Mexico is a country that carries a more alarming rate of femicide than a medieval plague. This has aroused the outrage of the directly affected group: women. They have raised their voices, taken to the streets, shouted for justice for the fellow dead, and demanded the absolute stop of gendered violence.
In the past year, feminist movements in Mexico have gained major, undeniable ground. Marches, protests and accumulated outrage has had an echo not only in the streets, but in the central debate of all — from households to the National Palace, the topic is firmly on the table. The right of women to decide and exercise economic force has been put on the agenda as a central issue, making clear that without them, not only Mexico but the entire planet would be impossible to operate.
These movements and their daily activism have led to a nationwide women’s strike on March 9, 2020, a day after the demonstrations and marches of International Women’s Day. For the first time in Mexican history we will experience ‘a day without women’: an intelligent protest, with fallen arms, which will make us imagine for a single day a world where all women have disappeared. It will be a symbolic call to envision the worst, and to reexamine what (and who) we take for granted. One hope is that to suffer this absence will invoke the presence of those women who no longer have a voice.
Given the resonance of this issue, What Design Can Do México GNP 2020 cannot be indifferent. That is why one of our central topics for this year is a CALL FOR EQUALITY. As part of this programme, we will hear creative proposals and insights from businesswoman and founder of CENTRO and Dalia Empower Gina Diez Barroso, executive director of the Pritzker Prize Martha Thorne and design curator Jimena Acosta, to add to the construction of an egalitarian and safe society for women.
This March 9 will define a landmark in the modern history of Mexico. With the slogan “El nueve ninguna se mueve” (The 9th no woman moves), Mexican women will give a clear message to the world about the importance of their presence, their contribution, their primary strength, and show us a way to continue learning and growing as a society. Thanks to them, Mexico will be an example for the world.