Meet Bolivia's indigenous women wrestlers who are fighting for gender equality

Polonia Ana Choque Silvestre, better known by her stage name of Carmen Rosa, was one of Bolivia's first female wrestlers.

"Essentially the men didn’t want us to wrestle," said Rosa, better known as La Campoena: The Champion."And also the women like us, our Aymara sisters said ‘why? This sport is for men.’" Like WWE or Mexican wrestling , it’s all part of the show; these women are trained performers, with the younger generation starting as early as age 15. Matches typically have a “good” and “bad” character who battle theatrically.

When wrestling promoter Juan Mamani announced men and women would train together, there was a lot of resistance. “The men, the wrestlers said, ‘Ah what is the use of these women, they’re for the kitchen and nothing more, with their pollera – what are they going to do?’ And I believe it was these words that pushed Carmen Rosa” in 2001, she recalled.

In July, Bolivia’s government declared gender killings a national priority as the number of femicides– the killing of a woman by a man - in the first half of 2019 was the equivalent of one woman being killed every two days. Half of the violent acts take place in indigenous communities, according to 2017 figures from the government. After their show on Sundays, cholita wrestlers teach self-defense moves to local women who attend the matches.

“There has been a lot of empowerment for cholitas in La Paz,” explained Denys Sanjines, organizer of Cholitas Wrestling, part of the Bolivian Wrestling Association. “30 years ago, these ladies only two roles in society: to be housekeepers or ladies selling things on the streets. But with a revolution of culture and a new generation of open mindedness in Bolivia, now we have cholita politicians, cholita journalists, cholita mountain guides and everything.

Lol mexico has women wrestlers, are they not also fighting for gender equality Or is this a bs story by abc set to apease feminist.

Very confusing headline.. So is this a man? I can tell where this disfunction is headed😋

Referring to human beings as indigenous is racist

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Meet Charli D'Amelio, TikTok's newest viral teen celebrityCharli D'Amelio's TikTok account has exploded in the last several months, with her lip sync and dance videos accruing millions of views and more than 6.2 million followers Pulitzer worthy news, Epstein for sure he would like
Source: NBCNews - 🏆 10. / 86 Read more »

Meet the bone-crunching dinosaur that replaced its teeth every two monthsA species of carnivorous dinosaur that once roamed Madagascar 70 million years ago was so tough on its teeth that they needed to be replaced frequently, according to a new study. Like a shark? They found it was cheaper to go to Mexico and have it done. Still better dental hygiene than the brits
Source: CNN - 🏆 4. / 95 Read more »

The Crown, Season 3: Meet Erin Doherty, aka Princess AnneThe Crown star Erin Doherty tells all about filming the series, building onscreen relationships, and her character’s scandalous arc with Andrew Parker Bowles. Good casting lol, I thought it was the Princess Royal for a second.
Source: VogueRunway - 🏆 705. / 51 Read more »

ET returns to Earth to meet grown-up Elliott in Sky's blockbuster Xmas advertET returns to Earth in Sky's blockbuster Xmas ad to reunite with grown-up Elliot and meet his family, including his young son
Source: Mirror Celeb - 🏆 476. / 51 Read more »

Oil steady amid muted Thanksgiving trade and ahead of OPEC+ meetOil prices were steady on Friday in quiet trade with the U.S. Thanksgiving holid...
Source: Reuters - 🏆 2. / 97 Read more »

'WCTH': Meet the Twins Who Play Baby Jack During Their First InterviewMeet Gunnar and Lincoln Taylor, the twin babies who play Baby Jack on 'WCTH.' Watch as they take over Erin Krakow's interview!
Source: etnow - 🏆 696. / 51 Read more »