Indigenous Attorneys-at-Law Support Incarcerated Women

On a Sunday, Juana and her daughter were taken in a patrol car to a place they cannot recall. Everything happened so fast. Later on, they were taken to the Public Prosecutor Precinct: “Just sign here and you can go home”, –the officer told her.

Juana’s mother tongue is Chinanteco, therefore she doesn’t know how to read or write Spanish, and knowingly that she had not committed any crime, she trusted the authorities and gave them her fingerprints in consent on a couple of blank pieces of paper.

Fundraising Event in Chicago

On Saturday 25th June, the Chicago Chapter of Semillas held a fundraising event at St. Augustine College in Chicago to raise awareness of the challenges faced by Mexican women and to support the work of Semillas in Mexico. One of Semillas’ grantees from the Jolom Mayaetik Cooperative in Chiapas traveled to the event to talk about her experiences and to displayed some of the Cooperative’s beautifully hand-woven artisan products. Guests enjoyed delicious Mexican food and worked off the calories after dinner in an energetic salsa dancing lesson. We would like to thank everyone who helped in the organization of the event and all of those who attended and made generous donations. If you are from Chicago (or anywhere else worldwide) and were not able to attend, you can still make a donation here.

Working for Women's Reproductive Health

Francisca and Avelina know only too well the conditions of marginality and discrimination that Indigenous women suffer because of their dress or their inability to speak Spanish. As women who are aware of their rights and who are leaders in their own communities, these women have become an intercultural bridge between healthcare workers and pregnant Indigenous women in need of medical attention.