Mujeres

Last week the library ran a workshop on self-esteem in the municipal hall. Eighty indigenous women from four communities turned up with all their babies and small children in tow. For me, it was one of the most exhuberant visual spectacles I have ever witnessed. It is absolutely true what they say about Guatemalan textiles. I defy any other nation in the world to surpass the richness of colour present in this country. I am very interested I colour and always fill my work with the brightest colours I can find (not easy when firing ceramic to stoneware temperatures), so for me I just love this aspect of Guatemalan culture.

The native language in El Quichè is, unsurprisingly, Kichè, and many of the women only speak a smattering of Spanish, so we had a translator and ran the workshop bilingually. I presented myself to the group, expressing my interest in working particularly with women during my time here and we continued with a very simple creative activity, the participants working in groups of ten. We are planning to invite smaller groups of women to the library to participate in a range of artistic activities and I hope to eventually establish weekly sessions with groups of women and younger females. I have also suggested to the foundation that I visit every library in Guatemala and run a workshop with women in each one, to get to know the other libraries, their staff and communities.

El Dìa Internacional de la Mujer
A women`s association established in Chichè expressed an interest in realising a special event to commemorate women`s day on the 8th of March. I attended a meeting with nine women to organise the event. We have decided to have a procession and we are going to make a headdress (what else?) for each woman. There are going to be 300 women! In addition, we plan to make banners, placards and hand-held decorations. This is my first project and no small feat considering we have less than a week to produce the goods! I finally discovered the significance of women`s day. In the mid-nineteenth century, a group of women working in a textile factory in New York protested against their working conditions. They were underpaid, forced to work 16 hour days and treated as little better than slaves. They were fighting for a ten hour day and better working conditions, but their employers did not heed their protests and actually set fire to the factory, burning 147 women alive. This took place on the 8th of March and that is why we remember women`s day. The colour of textile that the factory produced more successfully than any other colour was lilac, which is why lilac is the colour associated with women. All the decorations we plan to make for the procession will be lilac and purple and on the day we will bear placards containing slogans fighting for less discrimination against women, less violence, less poverty, equality and peace. Women are very much second class citizens in Guatemala with a long way to go. A large percentage of the population is illiterate, the majority being women; they are widely considered to form the backbone of the workforce in rural communities, in addition to solely rearing perhaps up to 15 children and of course all the domestic issues at home. I felt so proud to be a part of this group of strong, determined women trying to make life better for their own kind in this difficult land.