Marianela Pinales (born 9 January 1972) is a Dominican lawyer, public official, and activist.

Biography

Marianela Pinales was born in the

Distrito Nacional The Distrito Nacional (; D.N.) is a subdivision of the Dominican Republic enclosing the capital Santo Domingo. It is not in any of the Provinces of the Dominican Republic, provinces, but in practice, it acts as a province on its own. Before Octobe ...

on 9 January 1972. In 2013, she was part of the technical team for the Dominican Ministry of Economy's 2010–2030 National Development Strategy, contributing plans for decentralization and government locales. She led the Gender Equity Division at the Dominican Ministry of External Relations. Later, she was part of the Council for State Reform (CONARE). She became head of the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

's Directorate of Gender Equity and Development in February 2017.

"Neither Good Hair Nor Bad Hair" campaign

On 25 March 2019, Pinales appeared in a public service announcement to launch a campaign titled ''Ni pelo bueno ni pelo malo'' (Neither Good Hair Nor Bad Hair). It was intended to normalize the wearing of curly and natural hair by Afro-Dominican schoolchildren. In the ad, she states, "no boy or girl should be discriminated against because of their physical appearance." Hours after it aired, Pinales was abruptly fired from her position at the Ministry of Education. A Ministry spokesman denied that the dismissal was due to the campaign (though he said it had been launched without official consent), stating that Pinales had been absent from work for 30 days. Pinales refuted this, citing several official functions she had attended during that time, including the 63rd session of the

United Nations Commission on the Status of Women The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW or UNCSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the main UN organs within the United Nations. CSW has been described as the UN organ promoting gend ...

in New York. She also stated that she had not been paid for the month of March. The firing was criticized by some media outlets for being racially motivated.

Activism

Pinales addressed students during a celebration of

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

at the Instituto Técnico Superior Comunitario in 2021, advocating for "a dismantling of the construction of masculinity that allows more just and equitable relationships between men and women, so that the female sex gets the opportunities it deserves."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pinales, Marianela 1972 births Kinky hair 20th-century Dominican Republic lawyers Dominican Republic women lawyers Living people People from Distrito Nacional 21st-century Dominican Republic lawyers 20th-century women lawyers 21st-century women lawyers