Edomex,
a state in Mexico located near Mexico City, is currently the most dangerous
place to be a female in Mexico. Late last month, the remains of 14-year-old Diane
Angelica Castañeda Fuentes were finally laid to rest. Fuentes was on her
way to a friend’s house on September 7, 2013 when she disappeared in the city
of Ecatepec. Her remains were eventually discovered in the Great Canal of
Ecatepec. This seems to be a common occurrence in the state of Edomex. In 2011
and 2012, over 1200 girls and women were reported missing, 53% of them were
between the ages of 10 and 17.
During this time, over 400 women were murdered and their mutilated bodies
were displayed in public places and it’s believed these acts are associated with
gender hate crimes. A similar situation happened between 1993-2005, 379 women
were murdered in the city Ciudad Juárez. Protests and media coverage brought on
a new legislation in the state. However, 10 times as many women have been
murdered in Edomex in just a year’s time, most of them go unreported and unnoticed
by the outside world.
The authorities received a tip off and searched the Great
Canal of Ecatepec and recovered the remains of 40-60 bodies. This is how they
came across the remains of Fuentes. Mexico doesn’t have a national DNA
databank, so thousands of unidentified bodies are buried. Since 2010, there has
been a coalition of 43 groups that have documented and petitioned for awareness
of gender-based violence. However, government officials say they need more
proof that these cases are related to gender based violence and they have “more
important issues to deal with”.
It saddens me that the Mexican government isn’t doing more
to bring justice to women in Mexico. Personally, I think these crimes are
definitely related to gender-based violence crimes. They have “more important
issues to deal with”, but this seems like it has been an ongoing issue and it
will continue to happen unless the government steps in.
Ashley Casmirri
4/17/15
6:00 PM
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