By Emilienne de León
Last month, Mexican writer Elena Poniatowska received the Cervantes prize in Spain. This is the most important award that any writer can receive in the Spanish language. It is similar to the Nobel Prize for Literature.
She is the fourth woman and the first Mexican woman to receive this award since 1976 when the prize was first given; 35 men have received the prize too.
Poniatowska, who will speak in Chicago Thursday at the National Museum of Mexican Art, received many congratulations from all over the world and Mexican President Enrique Pe
ñ
a Nieto Tweeted her his congratulations.
I think she deserved much more acknowledge from the Mexican government. But the question is why have only four women received the Cervantes prize?
Poniatowska’s work has embodied social justice for women with
“
Hasta no Verte Jesus M
í
o,
“
and the iconic character, Jesusa Palancares, a woman who fought in the Mexican Revolution. She also wrote
“
Las Siete Cabritas,
“
a book of biographies of seven groundbreaking Mexican women. Her most famous book perhaps is
“
La Noche de Tlaltelolco,
“
documenting the massacre of students by military and police before the 1968 Olympics.
However, she is one among a small group of women Mexican writers and we need more. We should support the #readwomen2014 campaign to read women writers. We need to increase the presence of women in the literature and the media in general.
But as Poniatowska shows us women’s voices are often overlooked.
In the U.S., around 20 percent of opeds or opinion pieces are written by women, according to The OpEd Project.
In Mexico, only 16 percent of writers, journalists and artists are women.
Hopefully this will change as more women earn an education in Mexico.
Around 54 percent of women in Mexico complete a bachelor’s degree compared to 46 percent of men, according to government figures. And 63 percent of those earning doctorate degrees in Mexico are women.
There is a proverb in Spanish that says
“
del dicho al hecho hay largo trecho,
“
or “from the saying to the doing is a long distance.”
We could argue that women are so busy working and dealing with the family and house that they are overloaded. We could argue that women prefer to be doers rather than thinkers. Or we could say that media and editorials are run by men and don’t want to include more women’s voices.
But none of that stopped Poniatowska, a prolific writer with more than 50 books and collections plus countless articles.
I
‘
ve been in the field of women
‘
s rights for more than 25 years and over the past 15 years have mobilized resources and money for women to create better conditions for their families and communities.
Poniatowska
‘
s award made me reflect how important is to have a woman like her who began as a journalist who became an amazing observer of the Mexican reality. She has documented the lives of student protesters, earthquake victims, workers and more. She has told the stories of women real and fictional and how they have shaped Mexican society.
Poniatowska inspires me and many other women. It is time for more women to write.
Emilienne de León is the Executive Director of the International Network of Women
‘
s Funds (INWF) that has 42 member organizations all over the world. She lives in Mexico City and has managed millions of dollars in funds to support women’s rights at the grassroots level. This piece was written in association with The OpEd Project.
