Feminisms that Break Violence

When women unite to support other women, they often don’t realize how much they change things for the better, even if their numbers are small. In very few years, the Guatemalan organization, Mujeres Mejorando Vidas (Women Changing Lives), has managed to overcome the systemic barriers that kept them from supporting hundreds of Mesitza and Mayan (indigenous and ladino) women as they fight to live a life free from all kinds of violence. This organization is emblematic of tenacious struggle of the feminist and women’s movements in Guatemala, and it has proven time and time again their impact at the community and national level.

The beginning and the path trod

Mujeres Mejorando Vidas grew from three to fifteen members, and it now plays a crucial role in the promotion and defense of the rights of Mesitza and Mayan (indigenous and ladino) women and has been successful in its fight against the different forms of violence that target women in all their diversity.

They are currently active in sixteen municipalities where they have identified and convened women from diverse backgrounds to provide them with tools and information that allow them to identify and fight against instances in which their rights are being infringed on. These actions also serve to strengthen the organization itself.

“With FCAM’s support, we have been able to carry out all of our planned activities, including workshops with women leaders. Our goal is to weaken and eventually eradicate the patriarchal system that pervades Zaragoza, Chimaltenango, because of its history,” says Ligia Marroquín, executive director of Mujeres Mejorando Vidas.

The team further supports the people that participate in their activities by offering psycho-emotional counseling and legal aid for cases involving alimony and sexual violence against girls, adolescents, and women.

From organizing to a state program

On October 7, 2024, the organization was granted CAIMUS status. CAIMUS stands for Comprehensive Support Centers for Women Survivors of Violence. Their induction into CAIMUS is the result of their arduous work and the fulfillment of a long list of prerequisites set by the Ministry of the Interior through the Violence Prevention Unit. The process entailed a massive advocacy effort targeting assembly deputies in order to expedite the disbursement of the funds, but the team was successful.

“Our ways of working have revolutionized the way comprehensive care for women is implemented. Recently, we were recognized before the State and other donors due to our Case History methodology, by which we identify and record the needs of women and the resources necessary to address them,” relates Blanca Chacach about one of the achievements for which they were selected by the State for the implementation of CAIMUS.

Becoming recipients of public funds was one of their institutional goals. “We are a success story because FCAM trusted us. We started out small, but we’re now the beneficiaries of a State program, can you believe it? We receive state funds, and that means we will be audited, which is a challenge, but we have grown a lot, and we’ve gotten this far, so we’ll aim higher, and we’ll be successful,” tells us an overjoyed Ligia.

Care and Success

The plan for 2025 is to focus on self-care within the team and externally so as to prevent burnout. However, this has meant surveying the organization and making adjustments from the inside out.

We are implementing a Safe Space methodology, with FCAM’s support, which allows us to hold a space for women, including teenage girls, to speak openly and candidly about the violence they experience in their jobs, at school, or at home. This is a space where women feel safe and can express themselves and support each other.

Blanca tells us that, “in San Juan Comalapa we established a mobile CAIMUS unit. We coordinated this new space with the mayor and we have the authority and means to serve women in the municipality. We work as part of the Women’s Unit and the Children and Adolescents Unit.” These two units have allowed them to put together a team with the capacity of carrying out a number of important actions to benefit the women of the community.

The success of the scope and application of their activities can be partially attributed to their methodologies, which rely on autonomy, trust, and flexibility of funds.

“With FCAM’s support, we have strengthened our organization by enhancing our projects’ methodologies. Through them, we can reach more communities, particularly those in remote areas where it would otherwise be difficult to implement any of this,” highlights Ligia when talking about the organization’s programmatic success.

The seeds

In 2024, Mujeres Mejorando Vidas opened a feminist training school for women in their community. The project was a success, managing to put together a group of women community leaders who committed to work for women’s rights.

The organization was also able to convene two grassroots women’s group via social media in Zaragoza and San Juan Comalapa. 

Their goal for 2025 is to carry out actions aimed at the communities and proposed in these feminist spaces by the participants, while also implementing a project that will benefit them and their communities.

“We are women with the power to transform our communities. We empower other women so they can discover their capabilities, their skills. We have a fresh perspective on projects. We learn in the trainings in which we participate. We are women whose minds continue to open more and more,” concludes Blanca.