A Small Town in El Salvador Commemorates the Contributions of Women
Women Deserve Respect:: A sign at Suchitoto’s municipal building asks, “Does my municipality respect me? I do believe that together and together we can live free of violence.” Photo credit: L. Tripoli.
On an International Women’s Day when the New York Times acknowledged that the contributions of a certain gender seem to have largely been overlooked in its obituaries section over the years, I cannot help but think of the little municipality of Suchitoto in El Salvador. Suchitoto suffered a lot during El Salvador’s long civil war, pitting the government, the military, and landowners against peasant ‘guerrillas.’ Everyone lost. El Salvador’s civil war ended in 1992 following the end of the Cold War, when, suddenly, super powers were not nearly so interested as they once were in funding armed conflicts in Central American countries.
A remembrance at the Suchitoto municipal building of women’s contributions during El Salvador’s long civil war. Photo credit: L. Tripoli.
What merits mention of Suchitoto on International Women’s Day is that it has never forgotten the women involved in its civil war. An exhibit at the town’s municipal building commemorates their contributions.
A quotation from United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan in Suchitoto, El Salvador”s municipal building reads, “In societies destroyed by war, frequently women keep society going. They are usually the main defenders of peace.” Photo credit: L. Tripoli.
We would all do well to remember the contributions of women, everywhere, during war and after.
—Lori Tripoli
A display at Suchitoto, El Salvador’s municipal building commemorates the contributions of women. Photo credit: L. Tripoli.
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Where Is Suchitoto, El Salvador?