Inter-American Parliamentary Group on Population and Development

I come from a humble family from the countryside; my mother, a domestic worker, and my father, a laborer, never went to school because there were no public services in the region where we lived. They had 13 children.

My family, like thousands of others, suffered the effects of social and economic injustice. Unfortunately, when I was very young, my family and I lived in a community where many human rights violations occurred. It was there, defending my life and our rights, that I learned to fight for other people as well as myself, and I began to understand that the rights to own land, to dignified work, to education and to health are inalienable rights belonging to all people.

While I struggled to survive I experienced much pain and suffering, accusations, abuse, torture and the deaths of my loved ones. The armed conflict, which lasted almost 12 years and ended the lives of thousands of people and displaced thousands, taught me that poverty is devastating and that its effects stay with us throughout our lives.

My family and I survived displacement, hunger, bombings and almost constant military persecution. The war destroyed my family; my father was murdered and 8 of my 13 brothers and sisters died as a result of the armed conflict in El Salvador.

My personal experience marked the history and future of our family —even at such a young age I understood the importance of life and that human rights are worth any sacrifice. The suffering I lived through taught me the real meaning of solidarity and commitment to those who need it most: the poorest and dispossessed. I am also a mother, and it has motivated me even more to work so that my children and future generations can live in a dignified, just, prosperous and egalitarian country, where everyone’s most basic rights are respected.

Since I was 14 years old, I have dedicated my life to making the world a more just and equal place. As an active member of my political party, the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN in Spanish), I had the important responsibility of organizing and strengthening the work of youth in my country and of women politicians in my party. Now that I am a parliamentarian for the FMLN in the Legislative Assembly in El Salvador, I am committed to human rights and especially women’s rights. At this time, I truly believe that our countries can change: it is a question of assuming individual responsibility and a greater social and political commitment. Our countries must recognize that women and youth deserve a standard of development that allows them and their families to live in dignity.

In my experience as human rights activist in my community, I learned about women’s vulnerability, not only because many women lack adequate health care, but also due to the lack of education and basic information. For example, I have what many girls do not have: access to education. I graduated with a degree in communications, and two years ago I received my master’s in social development.

In El Salvador, women are dying from hemorrhages, infections, cervical and uterine cancer, and pregnant women are dying by committing suicide. These are all preventable deaths. We must adopt public policies with a gender perspective and that promote respect for women’s right to health, such as access to appropriate and timely reproductive health services, access to family planning, access to information and sex education, and to safe motherhood. There are national and international instruments, which protect these rights and have been adopted by governments to improve the quality of the lives of women and youth such as the Cairo Program of Action and the Millennium Development Goals.

As public officials, we are obligated and must be committed to working and supporting every initiative and international agreement that has as its goal the promotion of women’s rights and the rights of people in general. It is impossible to speak of achieving the Millennium Development Goals without first eradicating extreme poverty and hunger. In our countries, acting with full responsibility and a commitment to population and development and sexual and reproductive health issues must be a priority.

I am proud and honored to work, together with my parliamentarian colleagues, nationally and internationally, to make social justice, equality and gender issues an essential part of a comprehensive agenda within a human rights framework. My personal experience has given meaning to my life and has strengthened my desire for peace and social justice for all, and my willingness to face all challenges, no matter how difficult.