Mexican women in at least one part of the country are taking the safety of their communities into their own hands.
Over 100 women have signed up be members of a local self defense force.
The women will be trained on the use of firearms and will work to guard their town in shifts of twelve people.
The women will be armed from a pool of about 80 firearms that they will use during their shifts. The guns appear to mostly be hunting rifles and shotguns. This makes them significantly outgunned by cartels and organized crime who don’t follow Mexico’s strict gun control laws and carry semi-auto and fully automatic rifles.
“I trust that the people, once they know that the women are participating,” will provide more weapons, Jimenez said.
Women were among the biggest supporters when the community self-defense forces were being formed, telling men that “either you join or I join,” Jimenez said.
“Women are brave and we are capable of defending our town,” said Silvia Hipolito, a mother of two who joined the self-defense group.
The group in charge of the self defense group, the Union of Peoples and Organizations of Guerrero State, or UPOEG was created in January of this year to help fight the growing violent crime problem in some Mexican states.
The members of the groups carry guns and wear hoods to protect their identities.