Compadres y Comadres Journal - 2011 Our visit with the Concertacion de Mujeres – July 6

Concertacion de Mujeres – July 6

Women’s sewing co-op in San Salvador


We asked to meet with representatives of the Concertacion as part of our orientation this year. It is difficult to really understand the relationship between men and women in El Salvador, but we felt it was important to get some sense of how things are for women and especially how things are changing. Rosa, the President of CRIPDES spent two hours talking about women’s issues with us. I hope this session will become a regular part of our delegation program. Later, after meeting with Rosa, we were able to visit a women’s sewing co-op to see an empowerment program in action. The women are currently making t-shirts for the Canadian Federation of Students. I hope they will soon be able to make Compadres y Comadres shirts for us!

In 1995, a collection of women’s organizations and Development and Peace started the Concertacion as a way to develop awareness in El Salvador of the inequality that exists between women and men. The group decided to work in marginalized communities and with the rural poor. Their main goal was to talk to women about their rights. Inequality exists in many ways, women are victimized by the police, and there are no long-term shelters for women who are being abused by their partners. Men still play a dominant role in the family and in society in general. This position is reinforced by the Church in most cases.

It was explained to us that work needs to be done to change attitudes amongst women and men. Women are being taught to realize that they have rights and options especially when they find themselves in an abusive relationship. In general, the task of promotion of equal rights focuses on three main initiatives – the promotion of women’s rights within society, the education of women so that they know what their rights are and the development of economic initiatives to help women become more independent. Micro credit projects were mentioned several times as a way to help women develop some independence.

The current government has initiated the development of women’s centers in some of the rural communities. These centers will act as a resource for women when they need medical care or legal advice. The government is also refurbishing the main maternity hospital which has for years suffered from very overcrowded conditions.

                                Rosa speaks to us about women’s issues in El Salvador

El Salvador 2005 Journal IX

Access to services is a human right. As women’s groups trained by the Consensus Table work to pressure local governments through the budget process and training programs, it is hoped that progress for women will be possible.




A sample of one of the gender policy documents published by the Consensus Table

We continued our education by spending the afternoon with CDC – Centro Para La Defensa del Consumidor. Knowledge is power and this agency has done a great deal of work to protect the Salvadoran consumer through research and data gathering. They maintain that once organized, people can struggle successfully for their own rights.

They work to support the protection of human rights by pressuring government agencies to respect the rights of the people. They work at the grassroots level with links to national and international organizations on issues like genetic engineering, health care, CAFTA (free trade), and water.

CDC teaches people to become more vigilant. ANDA, the country’s water agency has been infamous for its over billing of the people. CDC has trained people to read their water bills accurately. They have revealed that ANDA has over billed its consumers by over $20 million dollars. This effort was organized through ‘fairs’ where people were invited to bring their water bills for analysis. During these sessions the corruption of ANDA was exposed.



This is a poster from CDC. It shows a woman with her water bill. The headline relates how ANDA, the government water agency has defrauded the people of $20 million dollars by overcharging on its bills.