By Kendall Thiele / The Santiago Times
It was the International Day of Women: a day to acknowledge and celebrate the accomplishments of women as well as to bring awareness to the inequalities women still face all over the world.
In Santiago, the general secretarial minister of government, Paula Narváez, together with the minister of women and gender equality, Claudia Pascual, and the minister of sport, Paul Squella began this commemorative week by making public appearances at various outdoor activities and sports workshops oriented towards women.
The goal was to bring awareness to the gender health gap, and the fact that many women are unable to take care of their bodies because of the many responsibilities inside and outside the home.
“We believe this is a very good way to commemorate the start of the Women’s Day. A very important political agenda taken forward by President Michelle Bachelet has defined different dimensions of self-care and physical activity as a right, much like the right to political participation, and that is why women’s participation is vital in the decision-making process,” Narváez said at one occasion.
Women’s access to affordable healthcare and childcare programs, however, were not mentioned.
Also discussed at the event, along with the self-care bill, was the governments objective to reestablish strong political parties in Chile, as well as plans for reconstructing the town of Santa Olga, which was destroyed in the forest fires.
Minister Paula Narváez noted that although today, there is more acknowledgement of the contribution of women in all areas of social life, many times that contribution is obscured or not included in public accounts.
