UN Women civil society partners in Ecuador tell their stories

What does it take for a woman in Ecuador to become a women’s rights activist? How is her life different as a result? What motivated her to become politically active? And what are some of the challenges and contradictions she faces?

Poverty and gender inequality have multiple faces in Ecuador: 60.6 per cent of women in the country have experienced some form of gender violence; one in four has been subjected to sexual violence; women represent only 7.9 per cent of the total number of mayors, and women’s salaries in rural areas are 26 per cent lower than those of men. 

The 9.5-minute video Women Activists in Ecuador: Our stories, our work, our country, produced by UN Women’s Civil Society Section in collaboration with the UN Women country office in Ecuador, weaves together the stories of various members of the UN Women Civil Society Advisory Group in Ecuador. Through a personal lens, it takes look at their lives as women and as gender equality advocates.

Established at the end of 2015, the Civil Society Advisory Group in Ecuador is a body for regular dialogue between UN Women and civil society and a platform to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in the country. Members include eminent Ecuadorian advocates for gender equality and women’s rights, feminists, indigenous leaders and grass-roots leaders of all ages (ranging from 25 to 73 years of age). Their stories serve as vivid illustrations of the fact that for women, the personal is indeed political.