Ser mujer en Corea del Sur y México

Me quedé estupefacta cuando me di cuenta de que las autoridades mexicanas nunca se habrían preocupado por mis amigos de la misma manera que lo hacía ahora el gobierno coreano.
Mexico, Central America

Story by Olga Mata. Translated by Melina Gutiérrez Hansen
Published on August 22, 2020.

This story is also available in GB ar cn de it kr



En la imagen: el famoso monumento “Minerva”, en Ciudad de México, teñido de rojo simbolizando así los feminicidios, 2020, frente al movimiento “Me too” en Corea del Sur, 2019.


Un cambio se pone en marcha cuando una mujer alza su voz para declararse feminista.

Un par de días antes de viajar a Corea del Sur para mi intercambio académico, recibí unas cuantas invitaciones de mis amigos de la universidad para acudir a la manifestación anual por la igualdad de género, que tiene lugar cada 8 de marzo en Ciudad de México [1]. Miles de personas denuncian la violencia que nosotras, como mujeres mexicanas, sufrimos a diario en diversas formas: desde acoso sexual en las calles a violación o delito por odio basado en las diferencias de género, como lo son los feminicidios. 

Dado que ya estaba en Corea del Sur, esta vez me era imposible asistir y expresar mi descontento. Sin embargo, pude experimentar algo diferente que me ayudó a formar mis pensamientos alrededor de la violencia hacia los derechos de la mujer.

Habiendo estado solo un par de semanas en Corea del Sur, un día me encontré en la comisaría de la ciudad coreana de Busan. Estaba ahí con dos de mis nuevos amigos quienes iban a denunciar a un señor mayor que ese mismo día, les había tomado, sin consentimiento, unas fotos de ellas en bikini divirtiéndose en la playa. Resultó ser, que el acto de sacar fotos comprometedoras se considera un delito de violencia sexual en Corea del Sur, pudiendo ser castigado con encarcelamiento o una multa de hasta 7,000USD [2]. Me quedé estupefacta cuando me di cuenta de que las autoridades mexicanas nunca se habrían preocupado por mis amigos de la misma manera que lo hacía ahora el gobierno coreano.

Después de investigar un poco, descubrí que este tipo de procedimientos habían sido implementados recientemente, en 2016, tras múltiples protestas de jóvenes coreanas mayoritariamente, quienes luchaban contra la grabación ilegal con cámaras espías como una forma de violencia de género [3]. Este ejemplo me mostró que nosotras, las mujeres, podemos tener éxito en influenciar las políticas públicas para afrontar el problema de la violencia de género. 

Aunque México también ha implementado pólizas para luchar contra la violencia de género [4], los derechos de las mujeres siguen siendo violados y la impunidad se mantiene. Desafortunadamente, la mayoría de los mexicanos considera “normal” que hombres saquen fotos sin consentimiento a mujeres mientras están usando transporte público o en la calle. Al fin y al cabo, la policía no va a hacer nada contra nuestros agresores. Pero mientras que nosotras no denunciemos estos sucesos, la impunidad se mantendrá como una constante.

No es que nosotras no actuemos. Durante el Día Internacional de la Mujer, feministas mexicanas tiñeron fuentes públicas de rojo, para representar a las mujeres que son asesinadas cada día, y así aumentar la sensibilización social, como pueden ver en la imagen.

En Corea del Sur, aún estando impedidas las concentraciones públicas en masa por COVID-19, el primer Partido Feminista de Corea del Sur fue creado como conmemoración simbólica [5] el 8 de marzo. Pero al final, las mujeres seguirán esforzándose y luchando por su derecho de sentirse seguras en todos lados.

Tanto en México como en Corea del Sur, el Día Internacional de la Mujer se quedará como un día para alzar la voz más que para celebrar, al menos durante un par de décadas más hasta que la cultura empiece a cambiar.


Notas a pie de página:

[1] Averbuch, M. (9 Mar 2020), “'We'll disappear': Thousands of Mexican women strike to protest femicide”, en The Guardian, de: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/09/thousands-mexican-women-protest-violence-murders-femicide-government-inaction

[2] This is established by the Act on Special Cases concerning the punishment, etc. of sexual crimes. Capítulo II, Article 14. Información detallada disponible en: https://elaw.klri.re.kr/eng_service/lawView.do?hseq=40947&lang=ENG

[3] Para más información, consulte el link: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50582338

[4] Algunas de las iniciativas incluyen el „Sistema Nacional para la Prevención, Atención, Sanción y Erradicación de la Violencia contra las Mujeres”, y también esfuerzos coordinados por parte de UNWomen con el “Instituto Mexicano de Mujeres”. Más información disponible en: https://mexico.unwomen.org/es/nuestro-trabajo/eliminar-la-violencia-contra-mujeres-y-ninas 

[5] Más detalles disponibles en: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/03/03/south-koreas-first-feminist-party-launches-on-international-womens-day.html


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Olga Mata

Olga Mata

Hey! I'm Olga, an International Relations undergraduate at Mexican Autonomous Institute of Technology (ITAM). I have a special interest for international politics, gender and environmental studies. I'm a deep conversations fan, constantly questioning, discussing, reading and traveling to find answers. Dancer by heart, world citizen by choice.

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