Discussion
Being employed at the maquilas endangers the lives of women. Not only are the working conditions unsafe and the environmental and labor regulations often ignored, but their safety is compromised daily. Women are suffering harassment from their employers or during their transit to their workplace inserts these women in precarious situations (Pantaleo, 2010). The exclusion of Mexican workers and the existing hierarchy in the maquilas have placed women at the bottom. The existing patriarchal values of Mexican society are exacerbated in their place of employment and it is presented in gender violence (Pantaleo, 2010). This violence targets the emotional and physical well-being of these young women.
The existence of maquiladoras and the relaxed regulations that accompany them have created a space focused on the profit of foreign companies that own the maquilas at the expense of women’s safety and sometimes their lives (Sánchez, 2014). Protests and awareness of the issue have not shown the needed results and the lack of follow-through from local authorities allows for the dangers to continue. Between the sexual harassment suffered by their employers, the relaxed labor laws, and low pay the epitome of the violence against women presents itself in the murder and disposal of their bodies in the desert. Many of the bodies are dumped half-dressed with signs of rape and torture (Pantaleo, 2010). Ciudad Juarez is a city that does not protect its women and endangers their lives at their place of employment. Cases often do not get resolved and there is not a lot of attention given to the women who become victims of femicide.
Authorities go as far as to blame some of the victims for their own disappearance (Driver, 2016). City officials often butcher the investigations and do not follow proper procedures during the investigations by not following the leads or taking shortcuts to end them quickly (Cacho, 2020).
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Methodological Approach
- A brief history of feminism and femicide
- NAFTA and other factors that can affect maquiladoras
- Reported Cases of Femicide from Maquiladora Workers
- Discussion
- Limitations and Future Studies
- Conclusion
- Works Cited