FEMICIDE:
The killing of a woman or girl, in particular by a man on account of her gender
Earlier today I was getting ready to go out. I was in my living room putting on my shoes when I got distracted with the TV show my mom was watching. On screen was “La Rosa De Guadalupe”. For those of you who don’t not know, this is a over acted/dramatized Mexican soap opera series. Each episodes are not connected and on every episode there is different characters. The episodes plot usually vary; ranging from serious issues like crime, drug addiction and bullying to more light hearted notes like love stories, coming of age, and family problem resolutions.
Anyways, back to the episode I was watching. I jumped in like half way done. I really wasn’t paying attention because I was trying to put on my boots. But when I did pay attention they brought up a very important issue. From what I understood and what was being talked to on screen. The sister of one of the characters had gone missing. She then got a phone call from the police that her sisters body had been found. The whole family starts crying. The sister then says something in the words of “This is just another femicide that has happened and it needs to stop!” (But in Spanish)
This really caught my attention because, in my opinion, it seemed very out of character for a grieving sister to say, but then I thought to myself; maybe it was meant to be like that so it could catch the audiences attention on an important issue. And it worked! When I started doing more research what I found out was bone chilling.
Warning: Some of the following writing will contain graphic details
The most recent and brutal femicides that have reignited a fire amongst protesters were the deaths of Fátima Cecilia Aldrighett age 7, and Ingrid Escamilla age 25. According to the Washington Post, Fátima was abducted while she was waiting for her family to pick her up from school. She was then found days later mulated, naked wrapped in plastic bag with signs of torture. Ingrid had a similar, yet more brutal death, the New York Times report that, Ingrid was stabbed to death, while also being skinned and disemboweled, this was done by her husband.
These deaths occurring just one week apart caused an outrage with protestors that have been flooding the streets that want justice for Fátima and all the other femicides that have occurred.
The New York Times states that the Mexican government recorded 1,006 incidents of femicide. This is not counting the countless women that go missing who are never seen or found again. According to Mexico News Daily, “an average of 10 women are killed every day.” Moreover, the femicides in the Mexico City have risen by 60%. This makes the capital city the 11th worst place for this time of crime to happen.
According to El Universal, “in the case of teenagers and young women, their aggressor is usually someone they know, their boyfriend, husband, or partner; in the case of girls, it’s usually their step-father, a neighbor, or a family friend, it is rarely a stranger.”
“We will yell until we are heard!” “No one else!” “We will be seen!”
What is frustrating and outraging the protestors and citizen of Mexico is that the people in power seem to not care. According to The Guardian, the president thinks that the protest groups trying to bring attention to the issue is the problem. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico states that “feminist collective group oppose the moral regeneration we’re promoting. I respect their views but don’t share them. I believe we have to moralise the country, purify public life and strengthen cultural, moral and spiritual values.” On a different occasion he goes on to be even more tone deaf, when asked about questions about femicides he states “I don’t want femicides to overshadow the lottery.” (He was raffling the presidential plane.) He likewise is blaming family breakdowns, along with “neoliberal” policies implemented over the past three decades. He also cast the blame on his predecessors. NO WORDS !
Although I am about 1,700 miles away from Mexico, I still believe that this is an issue I can shine a light on and bring more awareness to. We need to protect our woman from the dangers of this world. There not just people. They are daughters, sisters, aunts, moms, wives, girlfriends. They are their own individuals who we may never know what could have contributed to advancing this world. Woman are minority group who suffer from a lot, especially woman of color. Having so many Mexican woman die in high numbers and the government not batting two eyelash’s is very alarming. I am hoping that this problem will subdue and come to a halt. No woman deserves to have her life cut short. No family deserves to see there loved one leave one morning to never return alive.
J’s Journal 
One thought on “Femicides: The Horrifying Crimes Plaguing Mexico”