Lidia Mayta, the Aymara leader who fights sexist violence in Bolivia by teaching taekwondo

A violent attack on her doorstep three years ago transformed Lidia Mayta, an indigenous Aymara woman, into a self-defense instructor.on taekwondo techniques for women in the city of El Altoin Bolivia.

The attackers who wanted to rob him had already put a rope around his neck, but were scared away by the neighbors. ““I didn’t know how to defend myself, now I try to help other women lose that fear.”this woman from Puerto Chaguaya, on the border with Peru, tells AFP.

Lidia, 56, runs a small shop selling essential goods in her home in El Alto. She first attended the “Warmi Power” courses (“warmi” means woman in Aymara), a company that trains women in taekwondo to defend themselves from violence, especially sexist violence. And then she became a monitor.

Bolivia records four murders for every one hundred thousand inhabitants, according to the State Observatory for Citizen Security.

“We are not the most insecure country in the region, “But we are a violent country against women.”says Lucía Vargas, member of the feminist organization Coordinadora de la Mujer.

According to government data, eight out of ten women, girls and adolescents in Bolivia have suffered some type of violence at least once in their lives.

In 2023, more than 51,000 women reported violence39,000 of them referred to partners, husbands and domestic partners as aggressors.

Lidia Mayta assures that Warmi Power makes her feel “like a leader, an activist and with the strength to spread learning to other women.”

As an indigenous leader – she is the health secretary of her community in Puerto Chaguaya – Lidia was invited to join the team three years ago to facilitate communication with Aymara speaking women.

Warmi Power, a project by Bolivian taekwondo teachers Laura Roca and Kimberly Nosa, both black belts, was launched in 2015. In sessions that use elements of group therapy, all kinds of women learn martial art. Specific seminars are regularly held for indigenous populations, many of whom are migrants who, in addition to sexist violence, suffer discrimination when they arrive in the city.

“Violence cannot be resolved with violence, but learning to defend ourselves can save our lives“says Kimberley.

Laura’s father, who is also a psychologist, told her that taekwondo is only for men, but she insisted and together with Kimberly they have already trained more than 35,000 women in different corners of Bolivia.

Dressed in their typical polleras – puffy skirts -, wool blankets, bowler hats and two braids as a hairstyle, The women begin muscle warm-ups in each workshop.

Many have never taken a shot in their life and shyness takes over the first movements. Participants learn to kick, scream and identify weak spots on the attacker’s body.

Lidia accompanies the process by correcting postures and with training inputs motivates her peers to project their fears onto objects to exercise strength.

El Alto, the city near La Paz more than 4,000 meters from the sea where the workshop takes place, has more than one million inhabitants, and More than a third of its population lives in poverty.

The indigenous women’s group Warmi Power is made up of traders who support their families by selling groceries, clothing, food and other supplies.

Marcelina Quispe, 45, sells cheese in a commercial area of ​​the highland city. A friend’s story of intimate partner violence led her to enroll in the Warmi Power workshops.

“Her husband told her, ‘If you let me, I will bury you in your backyard.’ I told her not to be afraid, that we won’t leave her alone, and from there I came to these workshops because you never know when bad luck will come ,” Quispe said.

Feminist organizations in Bolivia point out that violence has become normalized.

“There is a cruelty against women’s lives when they seek their independence”, analyzes Lucía Vargas, psychologist and member of the Women’s Coordinator.

Since 2013, Bolivia has had a specific law to combat violence against women Since then, 1,085 feminicides have been recorded. But the main criticism is the lack of budget.

Once the physical exercises in the laboratory have been completed, the participants stand in two rows, forming a tunnel, and pass through it one by one.

“You are beautiful, you are powerful, you are precious, you are a warrior, you are strong”they say each other in whispers and pats on the back at the end of the journey, which ends with a collective hug.

AFP Agency