by Tania Noriz
Published originally by The Good News SMA, www.facebook.com/TheGoodNewsSMA
In Mexico, women comprise 51% of the current population. According to statistics from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, gender discrimination, inequity and violence have been decreasing. Still, rights, freedoms, work, education and resources continue to be distributed unequally, impacting the aspirations and daily realities of women.
In San Miguel de Allende, according to the Monograph on Gender Equality, published by the Institute for Guanajuato Women (IMUG) in 2021: "economic opportunities continue to be largely concentrated in the male population, while, in the case of the majority of women, unpaid care and household activities continue to present a factor that limits them and distances them from opportunities for economic development."
The good news is that according to IMUG, the access of girls and women to education in the municipality is increasing. Despite this fact, in higher grades, there is a greater dropout rate. According to the study, the relationship between access to education and living conditions has a positive or negative impact on girls, determining whether the rates go up or down.
"Now is a good time to remember that, everywhere in our country, women of all ages and conditions suffer undeserved situations every day just for being women. Let us fight to promote education on gender equity, so that we are not objectified, so that we understand that we have the same rights and obligations as any human being inhabiting this planet earth," Alejandra Jiménez, retired teacher, told The Good News SMA.
In this context, on International Women's Day, March 8, we went out to the streets to ask the women of San Miguel what is the most beautiful and the most difficult thing about being a woman. A question that may seem simple to ask, but in these times of condescension and sexist manipulation (mansplaining and gaslighting) only women can answer.
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Alma Hernández, architect
The most beautiful thing about being a woman is crying without being criticized, laughing for the pleasure of living, loving without limits, fulfilling yourself professionally with responsibility.
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Ana Julia Aguado, artist
The most beautiful thing is the sensitivity of the woman when she connects with her spiritual universe and her creative energy. The most complicated thing is to have a voice, defend our rights in equality and promote social justice, harmony and tolerance in these times.
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Antonieta Herrera, periodista
Lo más bonito de ser mujer:
El solo hecho de ser humana y saberme y reconocerme por la palabra mujer y todo lo que dignifica y reafirma mi género como mujer.
Convivir cada día con acciones machista y tolerarlas. Desgraciadamente el móvil del patriarcado comienza con las mismas mujeres, las agresoras de mujeres son las mismas Mujeres que promueven las acciones machista.
Hoy "No son buenas noticias" hoy se trata de más acciones menos discursos, desde lo local hasta lo personal las mujeres debemos sumar a la sororidad.
Desde mi nicho, en San Miguel de Allende Mujeres en medios de comunicación han sido parte del problema en varios temas para desvalorizar el trabajo profesional y revictimizar a la periodista (reportera) por la misma mujer ubicada en medios de comunicación para vulnerar el quehacer periodístico y la credibilidad.
Hoy se abre este espacio en "They Good News" un día de conmemoración, pero acaso seguirá desempeñando está apertura posteriormente mediante su desarrolladora Tanía Noriz ¿Acaso solo es por publicidad? ¿En un futuro no se volverá una persecución o se promoverá el desden hacia el quehacer periodístico?
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María Concepción Bautista, entrepreneur
The best thing about being a woman is that you have the great advantage of being a mother, a feeling and a love that no one can have, nor can they ever take away from you. Carrying a new being in your womb is something that creates an unbreakable and pure bond. The worst thing is the discrimination that we continue to be subjected to, the contempt and the fact that they doubt your ability; In my time, thinking about the opportunity to study and grow was impossible.
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Daniela Castro, journalist
The most beautiful thing about being a woman is for me to have that natural strength to cope with any situation. The most difficult thing is working day by day so that society understands that we urgently need gender equality.
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Gaby Chalela, wedding planner
Lo más bonito de ser mujer:
Ser mujer tiene innumerables ventajas, no solo porque somos la fuente de ternura, belleza e inteligencia sino porque somos el tesoro que alegra la vida y conquista corazones. Podemos hacer de cada instante un momento realmente mágico. Lo más lindo de ser mujer es la luz que regalamos todos los días, dedicarnos con amor y pasión a la familia, amigos y compañeros de trabajo, multiplicándonos siempre para dar lo mejor de nosotras. Ser mujer es un privilegio, ¡me siento orgullosa de la mujer que soy hoy en día.
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Guadalupe Álvarez, wedding planner
The most beautiful thing about being a woman: my children, my grandchildren and having ties with women that I love very much. The most complicated: Mmm, it's not complicated for me, I love being a woman!
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Jade Muriel, artist and designer
My art, and what I create, I owe that to being a woman. The most difficult thing is how arduous our existence is in society, experiencing violence everywhere, but also because of this, we are the carbon that, due to pressure, becomes a diamond.
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Katya Soto, congresswoman for San Miguel and Apaseo el Grande
The most beautiful thing about being a woman is being a mother. That has given me challenges and many satisfactions, as well as knowing unconditional love. The hardest part has been facing those who didn't believe in my ability just because I am a woman. Also, the most complicated thing is reconciling my personal life with work, since I face challenges that I have been able to achieve with love and a lot of effort.
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Laura González, Secretary of Government and City Council
The most beautiful thing about being a woman: existing as such, and as I am. Being a mother, daughter, sister, partner, friend, lawyer, teacher, public servant, in short, being authentic and expressing what I feel and think. The most complicated thing about being a woman: I try not to get complicated, but I consider that the lack of sorority can limit progress and harmony. The fear of doing something because of prejudice, but I believe that we should always try what we want to achieve because every day is an opportunity to start.
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Lauren Sevrin, photographer
Historically certain professions have been closed to women; impossible feats. As a woman the most beautiful thing is women's struggles and past efforts have paid-off offering the ability for today's generation of women to choose multiple careers. It wasn't so long ago women couldn't vote, obtain bank loans or credit, attend higher education or play professional sports.
As a woman the most disappointing thing is observing women who hold themselves above others in exclusive cliques rather than being inclusive. Such a shame and unfortunate.
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Leticia Fernández, Presidente de Cruz Roja SMA
Entiendo la feminidad como un ideal de comportamiento que tienen que ver con la comprensión, la delicadeza, la educación pero sobre todo la descendencia, donde esta pregunta queda totalmente respondida. El ser portadoras de vida nos hace estar en un lugar muy especial en este mundo y creo que es el rol mas importante que toda mujer valoraria ante muchos otros que pudiéramos enumerar.
Lo mas complicado es cuando se subestiman nuestros alcances o nuestras cualidades solo por ser mujer. A veces se generan situaciones incomodas donde la mujer no es valorada por sus logros solo por cuestión de genero. Gracias a muchas acciones esto esta cambiando poco a poco y vamos avanzando para ser tomados en cuenta por las capacidades individuales de cada persona, sea hombre o mujer, sera cuando viviremos en un mundo mas justo y empatico.
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Madre Verónica Tierrafría, religiosa
Lo más bello de ser mujer, ejercitar la maternidad de muchas formas, aun cuando no sea precisamente biológica.
Lo complicado (por momentos) sentir el deseo de querer ser más fuerte físicamente.
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Margarita Albino, businesswoman and housewife
The most beautiful thing is being able to work for yourself. The hardest part is cooking and housework. The men go out to work and come home to eat. But we work and we also take care of our house and our children.
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María Sánchez, housewife
The most beautiful thing about being a woman is being one. The hardest thing is the responsibility of being a mother. We must have values to teach our children so that they can be good men and women in the future.
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Mariana Vega, artist
The best thing about being a woman is being able to create, grow, teach, the sensitivity and power that you have with these attributes. The worst, I suppose, is when we forget these attributes and then the weakness comes.
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Mariel Ortega, psicóloga, chef, y directora educativa
Para mi lo más hermoso de ser mujer es la fuerza que nos representa, cada una de nosotras somos diferentes y originales, somos organizadas y analíticas, el mundo nos ha visto por mucho tiempo tan vulnerables que nosotras hemos aprendido a ser más observadoras, somos cálidas, hemos aprendido a aguantar el dolor y transformarlo en fuerza por eso es más fácil que una mujer de consuelo aunque esté pasando el dolor más terrible, tenemos el hermoso don de dar vida, tenemos la capacidad de encontrarle solución a todo y de salir avante de las pruebas que se nos presenten y lo que es mejor somos hermosas y tenemos muchas herramientas para resaltar esa belleza, ser mujer es lo mejor que me pudo pasar.
Lo más complicado de ser mujer sin duda alguna es la vulnerabilidad que la sociedad piensa que tenemos, lo cual nos ha llevado a luchar todos los días por una igualdad y por tener las mismas oportunidades que los hombres , Nos enfrentamos con más facilidad a ser violentadas y abusadas, estamos en constante lucha en contra de la marginacion y el machismo y hemos sido terriblemente criticadas por luchar en contra de ello.
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Maritere Rodríguez, journalist
The most beautiful thing about being a woman is being able to cry for any reason. People don't see it wrong. The most complicated thing about being a woman: that you don't like what you see in front of the mirror.
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Martha Rocío López, wedding and event planner
Lo más bonito de ser mujer es tener la capacidad de aceptar q lo eres.
Lo más difícil no reconocerlo.
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Morgana, singer
The most beautiful thing about being a woman, for me, is being able to be in direct contact with my creative force; with my feelings; with my sensitivity and empathy. The hardest thing is living in a deeply misogynistic and sexist country, where 10 women are murdered every day, and nobody cares.
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Nory Contractor
The best thing about being a woman is that we are the procreators of the universe. No man has done that yet. The worst thing about being a woman is that there is not enough solidarity with each other.
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Paola Juárez, contributor to Feed the Hungry
The most beautiful: our originality. The most complicated part: the long road that still needs to be traveled for there to be true gender equality.
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Romina Hernández, Director of the Citizen Services Office
The most beautiful thing about being a woman is the freedom to decide on your own ideals, beliefs, tastes, despite the different cultures and ideologies that we must deal with every day in society. Being a woman gives us the ability to be firm and evolve, becoming inspirational beings for next generations.
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Rosalba Rangel, philanthropist
The most beautiful thing is having the privilege of being a mother. The hardest thing is having a husband.
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Reina Rodríguez, mercadóloga
Lo más bonito de ser mujer es que podemos hacer muchas cosas, ser multi-task, podemos crear y al mismo tiempo ejecutar.
Lo más complicado es la brecha que aún existe en puestos laborales que siguen siendo considerados sólo para hombres y que muchas mujeres podemos ejecutar mejor.
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Rossana Álvarez, activist
We can use both sides of the brain, we are versatile, intuitive, sensitive, communicative and creative. The most difficult thing is that we are not recognized as part of the growth of a community. Running into unbalanced men, being a mother for the first time.
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Dr. Sandra Gutiérrez, gynecologist
The most important thing about being a woman is being able to assume the role of any human being in society can and decide on situations of importance and transcendence and combine it with what we were given by nature, which is being able to be a mother and carry a new human being for 9 months, a baby who depends 100 percent on ourselves in that time. The hardest thing about being a woman are the obstacles that are sometimes presented by this macho society that still prevails in this century, incredibly manifested sometimes by women themselves. The fear of going out and suffer violence for being a woman.
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Sanjuana Hernández, contador público
Lo más bonito de ser mujer es aprender a amarte y creer en tí; lo más complicado son los estereotipos sociales donde nos han encajonado desde que existe la humanidad.
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Sarah Hoch, director and founder of the Guanajuato International Film Festival (GIFF)
The best thing about being a woman is the honor of being a mother. It is a very important role, full of responsibility and full of love. I have no complaints for being a woman. The most difficult thing, perhaps, is confronting misogynists, but we can beat them. I can't think of anything bad about being a woman. I love being a woman. There are many difficulties of being a human being, male or female. I believe that there are so many benefits of being a woman, I love being a woman and hopefully in all my lives I will be a woman.
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Teri Kavanagh, philanthropist and businesswoman
The best part of being a woman is becoming a mom. The worst part is aging gracefully.
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Verónica Agundis, former federal congresswoman
The most beautiful thing about being a woman is the wonderful ability to give life, that process of forming a human being in your womb is truly extraordinary. The most complicated thing about being a woman is facing a society that for the most part continues to be a macho one and considers us weak and inferior.
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Zonia Torres
Lo mejor de ser mujer es… Todo!
Lo peor… el maltrato y la discriminación.
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Ana Luz Solís, periodista
Lo más bonito de ser mujer
ser ésta mujer con muchas cosas que decir.
Lo más complicado de ser mujer: Nadar contra corriente pensando y pensar que un solo un día se tiene que luchar, cuando hay situaciones o temas que debemos avanzar todos los días y no redundar en clichés romántico o eufemismos.
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