This is an exchange between H. from Nicaragua and Srijoni Chaki from India. For security reasons, the name of the student from Nicaragua was anonymised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Letter 1<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nicaragua, 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hola, mi nombre es H. y es un gusto poder compartir mis cartas contigo, e intercambiar opiniones sobre temas que afectan a nuestro pa\u00eds. Actualmente estoy estudiando Psicolog\u00eda, y ya es mi tercer a\u00f1o en esta hermosa carrera, por lo que he conocido diversas problem\u00e1ticas por las que tenemos que pasar los seres humanos, las cuales en mi pa\u00eds Nicaragua una de estas que afectan actualmente m\u00e1s a las mujeres es el hecho que muchos no respetan o invalidan los nuevos movimientos feministas. Ya te podr\u00e1s imaginar lo dif\u00edcil que es vivir en un pa\u00eds, donde la mayor parte del tiempo no respetan los derechos que tenemos las mujeres, pues d\u00eda a d\u00eda sufrimos acoso en las calles, falta de igualdad, y en la mayor\u00eda de los casos de mujeres que viven tanto en zonas rurales como en la ciudad, sufren abusos, tanto sexuales, f\u00edsicos, verbales y psicol\u00f3gicos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n La realidad en Nicaragua ha sido muy dura para la mujer, pues d\u00eda a d\u00eda solo la ven como un objeto sexual, y con capacidades inferiores a la de los hombres, ya que es a pesar de esta en un nuevo siglo, siguen muchos estigmas que por mucho que tratemos erradicarlos, se siguen viendo. Por si no sabes donde se encuentra Nicaragua, es b\u00e1sicamente en Centroam\u00e9rica, donde tenemos pa\u00edses vecinos como Panam\u00e1, Costa Rica, Salvador, etc. El hecho de que como pa\u00eds ocupemos el tercer lugar como pa\u00eds m\u00e1s pobre a nivel latinoamericano, no significa que tenemos que ser pobres de mente, y es lo que a veces me frustra, porque no s\u00e9 si en un futuro, podr\u00e9 salir a las calles y sentirme segura en las noches, o vivir con el miedo que mis amigas o familiares mujeres, est\u00e9n seguras todo el tiempo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Al vivir en un pa\u00eds totalmente ando centrista, muchas veces es dif\u00edcil que como mujeres seamos comprendidas, y por tanto es a\u00fan m\u00e1s dif\u00edcil que creemos movimientos y protestas donde seamos escuchadas de la mejor manera. Todo esto tambi\u00e9n es un obst\u00e1culo ya que la mayor\u00eda de las personas tienen la idea generalizada que para ser feminista tienes que ser radical, cuando no es as\u00ed, ya que puedes proponer un cambio, mediante talleres, charlas, etc. Cada uno de los movimientos feministas han abierto paso a grandes momentos hist\u00f3ricos para la mujer, donde lastimosamente en mi pa\u00eds, muchos de esas cosas positivas que se han ido cambiando en otros pa\u00edses, no se ven. Ac\u00e1 el hecho que una ni\u00f1a de 15 a\u00f1os tenga un hijo, es algo que lo ven normal, cuando no deber\u00eda ser as\u00ed, pues una ni\u00f1a no deber\u00eda estar cuidando a otro ni\u00f1o, d\u00eda a d\u00eda en las zonas rurales ocurren femicidios, y la ley no es justa, ya que muchas veces no condenan a los agresores con la cantidad de a\u00f1os que deber\u00edan de pasar en una c\u00e1rcel por sus horribles actos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Te invito a que busques noticias sobre estos temas, y ver\u00e1s que, en mi pa\u00eds, estamos muy atrasado en estos temas que son importantes para las nuevas generaciones, ya que es importante empezar hacer un cambio positivo, donde poco a poco tengamos igualdad poco a poco. Me pregunto \u00bfC\u00f3mo es la situaci\u00f3n respecto a las mujeres en tu pa\u00eds? Me gustar\u00eda que me cuentes un poco de su realidad como mujeres, pues en Latinoam\u00e9rica en general es muy triste. De igual forma quiero que me comentes \u00bfQu\u00e9 situaciones son las que han impactado m\u00e1s a tu pa\u00eds respecto a estos temas? \u00bfEs com\u00fan ver movimientos feministas? En mi pa\u00eds es muy raro que se hagan protestas, o marchas, ya que desde el 2018, movimientos masivos est\u00e1n prohibidos, pues tuvimos un lamentable a\u00f1o de duelo, en ese a\u00f1o, te invito a investigues de esto tambi\u00e9n, ya que te ayudar\u00e1 a comprender un poco m\u00e1s la situaci\u00f3n que atravesamos hoy en d\u00eda como pa\u00eds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A pesar que yo no he pasado por muchas necesidades a lo largo de mi vida, eso no me ha impedido darme cuenta que es importante prestar atenci\u00f3n a las realidades que un pa\u00eds pasa, y m\u00e1s si es donde t\u00fa vives, porque nunca est\u00e1 de m\u00e1s de poner de tu parte para hacer el cambio, ser\u00e1 un gusto leerte de nuevo, gracias por leerme. Saludos desde Nicaragua, donde te escribo esta carta a las 14:25 horas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Atte: H. \u263a<\/p>\n\n\n\n Letter 2<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ranchi, 24-03-2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n To: H.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Topic: Feminist action: current and future perspectives<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dear H.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hope you are doing well. I am glad to connect with you as my pen friend and exchange my opinions and information on the given topic with you. I am doing Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management in Xavier Institute of Social Sciences, Ranchi, India. Currently, I am in the final second year. India is situated at the head of Indian Ocean in the continent of Asia. Though India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, many challenges faced by the country revolve around poverty, pollution, illiteracy, corruption, inequality, gender discrimination, terrorism, communalism, unemployment, regionalism, casteism, alcoholism, drugs abuse and violence against women. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I am aghasted to know about the reality of women in Nicaragua. In India, my motherland, the situation of women is dire. Majority of women in India face domestic violence each year. Women in India, especially in the rural belt still face acts of domestic violence at the hands of the spouses. According to an estimate, about 70% of women in India face such acts every year. Out of the cases of physical violence against girls, 70% of them occurred inside house. Till date, out of all the rape cases that occurred, 90% of the cases have been done in the victim\u2019s house by their acquaintances. Chances of girl\u2019s money being stolen outside house is relatively less than the chances that the money is taken away from her in the house without any consent. Female foeticide still continues in the present scenario. Women face more crime at home than outside. Real danger to women is within her own home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A girl in her childhood is gifted Barbie doll, kitchen and house sets, all caring and cooperative toys are given to girls. When a boy is born, he is gifted with guns, car racing and superman toys, i.e., all competitive and aggressive games. When a girl dresses up like a boy, it is pretty okay but when a guy dresses up like a girl, he is joked upon. You are dressing like a girl, running like a girl, crying like a girl- as if girls are inferior and should be looked down upon as compared to boys. Hearing this, girls start questioning their own competence and get into self-doubt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A man in India can unzip and urinate on roads. It is a pretty normal thing. But, on the same road, a woman wearing a skirt is pretty abnormal. Men can lose to anyone in the world but cannot tolerate losing to a woman. Most of the attacks and rapes occur due to the same psychology. Dowry harassment is pretty common in India. Many of these crimes go unreported as women do not even get the support from their own family to complain and fight their way through it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These families do not let women out of house after 18:00 hours. If she goes out after 6 p.m., she is considered to be at risk and if anything happens to her, she is at fault. 48% of population in India, i.e., women are expected to go to curfew after 6p.m. Right to equality, right to freedom and right against exploitation all become worthless. There can be no greater war than this. On average, women spend more than twice as many hours as men doing paid and unpaid work. Yet, 99% of judges are male. Maximum chunk of salary taken by male. 80% of males are sitting in the seats of Parliament. 80% of the males are sitting in the seats of Parliament. Women own only a small chunk of land in the country as compared to the men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are males to be blamed for all this? No! It is the thinking of the society. Boys and girls both believe it and boys and girls both have to fight against it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Discrimination against an individual on the basis of sexual orientation is deeply offensive to the dignity and self-worth of the individual. LGBTQIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual) people are allowed to express their sexual orientation but homosexual acts still remain criminalized by the Indian Penal Code. Very few people in India are broadly supportive of homosexuality. Forced conversion therapies like shock treatment exorcism, psychotropic drugs are still a common practice but queer activism is taking a range of different forms speaking through cinema, politics, music, sports and different forms to challenge the heteronormative idea of what constitutes Indian culture. There have been protests and marches against all these issues, though, they are limited. In my opinion, queerness is not against Indian culture, it is at the very core of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I am writing this letter at 13:20 hours. I hope to read your letter again and to know more about the issues faced by women and LGBTQIA people in Nicaragua.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yours,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Srijoni Chaki.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Letter 3<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nicaragua, Mayo, 2023.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hola amiga de global pen friend, lo siento por la demora en escribirte, he estado muy ocupada recientemente por cuestiones de mi carrera, como te dije estoy estudiando Psicolog\u00eda, y las pr\u00e1cticas son algo pesadas. Retomando lo que me comentaste en tu carta, me ha parecido muy triste escuchar la realidad que viven las mujeres en India, pero no es muy alejada a la realidad de lo que vivimos en Nicaragua.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Me gusta que hayas mencionado que todo se debe a la sociedad en general, poco a poco aqu\u00ed en la ciudad hemos tratado de erradicar pero en las zonas rurales en donde se ven a\u00fan peor las cosas que una mujer tiene que sufrir, como violaciones, robos, asesinatos, y es algo que para las personas de esas zonas viene siendo alg\u00fan s\u00faper \u201cnormal\u201d, acciones que son dif\u00edciles de erradicar por el hecho que la mentalidad de la gente del campo tiene, sobre que el hombre es el \u00fanico que debe tener el poder absoluto en la casa, y sobre cada una de las mujeres, la cual esta mentalidad no solo se ve en el campo sino todav\u00eda en la ciudad, aqu\u00ed muchas cosas siguen siendo para el hombre, como trabajos, educaciones, beneficios, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ac\u00e1 las mujeres s\u00ed podemos salir en las noches, pero debemos tener muchas precauciones sobre qu\u00e9 taxi debemos de tomar, con qui\u00e9n nos iremos, porque en las noches es cuando m\u00e1s crimen hay. Me entristece el hecho de que all\u00e1 ustedes no puedan salir luego de ciertas horas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ahora tocando el tema de las orientaciones sexuales, poco a poco se ha ido erradicando la homofobia, y ha sido aceptada pero m\u00e1s por nuestras generaciones que las generaciones de nuestros padres y abuelos, Nicaragua en general ha sido un pa\u00eds con bastante retraso a nivel de pensamientos, ac\u00e1 no hay movimientos ni de la mujer ni de la comunidad LGBTQIA, porque no hay suficiente apoyo, aparte que es prohibido realizar marchas despu\u00e9s de lo que sucedi\u00f3 en el 2018, en el pa\u00eds, que como te mencionaba antes, hubieron grandes protestas, donde muchas de las que salieron perjudicadas fueron mujeres, ya que las que andaban protestando y defendiendo al pa\u00eds de la dictadura, las encerraban en una c\u00e1rcel y cuando eran liberadas, muchas de ellas contaba que hab\u00edan sido violadas casi todos los d\u00edas, por lo que ten\u00edan que tomar pastillas para no quedar embarazadas de los guardas de la c\u00e1rcel, una situaci\u00f3n sin duda de las m\u00e1s tristes que he escuchado en mi vida. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Siguiendo con el tema del apoyo a la comunidad LGBTQIA, todav\u00eda hay m\u00e1s prejuicios para los hombres que se reconocen como homosexuales que para las mujeres, porque en el caso de ellos muchas veces de la homofobia, algunos son asesinados, mientras que para una mujer que se identifique como lesbiana, es vista con morbo por hombres heterosexuales, todo ac\u00e1 de cierta manera no es para nada bien visto, mucho menos por el tema de la religi\u00f3n, en el caso de las preferencias y como uno se identifica. Cu\u00e9ntame m\u00e1s de aquella situaciones duras que han tenido que atravesar en tu pa\u00eds, y tambi\u00e9n quiero que me digas, de todo lo que te he contado \u00bfQu\u00e9 te ha llamado m\u00e1s la atenci\u00f3n o impactado m\u00e1s? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gracias por tu espera Srijoni, espero tu carta, te escribo a las 20:45 PM, desde Nicaragua.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atentamente: <\/strong>H.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Letter 4<\/p>\n\n\n\n India, May 2023., 8.15 P.M.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Topic: Feminist action: Current and future perspectives.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hello H.! I am glad for your reply and all the information you have shared till date. I intend to keep in touch with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The fact that protests or marches are forbidden in Nicaragua has caught my attention. In India, it is the other way around. They hold many marches though, most of them are for political reasons. The viewing glass of individuals through homosexuality is also worth noticing as the beholders need to clear their perception through the biases and accept people for who they are rather than for their sexual orientations and preferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though India is moving away from the male dominated culture, discrimination is still highly visible in rural and urban areas, throughout all strata of society. While women are guaranteed equality under the constitution, legal protection has a limited effect as patriarchal traditions prevail. Crimes against women show an upward trend here too, in particular brutal crimes such as rapes, dowry deaths and the most heinous honour killings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Illiterate parents often discourage girl children from getting education. They think that it is not good to send girls to school. In poor families, poverty is the biggest reason of gender inequality. Parents think that boys have to earn for the family so it is important for them to study. So they prefer to send boys to the school rather than the girls because of the limited money with them. As the number of schools is less, there are limited number of seats for students. So it is preferable to send boys to school rather than girls. They think that boys education is more important than that of girls. Girls of tribes and backward societies do not get equality in education, so, they remain deprived of education. In backward areas, schools are far away and there is no adequate transport facility. So, parents do no think that it is safe for girls to travel on their own. So, they do not send them to school. Moreover, gender stereotypes exist in our society. Girls should stay at home. They need not to study and it is important for girls to do household work, due to which, discrimination is done. Child marriage impose a negative impact on girls. After marriage they have a lot of responsibilities to be fulfilled. So, it is difficult for them to study. In many Indian families, boys can go outside the city to study and build a career path as per their need but, as usual, the girls are restricted. What people do not understand is that when we empower a woman or a girl, it creates a ripple effect which in turn contributes to the well being and productivity of her family, community and country at large. What people do not understand is that when we empower a woman or a girl, it creates a ripple effect which in turn contributes to the well being and productivity of her family, community and country at large. Parents in India save money for girls\u2019 marriage over here rather than for her independence, education and upliftment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is 2023 and women are still fighting for the basic rights like sexual and reproductive rights, freedom of movement, the right to live on their own terms. In India, 23 year old Aisha Bano killed herself by jumping into the Sabarmati river. She had filed a dowry harassment case against her husband and his family. A woman was burnt alive by her family members. The family had hired a contract killr, paid him a lakh and a half to kill the woman. Violence against women is real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am indebted to be part of the pen friend journey and thankful for the information shared. This was a great learning experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanking you,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yours sincerely,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Srijoni Chaki<\/p>\n\n\n\n PGDM HRM<\/p>\n\n\n\n XISS, Ranchi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This is an exchange between H. from Nicaragua and Srijoni Chaki from India. For security reasons, the … <\/p>\n