Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has declared 2025 the "year of the indigenous woman," aiming to tackle centuries of inequality by empowering indigenous women across the country.

Guachochi

Mexico has designated 2025 as the year of the indigenous woman, aiming to spotlight the contributions and struggles of indigenous women, who have long faced poverty and discrimination. Dr. Benilda Figueroa, the first medical doctor from the Rarámuri community, exemplifies these challenges and successes, having overcome significant obstacles to serve her people in remote northern villages.

President Claudia Sheinbaum's initiative seeks to address the high poverty rate among indigenous women and promote gender equality. Despite progress, many indigenous women still encounter cultural and societal barriers, but role models like Dr. Figueroa are inspiring a new generation to pursue education and professional careers.

Mexico marks 2025 as Year of the Indigenous Woman

It's the start of another seemingly ordinary night shift for 41-year-old Benilda Figueroa. But as the first medical doctor to ever come from Mexico's Rarámuri indigenous people, her life has been anything but ordinary. The Rarámuri are the largest indigenous community of northern Mexico. They are mostly impoverished and live in villages along the Sierra Madre mountains. Across her career, Dr. Figueroa has faced more obstacles than most to reach this point. Poverty, discrimination and prejudice. I remember as a child when doctors would come to our community, they wouldn't speak the local language and it would be difficult for patients to understand what they had or how they should take their medications. I remember knowing then I wanted to become a doctor and come back here to help my people. An improbable dream at the time for a young girl from a remote village of 300 people. But Benilda defied the odds. After years of study in the state capital, she returned home and for the last 15 years has been a constant presence at the local public hospital. Rarámuri communities are known for being extremely isolated and lacking most basic services. It could take someone here hours to reach the nearest hospital and when they do, there's a language barrier to deal with which could keep them from receiving the right treatment. And that's why having someone like Dr. Benilda is such an invaluable resource for people in these communities. Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum designated 2025 the year of the indigenous woman, a group historically neglected by the Mexican government. In Mexico, 70% of indigenous women live in poverty. There's still work to be done. The thinking in some of our communities is still that women should be doing work in the home instead of going out to school. And in other families, even if women do study, when they get to the cities, they feel rejected by society, especially if they wear their traditional dress. Dr. Benilda's own inspiration came from her mother, who worked as a rural nurse and translator in her native community. I'm so happy and proud of her accomplishments. I hope many more Rarámuri women work hard to follow in her footsteps. They already are. At least two other Rarámuri women have become doctors in recent years. Quietly, Dr. Benilda has blazed a trail for the next generation of Mexico's indigenous women. Julia Galeano, Aljazeera, Guachochi, Mexico.

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