I love the women of Catemaco, Veracruz. There are short ones, tall ones, brown ones, pink ones, skinny and fat ones, etc. The category that I miss is "political women".
Women in Mexico gained the right to vote in federal elections in 1947. In 2007 civil rights for women in Mexico, although included in various federal & state legislations, are still lacking in full legislative application.
Customary women´s rights in the rural areas of Mexico are similar to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Athough laws exist to prohibit the applications, traditionally, women cannot inherit property, and in essence become chattel of their first born sons.
Only a few years ago, Mexican law acknowledged marital rape as a crime. Physical wife abuse is still one of the primary reasons for deployment of police forces. Child sale or trade is still prevalent, especially for female babies. But, fortunately, Mexico´s extreme effort to end the spiraling population curve has produced satisfying results in the decrease of that curve.
Pre-natal and child care is barely above minimal international levels.
Many women in the Catemaco area are heavily impacted by their men´s migration to greener pastures, both within Mexico and the USA, and depend on their husband´s transmission of monies to stay alive.
It is no fun being a woman in beautiful downtown Catemaco, unless you are a saftig Popoluca and catch a rich gringo.
