This is the beautiful face of political resistance. She is a Mayan-Ixil woman bearing witness at the hearing against former Guatemalan dictator Jose Efrain Rios Montt to decide whether he will stand trial or be exonerated for genocide, mass rape, torture, & arson against her people & three other ethnic groups during the 1980s.
Her face shows the power & defiance of women leading the titanic struggle for human justice all over this planet. It took years of hard, dogged work by his victims to get Rios Montt into a courtroom to face his accusers. People who are in for the long-haul of social transformation don’t fall for gimmicks or grandstanding (like marching in your underwear or half naked). They do the hard work of organizing to convince peers & compel authority to do the right thing. Often they risk their lives.
Our fullest respect & solidarity with the Mayan women & others who came forward to testify. We are proud of you sisters; you are our teachers in struggle, leading the fight for female & human liberation.
(Photo by Jorge Dan Lopez/Reuters)
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