This year in Calheta de Sao Miguel, Cape Verdean women’s day was celebrated on March 29th. During the previous two weeks I went around Sao Miguel taking pictures of the life of women; and so there was a small exhibit of the pictures that I had taken as you walk into the conference room. The Expo was named “Exposição de dia a dia de Mulheres de São Miguel.”
It was a Saturday and the Social development part of the Câmara, a Peace Corps volunteer (me), and 70 women and 6 men came together for an open forum about the problem of Domestic Violence. The discussion began with what was considered harassment, the different forms of harassment, and then different forms of abuse. It stayed on task for the most part, but the conversation inevitably led to gender roles in Cape Verde and how women and men do not see each other as equals in marriage and in the home. “Machismo” and relationships outside of marriages was also a hot topic. The few men in the crowd actually did voice their opinions which helped add fuel to the conversation. It also helped to have “real-time” examples such as stories people knew about from around Sao Miguel, as well as the much talked and reported about stories on the news concerning domestic violence in Praia and Assomada. At one point the president of the Camara showed up to say “happy women’s day” to the women there and also to give a very short talk on women’s roles in development. The forum was concluded with a very prideful and excited Batuk presentation and then lunch was served outside.
