Clara Membrilla, an activist, researcher, traveler, and History Professor of the Universidad Nacional del Sur, Argentina visited UkrLife.TV and shared her experience of being part of the feminist movement in Latin America. She says that nowadays abortion ban and reducing violence against women are the most important issues for the feminist movement in LA.
Professor Membrilla also expressed her views on the roots of the protest campaign #NiUnaMenos, which sparked as an answer to the brutal murder of 16-year-old Lucia Perez in Argentina. Clara says that Latin American society is saturated with violence against women, so protests are the sign of complaint of how machists are the state apparatus and judicial system.

'The movement, among other things, is aimed at showing the lack of legal protection which structures are closed and unavailable for real democratic influence. Therefore, even the most progressive laws may be either abolished by the next government, or used partially. So this movement women experience when they face machist reality,' says Clara. 'However, I am quite skeptical about the effect of any legal changes, especially in Latin America, where governmental should always be active to support the implementation of relevant legislation in defense of women,' says Clara.

Tha fact that only in four countries across Latin America abortions are allowed shows how widespread the problem of violence against women is.

'In the majority of Latin American states abortions are not only illegal, but people who are involved in the process are criminally punished. Therefore, women are just objects to legislative system. Our bodies do not belong to us; our bodies belong to law and governments,' argues Professor Clara Membrilla.

Clara also explained her views on the reasons that lead to violence against women. She argues that violence is an inherent part of the power structure in Latin America.

'We can trace violence against women during the last 500 years recognizing how power is constructed through genocide, and how upper class is consolidated around violent and oppressive so-called traditional values. Also, violence is deeply embedded in the economic system that always leaves people in poorest conditions to live. So violence is, basically, everywhere,' emphasizes Clara Membrilla.

More discussions on the union between nationalism and feminism, catastrophic ecocide, prospects of global social movements, and many other things, in the full version of the interview.