The Greater Women’s Movement of Puerto Rico “seized” the Capitol’s rotunda Wednesday to protest government policies that they say promote female submission and violence toward women as part of the International No More Violence Against Women Day.
The women, who announced the protest to the media in an anonymous fashion, surreptitiously entered the Capitol with groups of tourists visiting the building and were even taking pictures. The Daily Sun recognized one of the women as Josefina Pantojas, a female activist, but she said she was there visiting and not as part of any protest.
At mid morning, three banners were hung from the rotunda’s second floor, starting the protest. The banners accused the Fortuño administration of violating the separation of church and state and promoting policies that were dangerous to women. “The will of the people has been violated by continually disregarding the separation of church and state to promote a government discourse that discriminates against us, excludes us and violates us human beings,” said Amarilis Pagán, a spokeswoman for the group.
The group chastised the Fortuño government for wanting to repeal the Women’s Advocate Office and putting as advocate a woman, they said, who has not been more public and forward about the fact that 16 women have been killed this year in incidents of domestic abuse. Women’s Advocate Ivonne Feliciano said recently that she considers herself a “feminine person” and not a feminist. Pantojas told reporters that being a feminist merely means promoting equality among genders.
Pagán said most of the 20,000 public workers being laid off are women who are heads of households.
The women held photos of different government officials and lawmakers and ripped them apart. They included photos of Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz, whom they called a homophobic, New Progressive Party Sen. Kimmey Raschke, who wrote the adoption law giving married couples priority over single individuals as adoptive parents, and NPP Sen. Carmelo Ríos, who is promoting a bill that will have the effect of hurting women who get child support.
Others included Popular Democratic Party Sen. Antonio Fas Alzamora and NPP lawmakers José Aponte, Migdalia Padilla, Margarita Nolasco, Roberto Arango, Lornna Soto, Iris Miriam Ruíz and Evelyn Vázquez as well as La Fortaleza faith-based matters adviser Aníbal Heredia.
The organization said that it will make sure these officials do not get re-elected on 2012, as they will actively promote campaigns against them.
Asked about Fortuño’s Men Promise program, Pagán said the program comes from fundamentalist beliefs that women must be submissive and need protection from men.
While they like Popular Democratic Party Rep. Charlie Hernández’s legislation that would require couples who are going to get married to take a course on domestic violence, they expressed concerns that the organizations contracted to offer those courses might be faith-based groups, which promote female obedience and submission.
Outside the Capitol, meanwhile, Aida Cruz Alicea, 60, wore a dark veil as part of a solo protest. She placed placards and 16 pairs of shoes symbolizing each of the women who have been killed this year. “Only by walking in their shoes will you know how they felt,” Cruz Alicea said.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Jenniffer González urged women who are victims of domestic abuse not to stay silent but to seek the available legal protections that are afforded them by law.