In the municipality of San Juan Chamula in Chiapas, 67 young females from the Nichnamtic community completed their middle school studies; courses offered by the Institute for Adult Education (IEA), but did not receive their diploma in a graduation ceremony.

Not happy with this outcome, these young women decided to send a letter to Governor Manuel Velasco Coello, where they claimed that Domingo Gomez Diaz, the president of the local Board of directors for Water, at a meeting insulted them by saying that "it is shameful that pregnant females go to school, because the only thing that they are good for are to work in the kitchen and in the fields."

This incident happened on May 26 at a meeting where there were about 400 people present, and where a graduation ceremony was proposed to honor those who had completed their middle school studies. Well, this deeply offended Diaz so much that he felt the need to take the microphone to protest, and said that "under no circumstances a graduation ceremony would be held."

After making this comment, the towns people began to riot, including the husbands of these women, who in also added that education is useless.

In the letter these women also argue that these type of comments and actions: "violates our basic right to have access to basic education", and also consider that there must be equal treatment between women and men, who are only seeking to improve their lives to provide a better future and quality of life for their children.

This is not the first time Domingo Gomez Diaz has caused some kind of problem. In 2007 he was imprisoned for being accused of participating in the destruction of an evangelical church.

Besides Gomez Diaz, it is presumed that an assistant, Marcelo Hernandez Lopez, and former mayor, Manuel Gomez Castellanos, who is believed to be the "advisor" to the municipal president, Collazo Sebastian Diaz from the PRI party, are all against the graduation ceremony of these young women.

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Joy.Ruvalcaba@Sandiegored.com

Omar.Martinez@Sandiegored.com