The document summarizes the status of women in Argentina. It discusses prominent female figures like Eva Peron. It notes Argentina ranks 28th globally on gender equality. While women have had access to education and can vote, obstacles to reproductive rights remain. Abortion is illegal except in cases of rape or health risks. Access to contraception faces institutional barriers. Intimate partner violence laws only impose misdemeanor penalties. The Catholic Church maintains influence over policy. Groups like Las Madres de Plaza de Mayo have advocated for women's and human rights.

1. The Art of the Possible
Status of Women in Argentina
Cassy Collier

2. • Eva Perón
• Married to Juan Perón
• First Lady of Argentina
(1946-1952)
• Brief Vice Presidental
bid (1951)
• Spiritual Leader of the
Nation (1952)
High Flying Adored

3. • Cristina Elisabet
Fernández de
Kirchner
• Current President of
Argentina
• First term 2007-2011
• Second term 2011-
Present
On the Balcony of the
Casa Rosada

4. • Argentina ranks 28 on the 2011 Global Gender Gap Report
• Measures economic participation and opportunity, educational
attainment, political empowerment, and health and survival.
• Women offered University education in 1905
• By 1910 considered best in Latin America and “morally and
financially committed to the education of women” (Mercer).
• Ratified CEDAW in 1985h
• “Quota law” for female representation in government in 1991
I’d Be Surprisingly Good
For You

5. • 1996- was the only country in the region to provide no
public support of any kind for access to contraception
• 2001- the only country to provide no direct support
• 2002- passed the National Law on Sexual Health and
Responsible Procreation
• Guaranteed access to sexual health information
• Guaranteed access to contraceptive methods and related
health services for everyone
Eva, Beware of the City

6. • Institutionalized obstacles to obtaining contraceptives
• Inaccurate/Misleading information about contraceptives from health
care workers
• Women can be required to possess judicial permission to obtain „tubal
ligations,‟ even if the women fulfill all other stated requirements
• Abortion is criminalized
• Penalty may be waived if:
• The life/health of the mother is at stake
• The pregnancy is the result of the rape of a mentally disabled woman
• Botched at-home abortions can be common
• When seeking medical aid for one, hospitals can deny these women
treatment
• If consequences are feared, many women skip the post-abortion care
they need, ignoring their health to protect themselves from the
government.
Dice Are Rolling

7. • The Catholic Church has a HUGE amount of influence
• Lawmakers have publicly opposed birth control-
• “The rule is to populate.”
• President Mnem declared March 25, 1999 „Day of the
Unborn Child‟
• National Law on Sexual Health and Responsible
Procreation- passed in 2002.
• Seen as minimalist. But!
• Provides framework for guaranteed access to sexual health
information and to contraceptive methods and related health
services for everyone.
• Doesn‟t tackle the discriminatory denial of tubal ligation
Santa Evita

8. • Rape
• Requires proof- either a witness or a „clear physical injury‟
• Women‟s rights groups assert that the police, hospital and
court hold attitudes towards sexual violence that ultimately
revictimize the individual
• Intimate Partner Violence
• Law defines violence against women as a misdemeanor
(Goes to civil instead of criminal courts)
• Law only carries penalties for IPV when it includes crimes
against sexual integrity
Peron’s Latest Flame

9. • Las Madres de Plaza de Mayo
• Reaction to the “Dirty War”
• “Process of National Reorganization”
• Anti-subversive operations to eradicate suspicious persons
• Over 30,000 people „disappeared‟
• Mothers were searching for their lost children
• April 30, 1977- their first march. 14 women in attendance
• Walked slowly in a counterclockwise circle around the square
• Decided to be a weekly walk held on the more crowded days
• Wore white baby shawls or scarves with missing children‟s names
Lament

10. • At the end of 1977, the military cracked down
• Nine women detained after a meetings. Three more taken two
days later. None were ever seen again.
• End of 1978- the square was sealed off
• “Lightning actions”
• End of 1979- on the attack
• They would march on the first Thursday of 1980 and every
Thursday after until they were killed or knew the truth about their
children
• Outlasted the military rule
• Took up their children‟s politics so they would live on
Montage

11. • "Decisions Denied: Women‟s Access to Contraceptives and Abortion in
Argentina." Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch, 15 Jun 2005. Web. 8
Apr 2012. <http://www.hrw.org/es/news/2005/06/15/decisions-denied-women-s-
access-contraceptives-and-abortion-argentina>.
• "Global Gender Gap Report." Word Economic Forum. World Economic
Forum, 2011. Web. 8 Apr 2012. <http://www.weforum.org/issues/global-gender-
gap>.
• Mercer, Marilyn. "Feminism in Argentina." Feminist Theory Website. Center for
Digital Discourse and Culture, 1998. Web. 8 Apr 2012.
<http://www.cddc.vt.edu/feminism/arg.html>.
• "Profile: Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner." BBC News: Latin America and
Caribbean . BBC News, 24 Oct 2011. Web. 8 Apr 2012.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12284208>.
• "Saga Of Eva Peron: 12 Years To Power." New York Times [New York] 27 Jul
1952. Web. 9 Apr. 2012.
• "2008 Human Rights Reports: Argentina." US Department of State: Diplomacy
in Action. US Department of State, 2008. Web. 9 Apr 2012.
<http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/wha/119145.htm>.
Good Night and Thank You