South America - July 2005

"Traditions" of Workplace Rape Across the United States and Latin America. [Latin America] A crisis of rape with impunity in the workplace severely impacts the lives of Latin American immigrant women and girls across the United States.

'Dirty War' Protesters' Remains Found. [Argentina] Investigators have recovered the remains of the woman who founded a legendary protest group against Argentina's Dirty War, nearly three decades after she was abducted. The remains of Azucena Villaflor and two colleagues were recently unearthed from a rural cemetery and identified through DNA tests. Villaflor helped to found the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, which emerged during the country's 1976-83 crackdown on dissent. The group has continued since then to demand an accounting of loved ones who disappeared.

Giving Birth Often Means Death. [Bolivia] In South America's poorest country, only 10 percent of women get pap smears, a common way to screen for cervical cancer; fewer than half receive prenatal care; and in rural areas only 30 percent have a trained birth assistant. As a result, Bolivia has the highest rate of maternal deaths during pregnancy and childbirth and the highest infant mortality rate of any other country in the Americas except Haiti, and the third highest rate of cervical cancer deaths in the Western Hemisphere.

Bandits Steal Breast Implants. [Brazil] Armed bandits in Brazil robbed a vehicle carrying more than 400 breast implants, officials said. "It happened last week, but we only learned about it recently as our clients started complaining. It is the hottest period of the year in terms of implant sales," said Margaret Figueiredo, director of silicone implant manufacturer Silimed.

New Paternity Law. [Chile] A new law has been officially launched in Chile giving the courts widespread power to order men to undergo DNA testing in paternity disputes. If a man refuses to submit to a court-ordered DNA test, he will officially be allocated legal responsibility for the child.

Terror As Anti-Union Strategy. [Colombia] Gloria Ramirez knows only too well the dangers of being a high-profile union leader in Colombia. Throughout her impressive 30-year career in the trade union movement, she has survived an assassination attempt and been forced into exile. She continues to regularly receive death threats by phone, mail and the Internet.

Women Face Prison for Abortion. [Colombia] In Colombia, women can be imprisoned for up to four and a half years for having abortions even in cases of rape or when their lives are at risk. In a brief to Colombia's Constitutional Court, Human Rights Watch said the country's penal sanctions for abortion are inconsistent with international human rights obligations and should be declared unconstitutional.

Indigenous Women Help Preserve Biodiversity. [Colombia] Indigenous people in Colombia's Amazon jungle region use a garden for just two or three years before abandoning it to clear a new one somewhere else, thus practising sustainable agriculture in an exuberant but fragile environment where the soil is extremely poor.

Pacific Professor Emeritus Makes Science Come Alive. [Colombia] The Bug Lady is known to grownups as Alice S. Hunter, professor emeritus of biology at University of the Pacific. At 81, she's still agile enough to snag fruit flies and frogs and to sneak a little scientific method into a child's brain when that brain is hungry for an answer. She married Francis Hunter, also a scientist, and they moved to South America to help open medical schools. Her Bug Lady identity started during a hike in the mountains outside Bogota, Colombia.

Latin American Women, Children at Risk. [Ecuador] Latin American women and children of all races survive in a hostile social climate of severe sexual harassment and sexual violence. These conditions expose women and especially girl children to danger in the home, in their communities, in their schools and in their workplaces.

Peruvian Women Denounce Economic Social Cultural Rights Violations. [Peru] On June 2, 2005 in Lima, Peru, the first Ethical Political Tribunal will be held to report violations to the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) of Peruvian women perpetrated by the state and the private sector. Women will not only report violations but also demand restitution and compensation.

Fine Lines/The Work and Words of a Remarkable Avant-Garde Artist. [Venezuela] Do you know Gego? Her work was one of the standouts in the 2004 Museum of Fine Arts, Houston exhibition "Inverted Utopias: Avant-Garde Art in Latin America." Gego was the Venezuelan avant-garde artist formerly known as Gertrud Goldschmidt. As alliterative as Gertrud Goldschmidt is, you can kinda see why she went with her childhood nickname, Gego. Sculptures, drawings, prints and collages by the artist are currently on view in "Gego, Between Transparency and the Invisible" at the MFAH.