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Mother Earth and Resource Extraction: Women Defending Land and WaterMain MenuTable of ContentsMERE Hub's Content in EnglishAbout MERE HubInformation and background on MERE HubGendered Impacts of Resource ExtractionA short introduction to the gendered impacts of resource extractionCorporate AccountabilityAn overview on the need for corporate accountability of the Canadian extractive sectorStories of CourageWomen land defenders on their work protecting Mother Earth from large-scale resource extractionResourcesA list of resources for the protection of Mother Earth amidst large-scale resource extractionÍndice en españolÍndice del contendio en español de la plataforma MEREÍndice em PortuguêsÍndice de conteúdo em português da plataforma MEREKAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiativesbf0534f5d1fda18d906115c08e7036b11e814a85
Women and Community Consultations
1media/Guatemala_Consultas.jpgmedia/MERE-Hub-Background-White-Logo.jpgmedia/Guatemala_Consultas.jpg2019-10-03T07:25:03-07:00KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiativesbf0534f5d1fda18d906115c08e7036b11e814a853492721Natalia Atz Sunuc on the importance of Indigenous women to community decision-making in Guatemalaplain2021-05-06T12:00:49-07:00KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiativesbf0534f5d1fda18d906115c08e7036b11e814a85Leer la versión en español de este contenido: Mujeres y consultas comunitarias
Written by Natalia Atz Sunuc
Community consultations are an ancestral practice of the Mayan people. Popul Vuh, the Mayan peoples’ sacred book, tells us: “They sat, they met, they brought their ideas and words together, and they agreed.”
In Guatemala, Indigenous women are tied to the land and to Mother Earth, considering that it is women who have a direct relationship to water, are the ones who principally stay on their territories, at home, and interact with the social and community milieu. When transnational mining or hydroelectric companies arrive in Mayan communities, they harm women’s lives and destroy their quotidian and ancestral ways of life.
Over 50% of women participate and make decisions regarding their territory. This reality means that women: feel empowered in terms of their political and social participation; strengthen their participation at the community level; initiate meetings to analyze the impacts of transnational mining and hydroelectric companies on their lives; organize commissions to distribute information among communities; meet with local governments; and decide to hold community consultations—taking into account that the number of consultations that take place coincides with the number of communities in a municipality. For example, if a municipality has 90 communities, 90 consultations are held simultaneously in one day.
Women are key to community consultations given that they support in guaranteeing the order and safety of observers through the hiring of drivers for transport—a modality that is provided for consultations on extraction projects. In each community the consultation is observed. School teachers have supported the writing of community minutes to account for the decision taken at consultations and make these decisions available to the general public.
On various occasions these results have been officially delivered to Western-based authorities so that they become informed on and respect community decisions, particularly since transnational companies, motivated by their economic interests over extractive projects, have questioned Indigenous peoples’ right to community consultations.
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1media/Guatemala_Consultas.jpgmedia/MERE-Hub-Background-White-Logo.jpgmedia/Guatemala_Consultas.jpg2019-09-16T11:58:59-07:00KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiativesbf0534f5d1fda18d906115c08e7036b11e814a85Stories of CourageKAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives24Women land defenders on their work protecting Mother Earth from large-scale resource extractionvisual_path2021-09-24T13:32:03-07:00KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiativesbf0534f5d1fda18d906115c08e7036b11e814a85
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1media/Guatemala_Consultas_thumb.jpg2019-10-04T06:28:42-07:00Indigenous women voting / Mujeres indígenas votando / Mulheres indígenas votando.4Indigenous women, all in red traditional clothing, are raising their hands in an outdoor Guatemalan setting as they cast a vote. / Mujeres indígenas, todas vestidas de rojo, levantan la mano en un escenario al aire libre mientras emiten su voto (Guatemala). / Mulheres indígenas guatemaltecas, todas em trajes tradicionais vermelhos, levantando as mãos em um ambiente ao ar livre ao votarem.media/Guatemala_Consultas.jpgplain2021-05-06T12:02:48-07:00