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Women, Peace and Security Initiatives: El Salvador
In-Country | International

In-Country

Training for Young Women
Melida Anaya Montes Women's Movement
The Melida Anaya Montes Women's Movement (MAM) is training 120 young women in basic workers' rights and feminist consciousness. The MAM was founded in 1992 to organize for women's social, political, and economic rights. They have committees in 13 of El Salvador's 14 provinces, five regional women's centers, and over 6,000 active members. They understand that a major obstacle to union organizing in El Salvador's garment factories is the inexperience of the young women whom factory managers prefer to hire. In order to fund this project, CISPES is raising $25,000 to help MAM empower young female garment workers. They are calling for generous donations; please send tax-deductible checks to CISPES Education Fund/WR. For more information on how to donate, please visit their website.

International Partners Educate Women
2004
To help meet the needs of women in poor, rural areas of El Salvador, International Partners is initiating a new project designed to educate women. We are seeking funds to support a pilot project designed to provide education and training for women in up to 34 impoverished rural communities in El Salvador. Using a "trainer of trainers" model, we will work with local nongovernmental organizations to develop a curriculum appropriate for women in these villages.In El Salvador, as in most developing countries, women have few opportunities to receive an education, particularly in the rural areas. The prevalence of poverty, the lack of resources for development, and the struggle for daily sustenance take precedence over changing the traditional roles of women. Most women are illiterate and literally confined to their family hut - except to fetch water, wood, or work in the garden. Young girls care for siblings, bear their own children during adolescence, and die young. Meanwhile women and their families suffer water borne diseases from polluted water, lung illnesses caused by the smoke of in-house cooking fires, untreated skin ailments, and poor nutrition - all diseases preventable with minimal education (USAID, 1997). Click Here for more information about the program and how you can lend your support.

TRAINING ON RESOLUTION 1325 IN EL SALVADOR
WILPF- El Salvador (LIMPAL) and collaborative partners
Featured in 1325 PeaceWomen E-News Issues #9 and #10, 20 September and 4 October 2002
On 21 September 2002, WILPF El Salvador (LIMPAL) and collaborative partners held a training on Resolution 1325 to address the necessity for women's participation in all dimensions and in all levels of peace efforts, negotiations, reconstruction, reconciliation, re-population and war prevention and to brainstorm ways to implement 1325 in El Salvador. Participants included representatives from the judicial system, women's groups and feminist organizations, universities, programs of the European Union, media and human rights groups. According to LIMPAL, it was a very important meeting, for most of the participants knew little or nothing about Resolution 1325, the implications or about implementation. For more information, contact WILPF El Salvador at martawilpf@yahoo.com

International

Women Access and Leadership Initiative
2004
IFES works to promote the education and enfranchisement of citizens in a democracy. Globally,too little attention has been paid to gender-specific issues, particularly women. IFES is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to strengthening inclusive andtransparent political process in emerging and established democracies around the world. One key element of IFES $4.1 million project in El Salvador was to provide technical assistance to local NGOs to implement a national civic education campaign targeting rural women and youth for the March 1997 elections. The selection of NGO sub-recipients was a competitive process open to all Salvadoran organizations with experience in civic education. Thirteen Salvadoran entities received awards totaling $400,000, including eleven NGOs and two consortia of NGOs. IFES gave a degree of oversight authority to both consortia whereby individual NGOs reported on a weekly basis to one of the consortia, who, in turn, sent compiled weekly reports to IFES. This arrangement allowed the consortia to utilize their experience in civic education and coordination, and it streamlined the administrative process for IFES and the NGOs. Click Here for more information about the IFES program.