The News
Thursday 28 of March 2024

"Doña Justa": Women's Justice the Mexican Way


The radio series was presented at a press conference in the Salón Ángel at the Sheraton María Isabel on Reforma, Mexico City, Mexico, June 15, 2017,photo: The News
The radio series was presented at a press conference in the Salón Ángel at the Sheraton María Isabel on Reforma, Mexico City, Mexico, June 15, 2017,photo: The News
A radio series that looks to reach women all across Mexico

This Thursday, in the Salón Ángel at the María Isabel Sheraton Hotel in Reforma, a major step forward in the fight for women’s justice was presented in the shape of a radio series called “Let’s Talk About Justice with Doña Justa.”

This series was created by the Mujeres in Frecuencia (Women in Frequency) non-profit along with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as part of its Promoting Justice (ProJusticia) program.

The purpose of the series is to “educate women about their right to justice, provide them with information about the New Penal Justice System (NSJP) and contribute to a culture of peace and human rights for women,” said Women in Frequency Director María Lourdes Barbosa.

The series will be transmitted on various radio stations across the country and hopes to reach remote areas where television and computers are not always available.

The characters in the series are being brought to life through the voices of renown actors who donated their time to record the series.

Among these voices will be that of renown actress and director Angélica Aragón, who has been an advocate for women’s rights throughout her career.

When addressing the audience, Aragón made emphasis on the current gender roles in our society and how in the modern world, women are surpassing men on many occasions.

“In Mexico women have a better understanding of the dynamics of our world, and the changes that have been taking place since the beginning of the 20th century,” said Aragón.

Aragon said that men “are 100 years behind us” and that there is a great amount of resentment towards the women liberation movement from men in Mexico because “their hegemony is dying.”

“Men are lagging behind. In schools, women are outperforming men in both the United States and Mexico. Men are lagging behind because they think that being a man is all they need to succeed,” said Aragón.

Education is something that should be considered a high priority in Mexico, because as Aragón mentions, schools are the birth of many of Mexico’s current problems, and not just problems that are gender related.

In Mexico, problems are sometimes addressed superficially, rather than going into an in-depth analysis of the educational system. This system tends to be weaker in rural parts of the country, which is where the “Doña Justa” character hopes to have the biggest impact.

In Mexico, around 6.5 million women are victims of violence every year; 600,000 are victims of sexual assault and 2,300 are murdered.

This series hopes to become a part of a bigger movement that will hopefully have a bigger impact and inspire women within their communities to stand up for their rights and educate others.

You can listen to “Doña Justa” here.