Women’s Center explores gender norms in Guatemala

The Women’s Center embarked on a nine-day trip to Guatemala over spring break to explore traditional gender norms and violence affecting women in the country.

Tyra Frye, a fourth-year studying English and women’s, gender and sexuality studies and a student programming intern at the Women’s Center and co-lead for the trip, said she applied for a leadership role after hearing about a previous experience from the Women’s Center’s last alternative spring break trip. 

“I wanted to learn more about the context of gender,” Frye said.

Rosalinda Kowalczewski, assistant director at the Women’s Center, said the annual trip provides a global perspective on gender inequities and differences across cultures. 

“The trip is to kind of show a global perspective on gender and inequities in differences within different cultures, and it's kind of also like reciprocity in a way that we give back to the communities that we visit,” Kowalczewski said.

Gender-based violence remains a prevalent issue in Guatemala, with more than 22,000 women being victimized in 2023 alone. Kowalczewski, who is Panamanian, said hearing firsthand stories from women in Guatemala was impactful.

“It was very heavy to hear, but at the same time, I think they appreciate the space to talk about what goes on and want people to know and bring awareness,” Kowalczewski said.

The Guatemalan Civil War from 1960 to 1996 altered traditional and cultural gender norms, forcing women to become breadwinners as men went to fight. Fyre said she noticed the gender roles developing through everyday activities. 

“I would say one thing that definitely stuck out to me is kind of the way that I think gender roles surrounding work have been evolving, especially given their experience where husbands were often killed during the armed conflict or had to fight in war, and leaving that responsibility on their wives to make money,” Fyre said. “So they use their weaving as a way to, you know, support their families.”

Kowalczewski highlighted gender disparities in education, with many girls not continuing past middle school due to household responsibilities. 

“They are often taken back to do housework or take care of other children,” Kowalczewski said. “And with [interpersonal violence] being a really prevalent issue, the girls have to deal with home issues.” 

Fyre said victims of gender-based violence tend to face criticism and denial over their harrowing experiences. Specifically, the Guatemalan Civil War played a role in inciting and creating a more hostile environment, where gender-based violence could be more prevalent. 

“Bringing violence into a community shifts people's ways of thinking about getting access to things that they want,” Fyre said. “When violence is used as a tool to gain these things, it can obviously misconduct people's thinking and lead to more violence within a community that maybe prior to this, was not necessarily.” 

Despite the escalated numbers of violence against women in Guatemala, Kowalczewski said organizations and schools are taking the initiative to change the way the new generation thinks. 

“A lot of the younger generation are starting to stand up and have these conversations,” Kowalczewski said. “A lot of the schools we visited to are really trying to shift the way of thinking from the ground up with children of where not to be touched, what your rights are as a person.”

Along with these changes, Fyre said organizations such as the Protestant Center for Pastoral Studies in Central America are taking the lead in changing gender norms and helping women become more confident in themselves. 

“They stood out the most to me and just the different types of programs that they have, like the women's ministry and then programs for young boys to kind of teach them about machismo and violence in the way that you know, they should present themselves in the future,” Fyre said. “They have a women's ministry. And they were talking about how a lot of times they'll read scripture from a woman's point of view, which I think is really powerful.” 

Other crafts, such as weaving, are being used to collectively empower women in Guatemala. Weaving collectives help these women sell their products, promoting independence. 

“They're selling their items at these places that we're visiting, and so the money is going straight to the women and to their families to help them,” Fyre said. “So it's kind of like shifting, where power lies in a household as well.”

The group attended Guatemala’s International Women’s Day march on March 8.

“I didn't really expect for the march to contain so many women,” Frye said. “The entire day was just full of people fighting for women's rights and empowerment on an international level. It was also really powerful to me.” 

Kowalczewski emphasized the importance of bringing this global perspective home, noting the interconnectedness of issues across the world.