Gender discrimination
Media
Rights
Woman
20,000 magazine copies to help stop teen pregnancy
May 8, 2014
Your support was fundamental in the publication of three issues of the magazine La Cuerda. Articles within these magazines addressed issues ranging from sexual exploitation and adolescent pregnancies to ways of caring for life networks including people and nature. We’ve distributed 20,000 issues to 80 towns in 22 different districts of Guatemala. In addition, we held film screenings of the North American film Precious and opened discussions on the issue of youth pregnancy. Participants included women from five zones within the country’s capital, as well as alumni and mothers of families from a public school in Chinaultla.
Risks and challenges
Challenges we anticipate tackling in the near future include increasing the distribution of our publications among social networks and revamping our design to take into consideration digital formats and a wide-range of topics.
Asociación Civil La Cuerda is opening windows for women across Guatemala by providing a free and uncensored space for women to express their opinions.
Why do we care: In Guatemala, opportunities for women to speak out in public or express their opinions are the exception, not the rule.
How we’re solving this: Creating a network of women writers across Guatemala, with one purpose: to expose and transform social and economic inequalities.
La Cuerda collects stories and analytical pieces by women throughout the country. Founded in 1998, La Cuerda has produced over 163 issues of its magazine, LaCuerda, miradas feministas de la realidad (www.lacuerdaguatemala.org). The magazine is distributed to 22 districts throughout Guatemala with online and hard copy versions reaching over 20,000 readers per month.
This year women writers will expose the injustices of sexism, racism, homophobia and economic inequality through op-eds and personal stories. They will question social and economic norms and demand equal rights and respect. La Cuerda will publish articles on taboo or controversial topics rarely discussed in Guatemala, including women’s reproductive and sexual rights, sexual identity, and political criticism. La Cuerda will also help women gain the tools and knowledge to investigate and monitor government policy implementation. When women see that their articles have influenced public opinion and reached new audiences, they will be confident in their new role as and leaders of change.
