Although it has legalized abortion for cases of sexual violence for more than 70 years, Brazil witnessed, in the last week, an act of disregard against this right carried out by the judiciary.
The attempt by a judge and a prosecutor to convince an 11-year-old child not to undergo the procedure caused reactions across the country, especially from organizations fighting for women’s rights.
“Society has not seen these issues related to women’s sexual and reproductive rights as a right for a long time. This is increasingly being attacked. It becomes a country that abhors women, women’s lives”, warned Letícia Rocha from the Catholics for the Right to Decide organization, in an interview with the program well livingda Radio Brasil de Fato.
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She spoke about the setbacks in the agenda and the obstacles that the debate faces in Brazil, reinforced by religious discourse and public power, “in Brazil after the coup of the last six years, we have never experienced such tough years in terms of women’s rights.” women.”
Read highlights of the interview below or listen in full on the audio player below the title of this article.
historical taboo
“It’s not an easy topic. It is necessary to understand the processes and make a rescue. In Latin America and the Caribbean we were colonized and colonized by Europeans. Being a woman here has undergone several changes in the course of time.”
“These changes have affected the way of being a woman, the way of understanding being a woman. This has been going on since the colonial period. Women suffer these harmful conditions and this has been moving forward. All this with the aura of Catholicism.”
“It’s been 70 years since this legalization took place, and it’s still something that nobody wants to talk about, something that people are afraid of. You have to understand that abortion has always been practiced by women in the history of society.”
Origins of Prejudice
“The question behind it, first, is why they are women and the patriarchal, sexist and misogynist society has women as subservient and submissive. Women have no right over their own body, their life, they have no right to decide. “
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“The second point is the religious issue. We are in an extremely Christian country. Religion in Christian churches also contributes to this non-discussion. So that abortion remains a taboo subject. Religion has a form of manipulation in which religious women themselves , who feed on this sacred, are unable to pay attention to it and see that it also produces harm on their own lives. It is through society itself and also through religion, which brings this idea of the inconceivable.”
Christian value
“The preservation of women’s lives is totally Christian. We are feminists and we are also Catholics. We are here fighting for life, so that all women, without exception, have life and more and more life.”
“It is contradictory to say that Jesus wants a full life for everyone to see actions like this, which, to a certain extent, are taking the life of a child (referring to the case of the girl who was denied her right in Santa Catarina).”
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“What we are witnessing in Brazil is a horror to women’s lives. Here we have a war against women’s lives. Watching this girl’s case was absurd and totally supported by religious. We need to be clear that, until the last month, it is an interruption and not a birth. What disrespect is this to the life and rights of women, in every way?”
advances and obstacles
“Much has already been done. But it is a path that also includes setbacks in this history. In 70 years, if we think about the legalization of violence, feminists have also made an interesting path.”
“Today, we have Catholics who have this agenda that crosses us in our daily work. But there are other groups, also religious, who see the need to guide this theme. A lot is being done and with a lot of struggle.”
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“Society itself has also made progress, because it has also expanded rights a little more. We also see in the health field, professionals who are open to the subject. We have these openings, but on the other hand, we have very complicated forces.”
“In post-coup Brazil, we’ve never had such tough years in terms of sexual and reproductive rights. It’s wanting an extermination of the lives of women and girls, a withdrawal of fundamental rights. From now on, we have to think about the future and We have a lot of work for the next few years. Because we have to restore these rights and rebuild.”
Editing: Rodrigo Durao Coelho
