After protracted battles, women in Central America and southern Mexico have made headway in winning respect for their rights over the past decade, but the progress has been more formal than real, say women academics and activists.
"A number of achievements have been made, mainly in formal and legal terms, with regard to women's rights," Adelay Carías, a researcher with the Honduran NGO Feministas en Resistencia (Feminists in Resistance), told IPS.
Costa Rican voters appear likely to elect Laura Chinchilla the country’s first female president, a protege of Nobel laureate Oscar Arias who holds a nearly 20-point lead over two male rivals ahead of Sunday’s balloting. Laura Chinchilla’s election would mark another political triumph in the storied career of outgoing President Arias, who has been regularly called on to put out Central America’s political fires. Laura Chinchilla was Arias’ vice president before launching her campaign.
For more information, please visit: Laura Chinchilla Costa Rica
Mrs Chinchilla will become the first woman to lead her country after securing a clear victory in the presidential election. The 50-year-old career politician was born into a political family and served as public safety minister, congressional deputy and most recently as vice president and justice minister in outgoing President Arias's cabinet.
This consolidated response highlights some of the important aspects and examples of mainstreaming gender into legislative frameworks in the Americas. Some of these include the creation of national machineries to promote gender equal policies, the impact of international conventions and agreements on governments’ commitment to advance gender equality, and the use of gender-sensitive budgets and initiatives as a tool to promote equal economic and social opportunities for both men and women.
