On Thursday, December 16 we presented the book "Más que Juanitas” (More than Juanitas, which collects the perspectives of various groups of women in Chile regarding social rights and offers a series of minimum standards to ensure that these rights are guaranteed with a gender perspective in the new Constitution.

The volume also includes a “checklist”, which contains a series of key elements to assess whether the new fundamental charter offers a framework for action to advance towards substantive equality and non-discrimination against women.

The activity was carried out in a hybrid format, with a face-to-face event at Colunga Hub, located at Bustamante 26, Santiago de Chile, broadcasted live through Zoom.

Our Executive Director Magdalena Sepúlveda who is also former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights commented on the book at the event.

“One important way to address the gender inequality is warranting economic, social and cultural rights with a gender lens in the new Constitution. However, this demands to leave behind the gender stereotypes that have reduced the experiences of women and girls in Chile. One of them is “Señora Juanita” (Mrs. Juanita). This set of elements points to overcoming these barriers and is based on numerous grassroots organisations and movements ”.

Tatiana Urrutia, a member of Chile’s Constitutional Convention who attended the GI-ESCR’s book launch, praised this work:

“I want to thank this initiative because it picks the discussion among the feminist members of the Constitutional Convention, who are committed to transforming all these demands into specific regulations that will allow changing the lives of women and queer people, who are the majority in this country”.