates to pay any unpaid child support payments prior to being accredited to their elected seats.
~I so, it is i.mpon:ant to highlight that in the most recent election,women-inc~e.§ls~d-rl]ejs.:r.~pr.e_ser:Hati_Qf)
rn ~~~g,~lature from_t~.?-re~l6:6 percennna-nks:-to-:=t~eir-~n~ri\-~t;Jt.~f:foq?-withi.n-"the.l[~r~~f?eGtive:
p~res::'c· •~--:---....._,- ----··-·~""--~·="~
!~_-_'if._<i_cnj~Vefn~~ts~-T.-~~.
t~. fr_~.C~~!l~t.J~rt of-_~C:~~a-~i t·~.Y.O.
c_.-rime;:~.~~)
17
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lhe g'ti's~e1E~g:~pv.ir~~fi:2Wforced die'goyernm~r!H<)..cr~~te t!l~}~s!itg~~fgrJb~.~~~~p~enl
of
in
N ati();,31Woffien 's ~o l~'f,~,.;llri:.~-~;iS~~.cJ(Yex b~en ~pprove~~,):~OtJJtPrOsi<l~nr' ..
Wom~'i>tE'fl"ttiW~,;!.·Ooi~~malerepreseNaijon:::anaParticip~ti~n. th~ fo<mulatipn·ofJ!;i~
f ... -----.-
D~>Ri~~our~~m~J!tS, un~_enia~}e sreativi_ty and ~Pdisputed politi<al skill, conservative
ideals havelieco:MlFtaw in-Ef$alvac:io~~ ta'SrAprilo:1s;:outgoing fl'\al~_,..ari~J~.m~le:legislat~gitimized
the in.:_q
} 3 7_!)1
a
cnme;'-eveo:tr:~ccases·ef(ra~:rJ~!al-deformltles'and SitUationS In wn1Ch the \afe·ofthe,mq!h~r,..:IScatrJS~.
Ab.ortif:~dlo~~qeen tOmpletdy~~utlawe~. Tnis act makes it clear that female cirizens are considered
good~citizens orlly in-rheinole as-mothers, ignoring the violence and discrimination which is implicit.
in this kind of legislation. Salvadoran women need women like you to take a stand against these acts,
which legitimize our subordination. If this is not stopped, Beijing will have been an unnecessary
effort, and women cannot afford rhis. Thank you very much.
ua]Lty..of.,)!'i'\re~:w2~t!:i~Y ~m~~d~? Ar(id~
~~~-ploaL~&Jif_tb_o,mak~ ~-'f"'ti orf'
•
.
.
MARIA EUGENlA MIJANGOS (Guatemalan Center for .Legal . Action on Human Rights): Good
afternoon and thank you for the opportunity to offer some ideas on women and the Guatemalan legal
/~system. Our legai system~ based on western law, written and formalistic in the letter as well as in the
~judicial practice, makes us "invisible" and protects and subordinates us, condemning us to_minQrity
statu sand supporting .the prevai IiDg..c_u ltuJ.e_ve ry_effe£tlve Iy. FciiliJi'fatei'Y~""~ r-"p-art'i"Eiprtiil'l\"iltihe
· Fofirth'Tiit~ieria'FCci-nf~.fi!n-tfon Wproen f~t;iH!~!~~LE.~-~wi!Lsee :lateri:~tb~~2ev~l opment of th~
women~s:·mtrvement'""in~6oatemala. /
---~---- __ I
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~--:;.:.::~~~ ~- :;:, ~
..
..
••
_ _ _. . . - : - - -
;~---·
-
•
•
•
18
We regard the currtem situation ·as promisin b
.· 1
. ·
· •
· ··
agreements - which include ach·e e
f g, ut comp ex. The ImplementatiOn of the peace
1•
·
.
.
' v ments or women's organ·zaf
combination of different factors: citizen insecurit wh'
I
IOns - IS comp ICated by a
wong posi.tions, including backpedaling in the fie~ of ~ch has _p~o~pted the. gove.r~ment t~ adopt
the downsizing of the sraie apparatus and t .
um~n ng ts, econom1c pol1c1es that mvolve
government and ci~il society. As a resuh o~~~e~~ ~~a:~;~rvJces; and a la~k ~f dialogu~ between the
a~cords, we women are participating ve active! in t i5 , a~d the d~lay In lmplemen~mg the peace
w1th full social participation.
ry
Y h post warpenod. For us_~ peace IS synonymous
. The_Guat~malan~women'§:"'mov.ement pro · ---
-· . ··--;-- :--:~--~-_...,...... .
diverse alt~r:n~tlv~ In the legal
232 through 235 of the penal code deal·
. h. h aw: c a engmg the constitUtionality of Articles
. h
'
mg w1t t e cnmes of adultery a d
1
•
w hI_C severely penalized a woman's infidel it while ..
n common aw marnages,
socrety's d.()u~le_sra·odar:d.:.:A_-constitutional./ u. - ~o.mg easy_on me~.. ~~~as.~ w~~t_? legalize the
doer t9"~ctivism~a-nd the ~rt~c'i-a
.,., <
.. o,~ decls_lon :a~ol's_hed :tli_~se artldes..:.ana..'ppgned the
F r : h f'
.
.
p
P t on.g.f:~or:n.er:l'=-~:.o.rganlzatlons·thus-glvl - ,--: ;----.-- ---~ -~-~,-.- ·""' _.,/
or .t__g •rst tr_me rn·-our.,coumry··a·coorr-d-e"'" . . . . f.f .__ . , ' . . · ng wemen·status as·cltlzens.
WoO) en over:· d9m.esti c Ieg i'sl'iao*~=i§..::r(;·;:rg.::.._ ~~.q~iiMb._!Q.'l~.·-f~~~f·e~t·m~ter:'~m~na·l~±~-~:~and-.-h u ma ".-.=r.i gh~s.~fer
.
.
--~~_,_____
··
-'
.. _·_1 _. ~~a---=-a_s•s or uture development.
-. "'-· · ---~~ .
fteld>ft-drew~attention torhe Ciiscrim.ination arrh~ef-~E~~~~~~ an?
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We are proud to be iible to say·thattoday there r
I II
_-- . . .
I a el cw? ega y established groups whose opinions
are boch requested and respected We w k
.. ·
· .
or on ega re•orms, court cases and new laws. We were
.
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a91e~)rO:?nact a~neWTaihilr~Viol~n~~~~!~i~s:year~".a~~-e-are_Ll9:'t' lobby!r:tg .~':l~ ~"~~~ILw?~ef:t)".
rigbts·lawtnat·combines conceplS from the:p~aceta~reemen~,~~~~J~e~plans"of:acti!'1L9f-E~a'r.o::and
_Beijj.og=and _
the~:conventi_o-ns 91"! ~9m~n's_ ~~man ng_~ts.-J::hrs tn1_tJat1ve. has bee~ presented to the
Congress 'and was co·sponsored by all the women legtslators. Thts law 1s the frutt of many years of
work.
Of course,_ ther_e ~ar~till
P.!~~t<?_~~-?X~.rco'!'e Ln~~~~~~-gal~~~e~-~~:f;![J;~L~~:~I'f_l;q~~~o~~n __
experiencegfeataifficulty_"~~~_ni~g~access·~~:Lo-:-~~~S~,L!J9.~t;}Y,..~eca~:Jse -~L~~~eJrJq_~- ~a~.~t1 ~!'1-~l.~"-.d
socioeconomic:levei;·IJufalso be~;sus~ th~ JUdiCial system Js.ndqJe_Q _wrJh corruption_,_ n~~ahsm. ~~d~
on_top __~f- everythi ng7""an-an real ;-:rexj ~f~i~~3i!he \v~l~
/
S~cond, many women are unaware-of and unable·to·exercise·t~eir·basic·rigry~-,'There_ is a n.eed
for l~gat· assistance·for~-~onieli wno are subject to abuse at-hom~,--ln--the~,t"V~r~pla~e_andJ!l ~.o:_l~ty!,
anefttfose faced· witn probl~ms arising ~from .n~n~p~YI"!l~:~!-Qf~7-9•1q -~~£P!?.~;~~.F~~~: \"17; -~~ ~~~~r-:~t-,
need for ~~a}ning for. w_ornen_~~!u'lci~~f>!!il12[·1~flts~e~!lg~l!!~tel'1 qg~ts, s.o tn~t we can keep-Butli'.i~lng~o.f! . 1
this
Citizen par,:!c.ipatior:h"':IFhankyou. ~/
new
~~.-:--.~,-···~-~~- -~~-~--·~
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MENDEZ: Before giving the floor to Patricia Rfos I would like to point
out that 1think we have a little time for some additional questions and comments aside from the ones
prepared earlier. Please ask me the question and I will be glad to give you the floor.
20
J
)
PATRICIA
RfOS (Coordinatordft;;n~i-~iiir:_~gy~l';")~l'iJ.etVf.er~.Jor-IN.omen's-h~alth rights): Good afternoon,
ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for allowing ·me to participate and talk a little bit about what is
going on in Nicaragua:The M~ria Cavallieri Women's lj_~alth Network was founded in 1992, and
today c~nsists of~:$~aft~rhat.ive_w~,;J1f~~ ~~!~~~-~~-~:i~~~ir,QI~iiliJ)ft!g£;A9'ono~~c~;;;
· W9merts~Movemenr-ef·N1caragua~ We nave-_deflned health for women· ·as. a· dynamrc" pr6tess.Jo7
wliich-emq~ionCil,-social,.-political!psychologica·f~-spiritoal-a:nd~errvironmental-_aspects--interact:-_;:The
aim is_for'wQmer'ft<r:l5e in harmony-witl1-ourse-lves·andwlth the wdHcfarownd us:- lin is means having
accessto "work> eaucaiion,-lana and housing~"beadng children when we wish, and being able to
share the responsibility. It also involves having female and male friends, having free time and enjoying
our sexuality, having access to information, being respected and not being objects of violence, and
desiring a world of equal rights and opportunities.
Thanks to our netwdrk, we have participated in the Guatemalan Conference on Risk~Free
the lnternati~:mal :::onference on Population and De~elopment, a~d~~wnthlil'4LO[~
co·nference:on-VVomen-m-BeiJing~ We have made valuable contnbuttons to N1caragua through 01,.1r
· proposals for tne defense o(human rights, particularly as regards improving the health of women and
their quality of life. Though these contributions have been in the area of public policy, achieving rhis
participation was no easy matter. It was achieved only with great difficulty during the previous
government, but there is little hope of further participation in view ofthe measures adopted by the
new government. For example, besides being unconstitutional, the Executive's bill for the creation of
Pr~$~cy,
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th~ Ministry of the Family makes women's key role in society "invisible" and relegates women to
being little more than persons responsible for domestic chores and subordinated by a patriarchal
~ystem, with total disregard for the true situation in Nicaraguan society.
The health system does not look at the situa~ion of women from an integrated perspective, with a
view to preventing and reducing the number of deaths from AIDS, cancer, abortions, etc., and thus
overlooks the socioeconomic and cultural aspects. The system simply indicates the clinical cause of
death- saying, for example, that a woman died of a hemorrhage instead of exploring the socioeconomic
factors that led to her death.
·
I would like to mention a specific incident .in Nicaragua. A doctor from PROVIDA accused the
Pan American Health Organization of distributing a tetanus vaccine that carried a dangerous virus.
The rumor was thar this virus sterilized women. As a consequence of this irresponsible rumor, the
Ministry of Health of Nicaragua stopped the vaccination campaign on orders from the Carholic
Church. With scientific arguments, and as a result of tbe insistence of the Women's Health Movement,
we were able to restart the vaccination campaign. ·
What do we seek? We seek respect for women's right to holisdc health~ and the recognition of
se~ual and reprpcfugiy_e_rjghts at every stage in a wom_an's life,~i~the framework of universal·
human rights. Wi~.g~kjmplementation QOne._@fernational agreements.slgnecffn~C~iro-a~!:[Reijing~~ J
\\ l
'l ·
\b
i
,
5
~
We seek to participate jointly with the government in developi~g policies on healthj ~du~atio~,
population and development. Also, we seek the withdrawal of t~e ~reposed law ca tng or t e
creation of the Ministry of the Family, which we regard as uncon~tJtuttonal.
1
i .
..
,we-Wanrwortfen0 ..
!§::~i!Yl' beal;by,_ll~fle{and'ioogJive's Thank you very rnuch, Mrs.@:)
Clinton, for your genUJne mterest.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MENDEZ! Madame First Lady of Costa Rica, would you please take the
~
floor?
e
l.
e
c
{,
JOSffiE FIGUERES (First Lady of Costa Rica): Friends, .I would like to bri~fly review the actio~s
e have taken over the three years of our administration in the area of human nghts and women.~e
~gueres administration took office one year prior to the Beijing World Confere~ce on Women.Th_e
b an by making an exhaustive study of the human rights situation for women tn our country: . ts
st~~y indicated that although progress had been made in the legal domai_n and most of the prov1s1:.:~
. thar discriminated against women had been repealed 1 much work re~a1~ed to ~e don~. One m ~v
1
area for concern was rhe enforcement of existing legislation. There IS httle P~'"\hav~ng .e~ten~. e
legal safeguards if people are not aware of their rights or if there are problems m t e a mmtstra 1on
of justice.
·
23
�SEP-18-1998
..
202
AA/LAC/EMT
17:44
647 9480
P.12/12
Jh•f'!'f"lr,e~r~n~_t\ie ~'3nc~wt~~lfFa.'}]:e~~-;ij;)illii~ W,~ula _;..,ork:we:seto.Jt\0>'
fre~om~,~!fat
s~Piil<l"en
a~di~u~lity;'sOC'ilil·
·edui;:~t!~B;ili.Oa~ ~ifcFi'~~atiP~ ~6m\:ii\fc",rlg&~
ana-proau~tiVe•resoo.r!fes;
lti~a\.<iil~ts:t\l·freedq_T;of'
th~lit!'expr:ession:.aRd<assOCiiltiOn, \Ci"Oi:Od;al'!~'fle_ ele~<C.jS:Wel
garticipat~.
decisiOn~makingr~gatdingcna!iOnaLae¥eiGipm<fnt.
these_<~re t,u~~ ·•iS~ts.~hiCn,:,Jogeii1e'i,
defiiiethe list of human rights and
6i !i t<n.S
joy,•The¥ are_:,dvil.riglm to Iibetty
~- rights•to;.;he_alth;
. . --···-·-- ~--'
. ·.'·· IRg
.,··------·-········: . . . . . . c-.-~--~=··-- . ••tO'a.orti;'
··'
property
';(!:igllt'to a"li!e WithOUt ·violence; pOl
r·as lfie•••iglitOt<;
:in/
AILof.
.
d~tfie cand itiOn 'Ofan a.Giililiti zen.·l;r:-oti)O;'wordsrfd r us, d ti zen shil' is the' riihtlO ~ave.... ·-- ' ~
rights.
.
To artain the;e goals, the~~~pe~.. thre~:natiQiiOiptans.\~ for the first time
whereb¥
·--·~---·-:::;:--:
~~'"' ...
------\.
in Costa Rican history, we h.av.e,wati!!i_C· QuPJic, pol i<-ies -to- pCorilo\~,.di.e ,human r.i.gh ts of wotn~l'.
~,~,,,,~\··,;__-----~--·
~-----They are strategic pplicies 6ecaose;·their'implementation is \lie responsiiJility of all goVemiileni
institutions; they are directed at aII women, not just WO")e n~s.glo.ups; .and th~y_calL~n ~i vii society to
. work together with the government. These pian s are: the! ,Natio ng,l l;,_n_fqr Eq ua I Glf)port!.lnity;>:ih ich
called for 190 actions aver three years, to be taken by 34 institutions pertaining to the ExecutivE
Branch, in eight ateas: legislation, health, education, labor, the environment, culture and the mass
.
,,
.!":_i'(•.
-
--·
_:.;:;--
.
----
·:
.,.
..
---
--'
e
media, the
family~ sociopolitical participation and decision-making.
"))e hav!' a l))atiOrlifP~\he:Pieventlon Ofif;jll\ilf'ViOieilce:Jhis is a multi-sector plan to star
and p'?evenrfamii•(Viiilence by combining govemmental-reSfnlriSibility and the participation of NGGthat work in this area. The work is based on annual plans and is coordinated jointly by the legislatur·
24
co~rt
and the
system. We have been able to ad
.
.
have organtzed training courses for judicial offi~~~stwo laws dealing with family violence, and we
..
Lastly, we have the NationaiAnti-P :;---~-··--:-c~--0
---
~:~~at~:~~~~~~~ovid~ p,;;~gu~~~~~r~;;~t ~~j~;~~~~~;~;~1:~~o~ th~~~~:;:~:~\~~~[~~;~~~;
two groups; wO,;;e;,-1-iead _ fh . ·
_
ettyP.Iao In t~e Area ofWomen -l'h · -
.
both;
.
.
we o er programs for teenage girls at th C n fmore t an 20,000 women have
.
e enter o.- Women and the F 'I
lntheareaofh
. h
~man n? ts and legislation, we can oi n
ami y.
practic~s ~~~r..,~~~t;hJi:~~..~~~~;~;as pr~posed le;al r;~r~~~':!~r :tc~\:~:~~~;;~he _Ex~cutive
Branch w
.
f
.
:nedh:~~~~O:r~:;f~:n:~~lyaSWOI.fthththe cdn~~t~:~ i~e~~~~~:~ ~r~pier~v~ft~~madinmal!' ~~·tvil,,l;~~~fl;,n~~~;;;
sp~ns~~d s~.;;~~et~a~n
w h
w.:':k~~;e~·~:~~~:i:~pic ~f
wo~~~:
e court syste
· II
niS ratron a just'
ing, information,
violence against
with women f
n orma!lon_and dissemination cam .
an . research. We have also
Family.
rom the communities through modules dev~~~g;J ~n t~e Centerof women and work
.
p
y e rtghts for Women and the
Women as Active Citizens (PROCAM) . Th-s arms to ~ave launched the Program for. the Prom ot'ron
' -' e rncrease the po I" . I Iea dershlp of women in
mea
of In the area ofcitizen participation for women W
25
TOTAL P.12
�Clinton Presidential Records
Digital Records Marker
This is not a presidential record. This is used as an administrative
marker by the William J. Clinton Presidential Library Staff;
This marker identifies the place of a publication.
Publications have not been scanned in their entirety for the purpose
of digitization. To see the full publication please search online or'
visit the Clinton Presidential Library's Research Room.
�USAI- listening to_
D
Vi I
•
ICe
Promoting Women's Participation in Latin America and the Caribbean
Recognizing Priority
Tasks
"Equal rights and opportunities between men and
women and the objective of ensuring active participation of women in all areas of national endeavor
are priority tasks."
-Declaration of Santiago,
Santiago Summit of the Americas, April 1998
Government, business, education, and community
leaders throughout the Western Hemisphere are
acting on the knowledge that countries thrive best
with the active involvement of all their people.
Experience has proved that imp~oved economic
security, health status, and access to legal rights for
both men and women result from women's
increased leadership in civil society and
government.
Yet, as the heads of state at the Santiago Summit
recognized in their Declaration, the countries of
the hemisphere must still work to support women's
full integration into
national economic and
political systems and
to raise the standard of
living for all. Women's
participation in the
formal labor force has
risen in Latin America
and Caribbean (LAC)
region during the past
three decades. But
even taking into
account differences in
education and skill
levels, women earn
on average only
72 percent of men's
wages. Similarly,
although women are graduating from colleges and
universities and achieving leadership positions in
increasing numbers, they are still vastly underrepresented at the highest levels of business,
government, and other institutions. And for the
millions of women in the region who live in poverty,
the multiple responsibilities of generating income
and caring for their families are often made more
difficult by gender and economic constraints.
Efforts to tackle these ongoing issues have become
priority tasks within each countrY: Working with
dedicated people in both the public and private
sectors, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking solutions that are costeffective and that benefit society's marginalized
groups. In its work in the region, USAID serves as a
catalyst to local initiatives; conducts and supports
research on and disseminates innovative solutions
to development-related problems; and provides a
forum for concerned, creative people to share
experiences and ideas.
1
�SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS AND WOMEN BRIEFER
In 1994,~ the presidents of the hemisphere met at the Miami Summit
of the Americas and declared democracy and free trade their
central policy prior~ties. Summit Item 18 of the Miami action
plan commits governments to "Strengthening the Role of Women in
Society". This single item in the Miami Summit Agenda touches
o'ver 50% of the hemisphere's population, addressing women's lives
in their entirety.
It is perhaps the single action item on the
agenda wielding the greatest potential impact.
The text of
1
Initiative 18 states that:
The strengthening of the role of.women in society is of
fundamental importance not only for their own complete fulfilment
within a fram~~ork of equality and fairness, but to achieve true
sustainable development.
It is essential to strengthen policies
and programs tnat improve and broaden the participation of women
in all spheres of political, social, and economic life and that
improve their a.ccess to the basic resources needed for the full
exercise of their fundamental rights.
This year, in 1998, the Santiago Summit of the Americas offered
the opportunity to measure actions taken and results achieved
during the four years since Miami.
The government of Nicaragua
coordinated efforts to monitor this initiative and, with the
assistance of several donors, including the OAS Inter-American
·Commission of Women (CIM), and in consultation with
·
representatives of the governments of the hemisphere, they were
able to develop a system of indicators for monitoring
achievements toward this end.
According to the official report, governments of the region have
achieved noteworthy progress on a number of issues. Concerning
legal rights for women, a number of countries have undertaken
changes in their penal codes. For example, in 1·997, the
Dominican Republic amended its Code of Criminal Procedure and
Code for the Protection of Boys, Girls and Adolescents by means
of a law defining and punishing domestic and intrafamily violence
and defining and punishing sexual assault, family neglect,
discrimination, pandering and traffic in women. ·In addition,
many countries passed key anti-discrimination actions. Costa
Rica, for example, has developed National ~lans and Strategic
Programs for equal opportunity, the reduction of intrafamily
violence, and the active participation of women in civic affairs.
Additional measures have been passed to end violence against
women in the hemisphere.
In the United States, key pieces of
legislation have been enacted to reduce violence against women.
Noteworthy is the Violence Against Women Act (1994), authorizing
funding for prosecutors, for.training of law enforcement, health
and social services personnel, and for shelters.
The law also
increases criminal penalties for,sex offenders and for domestic
abuse. · Other countries have passed similar legislation.
�(j
2
Another important issue addressed by the Summit accord concerns
the participation of women in the public arena, especially their
role in decis'ion making.
Progress in this area has been hampered
by various socio-cultural factors.
As a result, the situation of
women in this regard does not reflect the equality enshrined in
the constitutions of the countries of the Americas. While in the
Bahamas, women fill as many as 33 percent of the Senate seats,
all others, including the United States and Chile with 15 percent
of these seats held by women, are well below the Bahamas in this
respect.
In the Executi~e Branches of government in the region,
little improvement has been made, except at the Cabinet level,
where in Colombia under the previous administration 34 percent of
Cabinet positions were held by women or in the United States the
first woman Secretary of State was appointed and confirmed. All
fall behind the· Northern European countries, where Finland and
Norway boast 39 percent women in their Parliaments and 39 and 35
percent levels,.respectively, of women Cabinet members. Other
Nordic countries follow close behind.
The Miami Summit agreed to the adoption of approp~iate measures
to improve women's ability to earn income, among other economic
improvements.
Between 60 to .70 percent of all micro and small
enterprises in the region are owned by women; however, women
business owners have less capital and little access to credit or
technology compared to men.
Supplying credit to owners of micro
and small businesses is one way to addr~ss women's economic
needs.
USAID programs in the region work to extend such
financial services and to build the technical skills to make
these businesses successful.
Y~t this source. of income is not j
secure, and those who work in the informal sector lack any form
of social safety net when their businesses fluctuate or fail.
While women's participation in the formal workforce is indeed.
increasing by 3:2% per year, they are most 6ften segrega~ed in a
limited range of jobs and clustered at the lowest levels.
Trade
liberalization can indeed se~ve to create additional jobs for
women, yet results must be carefully monitored and the nec~ssary
steps taken to ensure that women are trained for jobs in the
better paying' segments of the economy and to guarantee that girls
receive the.education they need for a more promising future.
· Some very innovative development activities are currently
underway in this respect.
The Solidarity Center, supported in
part by USAID, implements leadership and other training programs
for women and men throughout the Americas.
Related activities
have been carried out in countries such as the Dominican
Republic, where Agency sponsorship helped to achieve effective
union participation by working women affiliated with the National
Federation of Sugar Workers in all group activities.
Concerning another Miami Summit action item, it appears that the
United States faces a significant challenge. All Summit
�.
'
3
countries with the exception of the United States.have ratified
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women.
In an effort to make ratification of this' vital
convention unanimous/ on March ~1 of this year 1 at our White
House celebration of International Women's Day, President Clinton
announced a vigorous campaign to obtain the advice and consent of
the U.S. Senate for ratification of this Convention.
It is important to note that at least one regional NGO is also
monitoring a subset of these results. The Women's Leadership
Conference of the Americas (WLCA) 1 a network of 90 prominent
women leaders from Latin America, the Caribbean, the United
States and Can.ada r
" • • • have
criticized the h~misphere' s
gov~rnments for failing·to get off th~ mark and carry out the
promises they made four years ago at the first Summit of the
Americas in Miami." This group issued a press advisory and a
communique that.listed their demands for the Santiago Summitr
including challenges to undertake additional measures to:
increas~ women's opportunities in the work force; advance women
to positions of power and influence; stop the brut~lity of
violence against women; make the OAS Inter-American Commission of
.women (CIM) a real ,bastion for protecting women's rights; and put
in place a transparent 1 standardized process to collect
statistical data on women's position in society: NGOs such ~s
the WLCA can monitor government performance, serving a watchdog
function and providing alternative measures and interpretations
of country actions and results. .WLCA has received assistance
from USAID to develop such a monitoring instrument and has begun
to collect baseline data.
This yearr at the Santiago Summit of the Americas, the specific
action item on women is more focused.
This item commits
gdvernments to review their laws and the implementation of those
laws (or lack thereof) in order to identify obstacles that li~it
the full participation of women in the political, economic,
social and cultural life of their.countries. After identifying
such qbstacies, governments must then remove them.
In a related
action item, countries have agreed to seek "legal equality
between men and women by the year 2002." Additional measures
benefitting women are integrated throughout the accord, including
those on human capacity development, labor, and enterprise
development.
For example, the iriitiative that fosteis the
development of micro, small and medium size enterp~ises, which
seeks to: "Ensure that a.significant number of the 50 million
micro, small and medium
ze enterprises in the Hemisphere, whose
owners and workers are persons with low incomes, especially women
from these enterprises, have access to financial services by the
year 2000." Other initiatives, ·such as those on local government
and property rights do. not 'explicitly mention women in the items
themselves yet ensuing actions, developed by USAID, have incorporated a gender perspective in their design and implementation.
�Effect of the Economic Crisis on Poor Women in LAC
•
Latin America is now poised on the brink of an e.conomic crisis
comparable to what it suffered in the early 1980s.
•
That crisis wiped out a decade of progress in poverty reduction,
undermined governments' abilities to provide basic social services and
plunged millions back into the poverty from which they had only recently
escaped. In 1990, there were 46 million more poor in Latin America
than there had been a decade earlier.
•
Even the evolution of the Asia and Russia crisis to date has had a
powerful impact on Latin America. The combination of declining .
commodity prices and lower capital inflows has reduced expected growth
for this year ·by 1.5 to 2 percentage points. Even this relatively small
. reduction will interrupt the progress that the region has only recently
begun to make in significantly reducing poverty in the region .. Many
millions of women may be pushed back down into the poverty from
which they have only recently freed themselves.
•
The greater danger, however, is that the pattern of speculative attacks
like that in Asia reveals serious weaknesses in financial institutions that
leads to financial system collapse.
•
If this chain of events unfolds it is vitally important that the international
community and the governments of the region take prompt action to
assure the safety of bank deposits and the continued availability of credit
for productive purposes. The 1994-95 Mexican economiccrisis is
instructive. Prompt and effective corrective action by the Mexican
government and by the international community enabled Mexico to
resume strong growth within three quarters of the onset of the crisis.
Whatever the causes of the crisis, the prompt and effective response of
the Zedillo Government, the USG, and the international institutions is a
real success story in how to deal with international economic crisis.
I
....
,,...
',
�Fifth
D~FT--September
15
1998
1
USAID Listening to Vital Voices:
Promoting Women's Participation in Latin America and the Caribbean
Recognizing Priority Tasks
"Equal rights and opponunities between men and women and the objective of ensuring
active panicipation of women in all areas of national endeavor are priority tasks. "
---Declaration of Santiago, Santiago
Summit of the Americas, April 1998
Government, business, education, and community leaders throughout the hemisphere are'.
acting on the knowledge that countries best thrive with involvement by all their people.
.
Experience has proven that improved economic security, health status, and access to legal
rights for both men and women result from women's increased leadership in civil society and
government.
·Yet, as the heads of state at the Santiago Summit recognized in their Declaration, the
...
~
countries of the hemisphere must still work to support women's full integration into national
economic and politicarsystems and to raise the standard of living for all. Women's
participation in the formal labor force has. risen in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)
region over the past three decades. But even taking into account differences in education and
'
--
skill levels, women earn on average substantially less than men. Similarly, although women
are graduating from colleges and universities and achieving leadership positions in· increasing
numbers, they are still vastly under-represented at the higher levels of business, government,
and other institutions. Ahd for the millions of women in the region who live in poverty, the
multiple responsibilities of generating income and caring for their families are often made
more difficult by gender and economic constraints.
1
�· Efforts to tackle these ongoing issues have become ~priority tasks" within each country.
Working with dedicated people ip both the p~bl,ic and private sectors, the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID) is seeking solutions that are cost-effective and that
. benefit society's marginalized groups. In its work in the region, USAID ser:ves as a catalyst
to local initiatives; researches, supports, and disseminates innovative solutions to
development-related problems; and provides a forum for concerned, creative people to share
experiences and ideas.
[BEGIN BIG SIDEBAR OR BOX]
A
~ommitment
to People
"... supporting the people of developing and transitional countries in their efforts to
achieve enduring economic and social progress and
to
participate more fully in resolving the
·problems of their countries and the world. ".
---from USAID Mission Statement.
..
.'
·Development experience demonstrates that the most effective way to promote equity for
women .is to include them in all development programs as· participants as well as
.
/
The majo.rity of USAID projects in Latin .A..rnerica and Caribbean consciously
.
.
. '
.
r'
take account of women's interests and contraints, in designing and achieving theirobjectives.
beneficiaries.
·. This integration
res~lts
in
pr~jects
that not only
~oqtribute
to such specific. achievements as
improved water quality or .stronger .fmancial services, but also provide opportunities for
women to participate in leadership and decision making roles.
•
Programs that involve women as participants: The most intensive involvement of
.
.
women in USAID programs comes through direct participation, for example, as
recipients Of microenterprise loans or as trainees in soil management, health, or
community leadership. In USAID prograiTlii'ling during this decade, approximately
2
�965,000 women have been involved as participants \in current and recently completed
(1997) projects of USAID country . missions and the LAC regional bureau. . Based on
w
the proportion of women among. total participants in each project, of the US$540
million that USAID has dedicated to these projects through June 1998, approximately
US$325 million have involved women. 1
•
Programs that benefit women: The USAID missions and regional program also
reported an allocation of nearly US$281.3 million, through June 1998, to current and
recently completed institutional and policy reform projects that specifically
incorporate w9men's interests or needs. An estimated 14.5 million women benefit
from these activities.
•·
· Programs that are women-specific: A small subset of mission and regional
activities target women exclusively, to address a complex of needs or issues that
affect women uniquely. One set of women-specific activities in US AID programs
'
confronts issues of human rights and citizen participation. Recently completed and
'
current projects of this type, affecting 32,000 women, account for approximately
US$1.25 million to date. Included in this group are activities in seven countries that
specifically target violence against women. The other sector with several women-only
projects is microenterprise development. In 1997, women-specific credit projects in
seven countries, affecting more than 71,000 women, received approximately US$4.3
million in USAID support.
Washington-funded global projects also support country programs and missions, offering
additional technical and financial opportunities for women. As many as 2 million additional
women in the region are benefitting from USAID-funded activities through these global
1
Dollar amounts refer to both Development Assistance (DA) and Economic
Support Funds (ESF) .· Projects referenced include mission and LAC regional
projects that specifically target women, those that explicitly represent
women's interests in planning and implementation, and those that track
significant women's parti9ipation. Projects in which women are involved but do
not directly benefit, such as those related to child health, are not included.
3
�projects. They are particularly important in the LAC region in providing resources for
health and family planning services, and in funding women-specific activities in education,
I
and democracy and governance.
A final category of USAID support comes through the food aid program, which benefits
)
more than 850,000 of the neediest women in the region through activities in maternal and
child health, water and sanitation, school feeding, rural infrastructure, agriculture, and
microenterprise. From 1996 to 2001, USAID anticipates that as much as US$245.8 million
will be available to Bolivia, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Peru through this
channel.
[END OF SIDEBAR OR BOX]
A Closer Look
"There cannot be true democracy unless women's voices are heard. There cannot be
true democracy unless women are given the opportunity to take responsibility for their own
lives. There cannot be true democracy unless all citizens are able to participate fully in the
lives of their,country."
---Hillary Rodham Clinton
Sustainable democracies are built upon free and open markets, an informed and educated
populace, a vibrant civil society, and a relationship between state and society that encourages
pluralism, participation, and peaceful resolution of conflict. Economic growth and improved
;··'
access to education,. for example, can result in greater political participatiOI1, including by
those previously disenfranchised from society. Participation leads to people working within
the system to obtain the legal rights they are due. An efficient and
~qui table
legal system
ensures that they turn to the rule of law, rather than violence, to resolve disputes.
In its partnerships with government and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), USAID is
building on• these links. For example, its scholarship programs in Bolivia provided funding
.
v
.
4
�-------·-·----
for 350 women, many from indigenous groups, to learn a range of technical and leadership.
skills. The investment in their talents has paid off in other ways--at least 80 percent of these
women have since become influential leaders in both public and private sector institutions.
Similarly, a majority of the clients of USAID-sponsored microcredit programs are women.
These programs not only improve the economic status of these women and their families, but
also lead to a more equitable, open economy and society.
Politics and Public Life
Politics involves a
s..~t
of learned skills. To be effective in the political system, people need to
know how to mobilize support, articulate concerns, and build successful coalitions. Women
in particular· have often not had the opportunity to developand use these skills. USAID field
missidns in Latin
Am~rica and the Caribbean have placed special emphasis on political
participation so that women can advocate and be heard on the issues that concern them. As a
result, women constitute an average 48 percent of the total participants in these projects,
which deal with such issues as citizen participation, administration of justice, human rights,
local governance, elections, and labor rights .
.In the Dominican RepUblic, for example, women's participation has been seen as crucial
to
achieving a more representative and better functioning democracy. ;Therefore, US AID
pr?grams have provided urban and rural women with ways to improve their knowledge of
judicial reform, local economic issues, and other concerns, and with techniques to put their
knowledge to work in the democratic process. Voter registration and participation was the ·
focus of a recently completed proje~!_ in Nicaragua, in which USAID worked with the
Supreme Electoral Council and NGOs. An analysis in 1996 reve~led that the Atlantic Coast
had relatively fewer women registered to vote. As a result of education efforts targeted to
women in this region of the country, the percentage of women registered to vote grew to 48
percent of the totaL And in Paraguay, a series of activities resulted in
increase~
involvement
by women in recent municipal and national elections, as well as increased attention by the
candidates to issues raised by women, youth, and the rural poor (see box):
5
�As pan of the worldwide Global Women in Politics Program, which.works with regional
.
.
. NGOs to expand women's political participation, USAID hassponsored workshops to train
·. Colombian and Mexican female political candidates in organizing effective political
campaigns an,.d to train Central American Civic· leaders in ·advocacy techniques. A regional
workshop also brought together government and NGO leaders to share solutions to improve .
women's coalition building, involvemeilt in political parties, and participation in local
(\
government as an entry point into public life.
'
•
'
•
•
<
'
U:SAID is also supporting strategies that involve both women and.men in rebuilding
. democracy after ma~y years of significant upheaval in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Haiti.
USAID's Peace Program in Guatemala'.s ex-conflictive zones, for example, has focused on
improving the capacity and responsiveness of· local governments, increasing citizen
participation, and strengthening the institutions that are imptementing.the country's Peace
.
Accor~s.
.
.
The Accords address gender and ethnic equity as underlying contributors to a
lasting .peace.· USAID has built on this recognition in ensuring that gender issues and
indigenous rights are incorporated into its Peace Program~ .Its supp9rt for human rights
inve~tigations, vocationai miining. and infrastructure development urrough the Peace Program
.include strategies to increase women's participation. These diverse activities, which support
the overall objective of a transition to peace, reinforce the fact that democracy is built on a
complex foundation of political, economic, and-·social participation.
[BEGIN BOX FOR THIS SECTION]
Paraguayan Women Make a Difference
USAID worked with Paragua;Ya:n NGOs on· a number of voter registration and civic education
'
initiatives to increase .participation in 19~6 municipal and 1998 national elections. The first·
phase. of the campa,ign. was a voter registration drive conducted through a network of local
I
,
,
NGOs. The percentage of women registered. to vote increased to 45 percent of the total in
,
..
1998, an increase of 2 percentage poim:S in two years. In the campaign's second phase, ·
USAID ·worked with NGOs to encourage registered voters to cast their ba:llots on election
6
j
�day. They developed materials and street theater presentations to encourage citizens to
.
.
participate,· specifically addressing so~e. of the reasons that women said they did not vote. In
the national elections,. an extremely h~gh. 8:2 percent of the electorate voted, about 45 percent
of whom were women. ·
Beyond the numbers, another significant result of the project was the way in which issues of
concern to women, youth, and rural families became part of the national debate. Several
women's organizations carrie together to discuss how to integrate and increase the
involvement of women in po,iticallife. Participants
returne~
to their respective political
parties to apply the .lessons they learned. The collaboration also brought about a debate by
.
.
~
'
the four presidential candidates that focused on women's and youths' concerns and received
live nationwide media coverage. As a result of these and other activities, the President-elect
.
.
~
appointed two female .ministers to his cabinet (a political first in Paraguay), and he
committed to upgrading the,Secretariat ofWomen's Affairs.
USAID's project in Paraguay demonstrated that civic education efforts can have a
quantifiable effect on voter participation. It also showed the impact when women's
.
.
organizations that may hold differing political views collabqrate on issues of common
concern.
[END BOX]
Law and Leadership
Weak legal institutions endanger democratic reform and sustainable development. People
.
.
.
!
-
.
need to know that the legal system will protect their rights to earn a living, hold clear title to
their·property, and seek redress against domestic violence and other abuses. US AID has
designed and implemented projects that educate women and men to understand and assert
.
'
their rights. The Agency also works with governments-to support legal reform and improve
I
the administration of justice.
.I
7
··•.
�USAID supports programs in Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, .Haiti, Nicaragua, arid Peru to
strengthen alternative dispute resolution ·and legal assistance programs. In Colombia, the
Justice· Sector Reform Project. addresses reform of the criminal justice system and
'
'
'
enc.ompasses iill1ovative ways to help women fight domestic violence and other rights
violations. Alternatfve dispute resolution is supported through a system of judicial service
centers. These centers have proven to be more
acce~sible
than the court system to women,
who represent at least. 7 5 percent of the users. In a large number of the cases, women are
seeking justice against abuse by their partners .. USAID also supports judicial service centers
in Guatemala. These newly established centers· are particularly important resources for
--
-
~
\_,
'
indigenous women, who are often blocked from access to the formal system by language,
.
.
.
.
:
culture, and poverty (see box). The Administration of Justice Project in Haiti is working to
improve the effectiveness,' accessibility. and accountability of the Haitian justice system.
Activities include training of magistrates. judges, prosecutors, and the police; legal
. assistance; and the promotion of jury trials and case tracing. Through the project, a local
NGO rec.eived ·a grant to provide legal aid co indigent female prisoners and has become an
effective advocate for a range of women's legal rights.
-The Agency also works Closely with the !mer-American Institute for Human Rights, located
'.
in Costa Rica, which has been a focal point for h~man rights issues throughout the region.;
US AID has supported training, outreach. and public education on domestic and sexual
violence, as well as other human rights issues. The Institute also brings key cases in these
areas to the Inter-American court system· in an effort to establish regional-level precedents
'
'
'
that will improve women's overall !~al starus throughout the hemisphere.
USAID's Promoting Women in. Development (PROWID) Grants Program supports
innovative pilot interventions, operations research, and advocacy that' deal with legal,
political, economic, health, and environmental issues worldwide. One PROWID grant in
-
Latin America is .aimed ar strene:thenit!g the lee:al status. of women by working with law
.....
.
'
school faculty at six universities. The gram supports the work of legal advocates and
ac~demics writing and teaching from a gender perspective so that they can teach current andi
8
�future attorneys, judges, and others in the legal system how to address gender-related
violence and other forms of discrimination more effectively. Through another grant,
PRO WID is supporting an effort in Mexico to understand and change community nonns that
perpetuate violence against women. The research findings will be shared with influential
members of the Ministries of Health and Education and w~II be used in education programs.
[BEGIN BOX FOR THIS SECTION]
Increasing Women's Access to Justice
Violence against women is a significant problem in Guatemala, where more than 40 percent
of murdered wome~-~re killed by their partners. USAID's justice program in Guatemala is
taking steps to address this problem and increase access to justice for the disadvantaged
.
.
women both indigenous and ladino. The justice system is being decentralized through a
network of justice centers with special services for people historically marginalized by the
formal justice system. A related activity emphasizes women's participation as mediators and
participants in nonformal dispute resolution programs in indigenous communities, and also
trains judges and prosecutors in negotiation, mediation, human· and indigenous rights,
customary law, and other topics.
USAID is collaborating with the formal system in other ways. It provides support for
translation services for victims, witnesses, and defendants who do no.t speak Spanish. USAID
funding also created a public defense service for people who cannot afford to pay for legal
'
representation. Workshops on the legal process in cases 'of domestic violence have been
.
,
conducted, and the University of San Carlos is one of six law schools in· the region that have
received USAID PROWID grants to strengthen the teaching of gender-related law.
The project in Guatemala and those in .other countries show the value of working with both
the formal and nonfonnal systems to increase women's access to justice. Making the judicial
system responsive to the needs ofwomen results in less violence an.d a recognition by both
women and men that everyone must abide by the rule of law.
[END BOX]
9
�Economic Growth and Environmental Quality
In every country in the hemisphere, supporring microenterprise has proven to be a s6und
investment. USAID has joined with other international and local institutions to support broadbased private sector economic development activities in the informal sector for female and
male entrepreneurs. Its global, regionaL and
coun~ry-specific
programs provide ·credit,
technical assistance, and other financial services in 15 LAC countries. In 1996, for example, ·
more than 260,000 women in the region parricipated in these programs, and -the Agency·
allocated $26.963 for LAC microenterprise support. In 1997, the funding rose to $29.3
million. In.all the countries in which USAID supports microenterprise, women are gaining
access to credit in growing numbers. They represent approximately 70 percent of the
participants in projects in Bolivia and Ecuador, and about 79 percent of the active clients in a
microenterprise program in Honduras.
As a result, microentrepreneurs and their families are benefiting from new opporrunities,
increased income, and an improved standard of living. USAID programs also prove that
microenterprise and other business development can play a vital role in the macro-level
economic progress of an entire country. In Haiti, for example, the Program for the Recovery
..of the Economy in Transition (PRET) has identified credit access for small and medium
enterprises as a tool to stimulate private sector recovery after the country's return to
democracy. Launched less that a year ago with participating commercial banks and NGOs,
PRET has already financed more than 6,000 loans. Because of their role in services and
)
trade, women have qualified for most of the loans. In El Salvador, where women constitute
more than half of the rural poor. ·usAID is involved in a number of complementary projects
to reduce rural poverty. These projects improve people's lives while supporting the private
sector through policy reform, technical and marketing assistance, and financial services.
In recent years, successful projects carried out by USAID and others have taken account of
the fact that most people cannot and will not adopt environmentally beneficial behaviors if
their economic survival is at stake. US AID has
taken.~ the
lead in promoting development that
is both economically and environmentally sustainable in Ecuador, EI Salvador, Jamaica,
10
�Peru, and many other countries. These projects also recognize and plan for women's roles as
natural resource users and managers. In Jamaica, for example, the Hillside Agriculture
Project promoted good soil conservatidn and watershed protection practices, while also
~
improving land productivity.'More than 18,000 farmers (approximately 3,700 of whom were
'"
women) learned about and used technologies suitable to their crops and rugged terrain.
'Production and productivity levels increased by 50 to 200 percent and fragile environmental
areas were protected. In Peru, a project that promoted integrated pest management not only
reduced pesticide use in four Andean communities, but also
i~ncreased
crop yield and
household income for the 3,500 farm families who were involved.
Other economic initiati'ves supported by USAID in Latin America and the Caribbean include
those dealing with agricultural production and expon, finari.cialservices, and land tenure.
The projects show the advantage of taking gender into account to gain overall economic
benefits. For example, the activities supponing nontraditional agricultural exports in
Nicaragua resulted in significant job creation for women and men, with almost nine thousand
jobs (39 percent of the total) created for women in agricultUral processing alone. In El
Salvador and Honduras, land titling projects are providing individualized land titles to
.farmers, with about 25 percent of the titles being issued to worpen. The newly titled
landowners, both men and women, are expected to play a significant role in improving rural
productivity while they improve living condit.ions for themselves and their families.
[BEGIN BOX FOR THIS SECTION]
The Broader Benefits of Microenterprise
Por Su Salud ("For Your Health") is a female-headed microenterprise that provides solid
waste collection in a poor section of northern Lima. Edeliza Zevallos, its principal owner,
has built the business to the point that it successfully won a legally binding contract with the
government to provide services to 7,000 paying customers. Por Su Salud now employs 17
people, turns solid waste into compost at its own sanitary landfill, and supports tree-planting ·
and other community campaigns. Moreover, the business serves as a model to other womenowned and operated solid waste microenterprises throughout Peru.
11
�Zevallos and other owners of small solid waste collection businesses have participated in
USAID's Sustainable ·Environmental and Natural Resources (SENREM) Project, a larger
environmental project that' includes activities .to strengthen public and private capacity and
policy, devel.op and test cost-effective environmer;nal practices, and develop biodiversity
conservation. The fact that support for microenterprise is part of what is officially termed an.
"environmental project" illustrates how this type of private sector support can accomplish
.
broader
r
~ocietal
\
objectiv.es.
[END BOX]·
Human Capacity Development and Health
Research has shown 'that investment in girls' and women's education· and health result in
improved conditions for an entire family--and that the benefits extend to the next generation
and beyond. To maximize these benefits, USAID is working with education, government,
and private sector leaders in Latin America and the Caribbean on innovative ways to extend
access to quality education to alL especially girls from indigenous and low-income groups
who are more likely to drop out before completing elementary school. The Girls' and
..Women's Education (GWE) Activir:·. a USAID global project, is focusing on mobilizing
local and national decision makers in Bolivia, Guatemala, and Peru so that they understand
the importance of educating girls and take actions to increase girls' completion of elementary
school. In the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Jamaica. and Nicaragua, USAID-supported
education projects are attempting to improve the q~ality of and acces~ to education for both
girls and boys, taking into account the needs of female students and teachers in the projects'
design· and implementation.
For those who have already left school. alternative education systems can make a significant
difference. The
Ba~ic
Education and
S~ills
Training (BEST) Project in Honduras, for
example, supports an alternative education system so that out-of-school youth and adults can
J
complete their basic education through radio or cassette instruction and volunteer facilitators.
A recent study confirmed the value of this approach. The gender gap between men and
12
/
�women in income is reduced from 42 to 15 percent when women complete grade 6 through
alternative education, and civic participation by women increased from 44 to 57 percent
after 9 months in the program. Elsewhere, participants in the pilot phase of the Haitian
Distance Education Project, two-thirds of whom were girls, improved their math
perfor:nance significantly.
Because improved education, economic opportUnities, and legal status have been shown to be
critical to reproductive health and fertility reduction--and vice versa-- US AID/Haiti's health
program explicitly promotes women's empowerment and incorporates linkages with other
·program sectors.In
fa~t,
with the link between health and other sectors clear, USAID:.
supported reproductive and sexual health projects throughout the region increasingly involve
women as decision makers about their health needs, rather than as passive recipients of
services. In Bolivia, for example, the POLICY Project incorporates many activities that
,.
would traditionally have been part of a "democracy" project to achieve the objective of
•,
improving the health of the Bolivian population (see box). The ReproSalud Project in Peru
encourages women to develop their own
solutio~s
to health problems and attempts to address
other needs, such as income generation, that research has shown are linked to reproductive
_health. In El Salvador, women are being trained as health promoters, in addition to receiving
health services through two USAID-supported health projects. Salvadoran woman are also
involved in planning and implementing both projects. And
~n
Brazil, a USAID program
strengthens NGO and government capacity to work with at-risk youth ages 7 to 17 so that
they. are better equipped to avoid sexual exploitation, pregnancy, and HIVI AIDS infection. In
'
Recife, the pregnancy rate dropped to less than 1 percent for 1,000 adolescent women
assisted.
[BEGIN BOX]
Linking Population Growth to Policy
What does a workshop to enhance leadership skills have to do with reproductive health?
Plenty, as recognized in the POLICY Project in Bolivia. Through a .series of workshops and
other atti vi ties, the participants are increasing their ability to build coalitions, work with
13
�their municipal governments, and advocate for sufficient resources for reproductive health
services. They are learning to effectively articulate their concerns and their requests for
-
.
services to address those concerns. Thev are also .building their skills to become more
involved with political parties at the municipal, departmental, and national levels. The
POLICY Project is an .example of the benefits that develop when projects link the objectives
and strategies of several sectors, rather than maintain a more narrow focus.
[END BOX]
Benefitting from Everyone's Voice
"No country can exclude the talent and creativity of the female population without
affecting the essential values of democracy. "
---Viol eta Chamorro ·
The projects described here, as well as others being carried out throughout the region and
around the world, share certain elements crucial to their success. They encourage and rely on
partnerships between and within the public and private sectors to increase women's
·participation and maximize results. They are increasingly cross-sectoral, as they bring
together strategies and solutions related to political, economic, environmental, education, and
he~lth objectives, in recognition of the realiry that women's lives cannot b,e ·segmented into
neat compartments. Their success also lies in ensuring that people will value and continue
such development )nitiatives, so that the limited amount of development assistance available
contributes to lasting results.
\
In large meetings. small workshops, structured research, and informal conversation, women
are stating what they need to improve their lives. Listening to vital voices means creating
development programs that heed the concerns of women and men, girls and boys, urban and
rural dwellers--and, in the process, creating programs that work better for all.
14
�•
Ended Drive-Thru Deliveries. Proposed and signed into law legislation requiring insurers to covt:r at
least 48 hours of a post-natal hospital stay (72 hours for a Cesarean).
PROMOTING REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES FOR WOMEN:
•
•
•
Reversed the "Gag Rule" limiting the information federally funded family planning clinics coul~ give
to women.
Greater Support for Family Planning. The President's FY99 proposal will increase Title X Family
Planning grants by $15 million-- a 46 percent increase since FY92.
Signed the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, establishing a safety-zone around women's
health clinics.
GENERATING MORE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN:
•
•
Women Are Starting Businesses at Twice the Rate of All Businesses. Women own nearly 40 percent
of all firms in the U.S. These eight million women-owned firms employ 18.5 million -one in every
five U.S. workers- and .contribute $2.3 trillion to the economy. The Small Business Administration's
Office of Women's Business Ownership is working to foster this growth.
Tripled the Number ofSinall Business.Loans to Women Entrepreneurs. Between 1993 and 1997
the SBA approved nearly 50,000 loans to women entrepreneurs under the 7(a) and 504loan programs.
Last year alone, the Small Business Administration granted more than 10,000 loans, worth $1.67
billion, to women small business owners, triple the number of loans granted in 1992.
WOMEN AS PARTNERS IN DECISION MAKING:
•
•
•
•
•
Appointed More Women than Any Other President-- 41 percent of Administration appointees are
women.
Women Hold 29 Percent of the Top Positions-- 29 percent of the positions requiring Senate
confirmation (PAS) are held by women. Additionally,
~
34 percent of Presidential appointments, including boards and commissions, are held by women.
~
39 percent of non-career Senior Executive Service positions are held by women.
~
58 percent of Schedule C positions ar_e held by women.
Appointed the First Women Ever to Serve as Attorney General, Janet Reno, and Secretary of
State, Madeleine Albright. Including the Attorney General and Secretary of State, women make up 27
percent of the Clinton Cabinet: Alexis Herman, Secretary of LabQr; Donna Shalala, Secretary of Health
and Human Services; Carol Browner, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; Janet
Yellen, Chair of the Comi.cil of Economic Advisors; and Charlene Barshefsky, United States Trade
Representative.
30 Percent of All of the President's Judicial Nominees Are Women.
Nominated the Second Woman to Serve on the Supreme Court.· During his first year in office,
President Clinton nominated Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the United States Supreme Court. Justice
Ginsburg is only the second woman to serve on the nation's highest court.
9/98
�---------
09/17/98
THU 1.,6.:.4,5 FAX
•- .. - - ••-•'"''-'¥
..
we..
,
~86
t.JNCI.rASSIFIED ,
USIS 9/16/98
USIS·PA01MSLOCKER
USIS:HBLOCKER
USIS:ECOilB!SON
USIS
1
AUTH
/'YlL:
CLRC
fllR:
AMEMSASSY SANTO DOMINGO
SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
INFO USIA W'ASRDC
STATE FOR ~RA/PPC BVA WEIGOLD; USIA FOR AR/SAHSON
KWMN
STORIES
0~
WOMEN FROM
THE
1.
E CORRECTION IN PARAGRAPH 1 B. MILAGROS
ORTIZ BOSCH ONLY FOUNO~D ONE PARTY -THE FOLLOWING ARE
SANTO DOMINGO'S RESPONSES TO ~EFTEL.
2. NOTABLE -~OHIN~~{.~£~ AND THSIR CONTRIBUTIONS:
•
..,..,.,... _ _ ~,~·,,..-:···~ -·""':~.~. ..... ~ ••
fY't4-
D~FT
<i
A. THE MIRABAL SISTERS . ( THESE HBROINES WERE KILLED FOR
THEIR COURAGE.
THEIR SUCCESS LIES IN INSPIRING OTHERS
TO FIGHT FOR LIBERTY.)
NOVEMBER 25 WAS CHOSEN IN 1981
AS ~HE INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST VIOLENCE TO WOMEN, IN
HONOR OF THE MIRABAL SISTERS WHO WERE KILLED BY DICTATOR
GENERAL RAFAEL LEONIDAS TRUJlLLO'S HENCHMEN ON ~HAT OATS
IN 1960. THE BOOtES OF THESE THREE CONVDNT-SDUCATED
~UGHTERS OF X PROMINENT PAHXLY WERE FOUND NEAR THEIR
WRECKED JEEP AT THE BOTTOH OF A 15C-POOT CLIFF ON THE
NORTH COAST.
EL CARIBS, THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER,
REPORTED THEIR DEATHS AS AN ACCIDENT.
IT DID NOT
EXPLAIN THAT THE SISTERS WERE AMONG THE LEADING
OPPONF.NTS OF TRUJILLO.
PATRIA, MINERVA Y MARIA TeRESA
MIRABAL, WERE BORN IN OJO DE AGUA, SALCEDO, AND :BECAMe
UNCLASSIFIED
�~ooa
09/17/98
THU 16:46 FAX
..
FAMOUS FOR THEIR. LEGENDARY BEAUTY. MIN!RVA INCURRBD THE
DICTATOR'S WRATH .BY NOT GIVING IN TO HIS AMOROUS
RSOUESTS AND PUBLICLY UPtJSINC HI~ ADVANCES.
TRUJ!:ULO
RETALIATED IMPRISONING HER AND HBR SieTERS AS WELL AS
THEIR HUS&ANDS, TMEIR FATHER AND EVEN SCM~ OF THEIR
FRIENDS. HE EVEN CANCELED MINERVA'S REGISTRATION AT THE
GOVERNMENT tJNIVEiitSITY WHERE SHE WAS ENROLLED IN THE I.J.\W
SCHOOL. WHSN THE SISTERS ALONG. WITH THEIR HUSBANDS
FOUNDED THE POLITICAL MOVEMENT 11 14 DE JUNIO," TRUJILLO
FOUND THE EXCVSE TO IMPRISON THEM AGAIN. THIS ~IME THE
MI~ SISTERS WERS FREED BECAUSE A COMMISSION FROM THE
ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES WAS P~ING AN
INSPECTION OP THE JAILS. THE SIS'l'SRS ·wERE 'I'O!.&D !'HAT
THEik DEATHS WERE BEING PLANNED, BUT NEVER THOUGHT THSY
WOULD FACE. IT WHEN RETURNING FROM A TRIP TO VISIT THEIR
IMPRISONED HUSBANDS IN ~UBRTO PLATA. THE WHOLE COUNTRY
CRIEO FOR THE MARTYRDOM OP THREE HEROINES AFFECTIONATELY
CALLED "THE BUTTERFLIES,"' LAS MARIPOSA$. ANP 'r:R.UJILLO
PAID DEA.Rl.'Y FOR THIS CRIME, BECAUSE IT SNOWBALLED UNTIL
IT CONCLUDED WITH HIS ASSASSINATION .. MANY OBCADES
LATER, TH:S: COUNTRY STILL UHSM.BER.S nlEIR. BELOVED
Bt~ERFLIES WRO CROSE TO DIE RATHER THAN YIELD TO THE
D!CTATOR, A PROUD DESCBNDENT OF THE 'l'RIO IS .THB CURRENT
vrcE-PRESI:OENT oF THE REPUBLic_ JAIME DAVID FSRNAN'DEZ
.MIR.Al'ilA.L, SON OF THE FOURTH AND ONLY Jtl:JMAININC SlSTB.R..
MINOU TAVAR2Z, DAUGHTER OF THE COURAGEOUS MINERVA AND OF
MANOLO TAVARE~ IS TODAY THE VICE MINISTER OF FOREIGN
AFFAIRS. AN OBELISK DSCORATED W!TH PORTRAITS OF THE
Tfi'REE IS PLJ\C2D OVERLOOKIN~ .'llifj SBA ON ONE OF SANTO
DOMINGO'S MAIN THOR.OUGHFARE:S."THE·STORY OF THE MIRABAI.I
SISTERS IS THE St.TaJSCT OF .A. BOOK WRITTEN IN .ENGLISB·:sy
THE DOMINICAN-AMERICAN AU'THOR JULIA ALVAREZ, BNTITLED
"IN THE TIME OF THE BU'l'TE:RFLIES".
B. SENATOR MILAGROS ORTIZ BOSCH. SENATOR BOSCH IS THE
D.R.'S MOST POPULAR SENATOR AND MOST POPULAR POLITICIAN.
SHE COULD EASILY BE ~ PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDAT! XN THE YEAR
2000. SHE HAS BEEN ~HE PIONEERING WOMAN IN DOMINICAN
~OLITlCS.
SHB IS A FOUNDER OF THE PARTY THAT NOW HAS
THE MAJORITY IN CONGRESS,
PARTY.
HER.
~HE
DOMINICAN REVOLUTIONARY
WORK HAS SINGLE HANDILY MADE: IT ACCEPTABLE
UNCLASSIFIED
�09/17/98
..
-- ·----
TBU 16:46 FAX
·~-
lgJ 00 4
. """T-- ""'""'
3
AND DESIRASL! FOR WOMEN TO BE POLITICIANS. BUT PERHAPS
MORE IMPORTANTLY HER FORTHRIGHTNESS HAS BROUGHT A
VIBRANCY AND HONESTY TO THE POLITICAL DIAI.tOGUE IN A
COUNTRY THAT HAS SUFFER.:S:O YEARS oF B.ACK ROOM :OSALS.
C. HU KIEN SANG. , MS • SANG 1 THE DAUGHTER OF CHINESE
IMMIGRANTS, WITH A PH.D. IN HISTORY FROM THE SORBONNE,
HAS BECOME TSE ADVOCATE FOR GRASS-ROOTS DEMOCRACY IN THE
noMINICAN R.EPt.7.BLIC. · SHE IS THE D!RECTOR OF THE PROJECT
FOR DEMOCRATIC INITIATIVES (PID), A NETWORK OF OVER 300
LOCAL GROUPS THAT ~y OUT PROJECTS IN LEADERSHIP
TRAINING. CIVIC EDUCATION AND CIVIC ORGANIZING. IN A
COUNTRY KNOWN FOR ITS AUTHORITATIVE i?TRUC:TURBS IN
BUSINESS, GOVERNMENT, POLITICS, SCHOOLS, -AND HOMES, PID
STANDS OUT AS A NON HIERARCHAL ORGANI~TION THAT DECIDES
BY CONSENSUS. A TRIBUTE TO MS. SANG'S PERSONAL SELISF
'!'HAT oNE MUST LIVE DEMOCRACY, NOT JUST DISCUSS IT.
MS.
SANG WRITES ON THE NEED FOR DEMOCRACY AND HOW 'tO .
OVERCOME THE ODSTACLES TO ITS INSTALLATION IN HER WIDELY
READ COLUMN IN RUMBO 1 THE TIME EQUlVAL.SNT IN THE . D. R ..
SHE ALSO TEACHES ~HE DEVELOPMENT OF DEMOCkACY THROUGH
HISTORY AS PROFESSOR OF HISTO~Y AT THE D.R.'S MOST
RESPECTED UNIVERSITY AND SHE HAS OFTBN SBRVED AS ADVISOR
TO THE PRESIDENT ON GRASS ROO~S ISSUES.
3.
HOST GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE.
THE DOMINICAN CONGRESS
PASSED TH£ LAW AGAINST INTRAFAMILY VIOLENCE
.24•97)
IN LATE 1997. AS A FOLLOW-UP TO COMHt'l'M6NTS IT Mi\DE AT
VARIOUS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES SUCH AS THE 1''4
CONFERENCE ON POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN CAIRO, THE
1995 CONFERENCE ON SOCIAL DSVBLOPMENT IN COP'SNHAGEN, .AND
THB 1995 WOMEN'S CONFBR2NCB IN SSIJING. THE UAH WAS
ENACTED THANX9 IN PART TO A STRONG LOBBYING E~FORT BY
SENATOR MILAGROS ORTIZ BOSCH, WHO WAS THEN THE COUNTkY 1 S
ONLY FEMALE SENATOR. LAW 24-97 IS SXTREHELIY BROAD,
COVERING VIOLATIONS FROM S~AL HARASSMENT AND OTHER .
FORMS OF SEX DISCRXMIN.A.TION TO RAPE AND PANDERING:
IT
~LSO COVERS PHYSICAL ABUSE ~GAINST WOHSN, FAILURE TO PAY
CRILn SUPPORT, AND MANY CRIMSS CONCSRNING CHILDREN.
(~W
\
\
UNCLASSIFIED
�ljZI005
09/17/98
THU
16:46 FAX
4. STATISTICS.
ADMINISTRATORS
PERCENT WERg.
OF 16 HAD SOME
OF MEN HAD. IN
12.3 PERCENT OF MANAGERS &
IN THE D.R. WERE WOMEN. IN 19!H:; 2J.
IN 1996, 9 PERCENT OF WOMEN OVER THE AGE
HIG~ EDUCATION WH!RSAS ONLY 7 PERC~
IN
1~~1.
THE CONGRESS ELEC'l'ED
:t~
1994 'tHER.E HERE S .
FEMALE MEMBERS OF THB HOUSE OUT OF 140 AND ONLY 1
SENATOR OUT OF 30.
IN TKS CONGRESS ELECTED IN 1998
THERE WERE 28 FEMALE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE ~ 2
SENATORS.
5. QUOTES: THESE ARE FROM MU KIEN SANG'S COLUMN IN RUMBa
MAGAZINE:; SEE ABOVE FOR HER BIO.
'"'l'HBRE IS ALWAYS
SOMEONE WITH, THE WILL TO BEGIN A ROAD. AT EVERY T!MS
AND IN !VERY MOMENT THERE IS A PERSON WHO ASSUMES THE
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
First Lady's Work on Children’s Issues and Women’s Rights
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
White House Office of Records Management (WHORM)
Caligraphy Office
Chief of Staff
Domestic Policy Council
First Lady’s Office
Management & Administration
Millennium Council
Public Liaison
Special Envoy for the Americas
Women’s Initiative and Outreach
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1995-2000
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36054" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2006-0198-F Segment 4
Description
An account of the resource
<p>This collection contains records regarding conferences and events attended and hosted by the First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton. The key events in this collection consist of the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, Vital Voices, Beijing +5, and the Early Childhood Development Conference. The records include background materials in preparation for each of these conferences.</p>
<p>This collection contains records from the following offices: White House Office of Records Management, Calligraphy Office, Chief of Staff, Domestic Policy Council, First Lady's Office, Speechwriting, Management & Administration, Millennium Council, Public Liason, Special Envoy for the Americas, and Women’s Initiative and Outreach. The collection includes records created by: Ann Lewis, Harold Ickes, Cheryl Mills, Linda Cooper, Ann Bartley, Lisa Caputo, Lissa Muscatine, Marsha Berry, Eric Massey, Nicole Rabner, Shirley Sagawa, Christine Macy, June Shih, Laura Schiller, Melanne Verveer, Alexis Herman, Ruby Moy, and Doris Matsui.</p>
<p>This collection was was made available through a <a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/freedom-of-information-act-requests">Freedom of Information Act</a> request.</p>
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Office of Records Managment
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Adobe Acrobat Document
Date Created
Date of creation of the resource.
11/14/2014
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
301 folders in 30 boxes
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Vital Voices: Voices
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Box 12
<a href="http://clintonlibrary.gov/assets/Documents/Finding-Aids/2006/2006-0198-F-4.pdf">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="http://catalog.archives.gov/id/1766805">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
First Lady’s Office
Speechwriting
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2006-0198-F Segment 4
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Adobe Acrobat Document
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Medium
The material or physical carrier of the resource.
Reproduction-Reference
Date Created
Date of creation of the resource.
11/14/2014
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
42-t-20060198f4-012-002
1766805