The Election of New President Xiomara Castro Renews Honduran Women’s Hope In Their Country

On January 27, Xiomara Castro was sworn into office, becoming the first woman president in Honduran history. What’s more, Castro received the most votes of any presidential candidate in Honduran democratic election history. This election is meaningful in a country in which women are not only not equally represented in government — only 21% of parliamentarians in the nation’s Congress are female — but in which women face many serious issues. For example, Honduras has one of the highest femicide rates in Latin America; every 21 hours, a Honduran woman is murdered — a problem that has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic during which women were forced into confinement with their aggressors. Approximately 20,000 reports of domestic violence are received annually in the country, and a sexual assault is reported every three hours. Honduras is also one of the only countries in Latin America where abortion is forbidden in all cases, including rape and incest, and has the second-highest teenage pregnancy rate in Latin America.

But just because Castro is a woman, can Hondurans expect more political action on these issues?

Castro has a government program called “Genero: nada sobre nosotras, sin nosotras,” or “Gender: nothing about us, without us,” that calls attention to gender issues in Honduras. The program’s website reports the recent increase in femicide and domestic abuse rates and condemns the recent approval of a new Criminal Code that reduces the penalties for violent crimes against women. The program also blames patriarchy for the low participation of women in public service, since this system limits the recognition of women as political and social subjects. During her campaign, Castro presented to the National Electoral Council of Honduras a Feminist Policy of Equal Opportunities and Equity, a document to firm up her commitment to fight structural gender inequalities, especially regarding female representation in politics.

The text of her government plan also explains that teenage pregnancy impacts the education of thousands of young Honduran women, who frequently end up quitting school. “Feminist movements for decades have been fighting to introduce a comprehensive sex education policy in the curriculum, which is also needed to protect members of diversity,” the text states, adding, “however, this policy has been stopped due to the presence of extreme religious right groups in decision-making spaces.” Castro vows to approve and implement comprehensive sexual education that “first and foremost teaches respect for the other” at all educational levels. The program also plans to facilitate the distribution, sale, and use of PAE, a drug that can stop fertilization in its first hours.

Although Castro’s program criticizes the lack of legal abortion access in Honduras, the plan proposes decriminalizing abortion only under three circumstances: in the case of rape, in the case that the woman’s life is at risk, and in the case that fetal malformations could threaten the woman’s life. While not an ideal proposal regarding abortion rights, the proposal is a step toward a better future on this issue.

Beyond her own pledges, it’s worth looking to the Hondurans who campaigned for her to determine how she may govern. Many Honduran women’s groups and organizations, such as the Center of Women’s Rights, the Women’s Forum for Life, Women Defenders Net, and We Are Many formed a coalition to support Castro. Neesa Medina, a Honduran feminist activist member of the We Are Many movement, said in an interview that it had been years since she had felt a shred of hope that her country could move toward social justice and equal rights for women. “The immediate effect of Xiomara’s election is to wake up with hope,” Medina said. “There are people who decided to suspend their plans to migrate because they know that the woman who will take power will do it differently from what the last governments have been doing.”

On the other hand, Bertha Zúniga Cárcere, the daughter of Bertha Cárcere, the most well-known indigenous activist in Honduras (who was murdered in 2016), was less enthusiastic about Castro’s government. “It is important that for the first time in the history of Honduras, there is a woman president in one of the most sexist countries without a doubt in the region, and it is good that she has already made a commitment to women’s rights,” she said. “Let’s see how much progress is made, but also in this sense, how much we will be able to defend our proposals and our demands.”

It remains to be seen whether all the support Castro has received, as well as her own promises, will be enough to advance women’s rights in a country that is still conservative and has experienced setbacks during its last government, such as the prohibition of abortion in all cases and of equal marriage. But ultimately, we have to trust Castro. As she said in her first speech as president, “Older people, people living with disabilities, children and youth, indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples, and the LGBTI+ community will all have a place and precise attention” within her government. She also spoke directly to Honduran women, saying, “I will not fail you, I will defend your rights, all your rights. Count on me.”