“Female” Assembly generates optimism in Ecuadorian women

Marcela Aguinaga, Rossana Alvarado, and Gabriela Rivadeneira

For the first time in history, main authorities of the Council of Legislative Administration (CAL) will be women, as Gabriela Rivadeneira who will occupy the Presidency; Rosana Alvarado, first Vice President; and Marcela Aguinaga, the second Vice Presidency. In addition, this organism will have equality between men and women participation, because 40.14% of the 137 seats will be filled by women.

This generates optimism in the persons who have been responsible to manage organizations that fight for the rights of women, because they hope the women legislators may hear and, above all, process legislative proposals that can solve some of the problems that women are facing in Ecuador.

The requests are aiming, mostly, to reduce gender violence in the country and increase access to social security.

The founder of the network of Popular education among women (Repem), Rocío Rosero, and the representative of UN women in Ecuador, Lucía Salamea, celebrate the fact that the former legislature established femicide in the Integral Criminal Organic Code, because it will be punished with imprisonment  who murder a woman “because of being so”, says the text.

Lucía Salamea also stressed that one of the positive legacies of the former legislature was the creation of the parliamentary group of women’s rights, which was formed on October 22 of 2009 as a bridge between civil society and the Assembly.