international day of the mujer

Today, UAC-CP students reminded me, is International Women's Day.  It's a day set aside to celebrate the economic, political, and social achievements of women...past, present, and future!

Recent UAC-CP nursing graduates Chela Gemio and Micaela Soliz.  

Equal rights and opportunities for women still lag behind that of male counterparts...and that's especially true here in Bolivia.  In today's Sunday edition of La Razon, in fact, there was an article about a recent survey in El Alto (the urban slum surrounding the capital city of La Paz) which reported that domestic violence overwhelming negates a woman's sexual and reproductive rights. 

A female veterinary science student in the laboratory.

So it's not surprising that opportunities for young women, particularly poor, indigenous women from the rural area, are few.  For that reason, the UAC-CP is particularly proud that here women make up 53 percent of the student body and 52 percent of UAC-CP graduates are women.  

These numbers give us a special reason to celebrate today--a celebration of all the women who, despite incredible challenges above and beyond those faced by women in the developed world, have received their undergraduate degrees.  And a celebration of all the young women who will have the opportunity to come and study here in the future.