We all women activist are the Epaya’a Waleker

The CEDAW Week 2011

Dear women from all parts of the world.  Dear students of the Women Human Rights Institute, dear Alda, Angela, Angelita, Martha…

I want to call to this space, fist of all, to epaya’a Waleker one of the ancestor of my people.  Epaya’a symbolize in Wayuunaiki, the language of Wayuu people, a Wayuu woman who works together with other women, in order to change our stories. Waleker, is the female spirit of the spider, who has built the world of Wayuu indigenous people. 

During the past two weeks, we women have came from some parts of the world to share several opinions, attitudes, beliefs, thoughts and even, most of the time, dreams.  Yes, I think definitely the reason why we all women came from all parts of this fascinating world, is because our dreams for changing the reality of all Walekers, those female spirits, those women that are inhabitants of the Earth.  

We dream about a justice world were women will not be attacked for our culture, religion, for our color, or for our beliefs.  We dream about a just society where women will not be oppress, subjugated and discriminated.  We all, women that are here, we dream with a rightful Earth, where we will get equality and truth recognition. 

Some times, we think we dream to much for changing, and some times, as I said yesterday, we feel exhausted because we find so many obstacles in our path, but what we are doing here, is trying to support, in the hard work for building that web, that marvelous and dedicated web, all the struggles that some other epaya’a Waleker started years, decades, centuries or even lifetimes ago, for demanding rights for all women around the world.

Epaya’a Waleker, the female spirit of the spider signifies for Wayuu people, patience, concentration and dedication.  When we dream about epaya’a Waleker, she is announcing to us happiness, good things that are coming, and some times, she can prevent us about betrayal and destiny of future days, or life. Epaya’a Waleker gives to us the potency we need for continue, with our feet, on the Earth, and also she gives to us the wisdom to understand when we must speak up or when we must remain silent.

Changes are inevitable, growth is intentional, but for getting success about what we dream for women, we need to work hard, and even when terrible things are happening in terms of violence or injustices that affect mainly women, we must keep walking, supporting each other, and that is what the epaya’a do until the end of time, even when we live different lifes or when we are stepping different territories, and even when we don’t have the same perspective, we must be in solidarity among epaya’a.

And we are here for those transformations in terms of women’s rights to happen, but we all are also here for realized that those renovation cannot take place if we don’t look back to our ancestors as epaya’a Waleker, thinking about the future, but also always remembering that nothing we do will be triumphant if we do not protect the greatest woman that gave birth to all humanity, and all steep we walk, all inhalation we breath, all think we thought, must be dedicated to that supreme woman, our Mother Earth. 

May 16, 2011

Welcome words

The CEDAW Week

WHRI - Women Human Rights Institute

University of Toronto

Canada