A network to sustain life

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In 2016, women in the municipalities of Chemax, Chikindzonot, Halachó, Kinchil, Mayapan, Tekom, Tixcacalcupul and Yaxcabá, in the state of Yucatán, created a network of Maya women promoting justice. The founders had experience in midwifery, medical massage, cultural development, and sports. 

The network aims to build partnerships and connections with schools, health care centers, government, ejido (communally farmed land) and judicial authorities to monitor, refer and provide timely human rights support to women suffering violence.

The organizations Centro Alternativo para el Desarrollo Integral Indígena (Alternative Center for Comprehensive Indigenous Development) and Equis Justicia para las Mujeres (Equis Justice for Women) have trained the network representatives on their rights, gender issues, violence against women, the laws that protect women and the different legal processes that are carried out in the event of divorce, filing for alimony or submitting a complaint of violence. 

The network members use the training and their own experiences to spread this knowledge to other women in their communities and to government and judicial authorities to teach them to care for women suffering from violence.

*This report is part of a series funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.