Discrimination Against Indigenous Women

An interesting story about an anti-discrimination lawsuit in Nicaragua caught my eye this morning. Although it starts with a somewhat arbitrary anecdote about not being let into a club, the article then starts listing some nearly insurmountable odds for indigenous women in Nicaragua.

As with many women of color, these Nicaraguan indigenous women often have to chose which "part" of them is being discriminated against, although more than likely both non-white/male characteristics are equally as damning. The hierarchy of indigenous community leaders is almost completely male, as are those of the university, governmental, and corporate worlds. Women are openly discriminated against based on their city of origin, the university from which they graduated, and the accent with which they speak Spanish.