Mujer & Mujer

Mujer & Mujer is an Ecuadorian lesbian feminist organization based in Guayaquil. It began in 2003 as a women-only group inside the LGBT foundation Famivida, created in 1995 as the first organization of its kind in Guayaquil. On 8 March 2003, Lía Burbano, a Famivida member, organized a meeting exclusively for women that was well received; those present agreed to form a group within Famivida called Mujer & Mujer, making it the first lesbian activist group in the city's history. The group grew to around 60 members and participated in the fifth National Lesbian Encounter in 2005, organized by the Quito-based foundation Causana. It took part independently in Guayaquil's first LGBT Pride March in 2008 and held its first public protest (plantón) demanding rights in 2010. Following disagreements with Famivida's leadership that had begun as early as 2005, the members separated to form their own foundation, which was legally registered in 2013. In 2011, Mujer & Mujer became the first Ecuadorian association to promote the celebration of Lesbian Visibility Day in the country. The following year it held a lesbian photography exhibition at the Museo Antropológico y de Arte Contemporáneo (MAAC) in response to a police repression incident months earlier in Plaza San Francisco. Since 2017, it has been part of a group of LGBT organizations in the city that jointly manage the Casa de la Diversidad, located between Esmeraldas and Nueve de Octubre avenues, which serves as a space for strategic discussion and workshops on gender and sexual diversity, and includes a bar and an LGBT-themed library. The other organizations in the project are Alianza Igualitaria, Caballeros Transmasculinos and Diverso Ecuador. Mujer & Mujer has also promoted social projects, including Efecto Arco Iris, launched in 2019 to support LGBT micro-enterprises in the provinces of Guayas, Santa Elena and Manabí, aiming to foster the community's economic autonomy. According to its official website, the organization describes itself as a space of struggle and resistance to make visible those marginalized within the LGBT movement: lesbians, trans, bisexual, non-binary, working-class, impoverished, Black, Montubio and peasant women. From its feminism, it accompanies, embraces and builds community to transform realities, believing in the leadership of women and LGBTIQ+ people as a tool for change. It works for rights defense, access to health, economic autonomy and political advocacy, amplifying voices and weaving networks for a society where they can be, decide and demand freely. Its areas of work include collaborative networks and local development, community action and human rights defense (with emphasis on the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals), organizational resilience and monitoring and evaluation, and management. The organization's slogan is '¡Libres y Visibles!' (Free and Visible!).

Mujer & Mujer originated within the LGBT foundation Famivida, created in 1995 as the first organization of its kind in Guayaquil. On 8 March 2003, Lía Burbano, a member of Famivida for several years, organized a meeting exclusively for women at the foundation's premises. The meeting was well received, and those present agreed to form a group within Famivida called Mujer & Mujer (the name was chosen on the same day as the initial meeting) to bring together lesbian women. This made them the first lesbian activist group in the city's history. The group grew in the following years, reaching up to 60 members. In 2005, they were invited to the fifth National Lesbian Encounter, organized by the Quito-based foundation Causana. They participated independently in 2008 in the first LGBT Pride March in Guayaquil to be held in the city center, while in 2010 they held their first public protest (plantón) to demand rights. Due to discrepancies with Famivida's leaders, which had begun at least since 2005, the members of Mujer & Mujer decided to separate and form their own foundation. It was legalized in 2013. In 2011, Mujer & Mujer became the first Ecuadorian association to promote the celebration of Lesbian Visibility Day in the country. The following year, it also held a lesbian photography exhibition at the Museo Antropológico y de Arte Contemporáneo (MAAC), as a response to an act of repression by the metropolitan police that they had suffered months earlier in Plaza San Francisco. Since 2017, Mujer & Mujer has been part of the group of LGBT organizations in the city that jointly manage the space called Casa de la Diversidad, located between Esmeraldas and Nueve de Octubre avenues. It functions as a space for strategic discussion and for teaching workshops on gender and sexual diversity, and also has a bar and a library of LGBT-themed books. The other organizations that joined the project were Alianza Igualitaria, Caballeros Transmasculinos and Diverso Ecuador. Mujer & Mujer has also promoted social projects, among them Efecto Arco Iris, which began in 2019 as a way to support micro-enterprises of LGBT people in the provinces of Guayas, Santa Elena and Manabí, with the aim of supporting the community's economic autonomy. According to its official website, the organization describes itself as a space of struggle and resistance to make visible those who have been marginalized within the LGBT movement: lesbians, trans, bisexual, non-binary, working-class, impoverished, Black, Montubio and peasant women. From its feminism, it accompanies, embraces and builds community to transform realities. It believes in the leadership of women and LGBTIQ+ people as a tool for change. It works for the defense of rights, access to health, economic autonomy and political advocacy, amplifying voices and weaving networks for a society where they can be, decide and demand freely. Its slogan is '¡Libres y Visibles!' (Free and Visible!).

• 2019

  Launches Efecto Arco Iris to support LGBT micro-enterprises in Guayas, Santa Elena and Manabí provinces.

• 2017

  Becomes part of the group of LGBT organizations jointly managing the Casa de la Diversidad in Guayaquil.

• 2013

  The foundation is legally registered after separating from Famivida.

• 2012

  Holds a lesbian photography exhibition at the Museo Antropológico y de Arte Contemporáneo (MAAC) in response to a police repression incident months earlier in Plaza San Francisco.

• 2011

  Becomes the first Ecuadorian association to promote the celebration of Lesbian Visibility Day in the country.

• 2010

  Holds its first public protest (plantón) to demand rights.

• 2008

  Participates independently in the first LGBT Pride March in Guayaquil to be held in the city center.

• 2005

  Invited to the fifth National Lesbian Encounter organized by the Quito-based foundation Causana.

• 2003

  On 8 March, Lía Burbano organizes a women-only meeting within Famivida; the group Mujer & Mujer is formed, becoming the first lesbian activist group in Guayaquil.

Lesbian feminist organization focused on the rights of women and LGBTIQ+ people in Ecuador, with an emphasis on visibility, community building and economic autonomy.

1. 1Home - Mujer & Mujermujerymujer.org.ec
2. 2Mujer & Mujer - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Mujer & Mujer - Wikipedia (Spanish)es.wikipedia.org