WUNRN
The Maya
peoples constitute a diverse range of the Native American peoples of
southern Mexico
and northern Central America.
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Guatemala:
Creating Opportunities for Mayan Adolescent Girls
Guatemala’s population is among the poorest, least-educated, youngest, and fastest growing in all of Latin America. Even within this setting of overall deprivation, there is great heterogeneity in well-being, with young Mayan females bearing a triple burden of disempowerment because of their age, gender, and ethnicity.
Mayan girls continue to lead lives similar to those of their mothers and grandmothers, characterized initially by early school-leaving, which sets in motion an all-too-common script: early marriage, social isolation, arduous domestic and childcare burdens, limited decisionmaking power within and outside the family, gender-based violence, and frequent pregnancies.
This study uses a variety of methods to explore the needs of Mayan adolescents: (1) analysis of two nationally representative surveys; (2) design and implementation of a qualitative study in four rural highland Mayan communities; and (3) a review of national programs and policies pertaining to adolescent issues.
Selected results indicate that while school enrollment and educational attainment are low overall, Mayan females are the most disadvantaged in this regard. The incidence of dropout for this group is highest between ages 12 and 15—when the transition from primary to more geographically distant secondary school occurs and when puberty begins, with the latter raising parents’ fears that their daughters will become pregnant. The coincidence of these factors severely increases girls’ social isolation. Although most female sexual activity occurs within marriage, pregnancy follows quickly after union so that half of newly married young women are expected to have a repeat pregnancy within two years.
One of the key questions now being addressed is how the situation of Mayan girls can be improved in poorly resourced rural communities, which are often located great distances from health services and schools. In the absence of large increases in public support for rural health and education, Council researchers hypothesize that a feasible response entails the provision of basic skills (such as literacy, numeracy, Spanish-language proficiency, livelihood and life skills, age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health care, and leadership) delivered through socially supportive mechanisms involving parents and community leaders.
A pilot intervention was designed and is now being implemented and evaluated in collaboration with FESIRGUA (the Guatemalan Federation of Reproductive and Child Health), a well-established multisectoral network of Mayan nongovernmental organizations. Indigenous young women aged 17–20 receive training and spend half their time working with professional adult mentors and the other half serving as role models and conducting activities to meet the needs of younger girls aged 12–15, their mothers, and other important stakeholders at the community level.
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