interesting conversation

I had a very interesting conversation with one of the Guatemalan ladies that I’ve known for a long time.  I was telling her how men and women should be equal and respect each other.  Then she goes, “whatever you believe is the way in your country.  Here is different.  Men get their ways most of the times and women suffer.  I work, feed my family, wash my husband’s clothes, cook for him, and still he gets mad at me often and sometimes he can be violent.”

What was frustrating with this conversation is how she simply accepts this.  I asked her why she doesn’t do anything about it.  She just says “that’s how it is. I just try to please him so that I won’t have problems.” Coming from Japan, I do understand the concept of it, but not doing anything… I don’t get it.  Maybe I am naïve. 

What I noticed here is a negative image of single mothers.  They pity children without fathers even though they have a wonderful mother and grandmother taking care of them.   Because of the fear of becoming a single mother, many women accept the fact that their husbands have another woman with children, can be violent, and don’t contribute financially.  I am not saying it is how it is for everybody, but I observed cases like this a lot in Guatemala.  And this attitude gets passed down to daughters, who often get married to a person who is similar to their fathers.   I strongly feel like education for women is very important in Guatemala.