On March 8th, 2019, an estimated 100,000 women from all walks of life poured into Mexico City and marched the mile and a half from the monument to the Mexican revolution to the Zocalo. The march coincided with other large demonstrations in cities across the country, and across the world. The rallies in Mexico were the beginning of a 48-hour effort by Mexican women to demonstrate the urgency of the national emergency of femicide and other violence against women in the country.
In 2019, an average of 10 women were killed per day in Mexico and the figure remained unchanged going into 2020. The last major survey on family violence in Mexico conducted in 2016 found that for approximately every 10 women, ages 15 years and over who have had a partner or husband, 42 of the married women and 59 of the separated, divorced, or widowed women have experienced situations of emotional or economic, physical or sexual violence during their current or last relationship- a clear indication of the vulnerability of women to a multitude of risks to their security.
On March 8th, 2021 (International Women’s Day), Tulum Rotary brainstormed how we might mark this day. One of our members suggested a mural. We immediately thought of muralist Emma Rubens and so the process began with a most serendipitous visit to our club by a member of a Rotary Club in Zurich Switzerland who loved the idea and whose club, along with Blaine from Tunich Jungle Cabanas and Bill Ward, a member of our club, supported the project.
On Mother's Day (El Dia del La Madre), May 10th, 2021, we held an inauguration of this important piece of urban art, entitled Ni Una Menos painted by the incomparable Emma Rubens. It is especially appropriate that we dedicate this mural to the memory of the mothers and daughters who have lost their lives to femicide, and to the women and children who suffer from the debilitating effects of domestic violence, as well as to the courage of the men and women who stand and continue the fight for reform and justice.
Please make plans to view the mural for yourself. It can be found at the corner of Calle Polar y Calle Acuario, in Tulum.
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