Yren Ailyn Rotela Ramirez (born 9 January 1981) is a Paraguayan activist for the rights of

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

people and

sex worker A sex worker is a person who provides sex work, either on a regular or occasional basis. The term is used in reference to those who work in all areas of the sex industry.Oxford English Dictionary, "sex worker" According to one view, sex work is d ...

Biography

Yren Rotela was born on 9 January 1981 in the Obrero neighborhood of

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...

, Paraguay. She is the second of seven siblings. She

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

as a

trans woman A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and so ...

at age 14, after which she was expelled from school.

Professional career

In 1999, an instance of police repression against

s prompted Rotela to dedicate herself to activism, publicly denouncing the abuses and extortion that affect this community. As a sex worker, she began to organize with her colleagues, and in 2007 she co-founded Panambí: Association of Transvestite, Transsexual, and Transgender People, which adopted its charter in 2008 and obtained legal status in 2009. She served as its president for two terms, from 2012 to 2016. Through Panambí, Yren Rotela denounced violations and promoted the rights and grievances of trans people. She is a leader of the Federation of Women of Paraguay, a member of the María Rivarola Healthcare Rights Movement, of the Forum for Education, the

UN Women The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women advocates for the rights of women and girls, and focu ...

Advisory Group of Civil Society in Paraguay, the 8M Paraguay movement, and is the national and international head of the Lactrans Network of Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2015

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

granted her the Peter Benenson Award for the defense of human rights "for her tireless work in favor of the dignity of ransvestite, transsexual, and transgender peoplein Paraguay, her contribution to the visibility of the drama that this collective lives through in the absence of justice and impunity in hate crimes and other serious abuses of human rights." On 17 March 2015, during meeting No. 154 of the

Inter-American Court of Human Rights The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR or IACtHR) is an international court based in San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it was formed by the American Convention on Human Rights, a huma ...

, she was part of the delegation that presented the results of the report "Denuncias de actos de violencia e impunidad contra personas trans en Paraguay" (Reports of Acts of Violence and Impunity Against Trans People in Paraguay), carried out by the Panambí association. Together with Tamara Amarilla, Gabriela Espinoza, and Mariana Sepúlveda, she was appointed as a facilitator of the National System of Judicial Facilitators (SNFJ) in December 2016. Being part of this structure allowed her to advocate for people who need guidance, acting as a link between them and public institutions. Rotela participated in the 47th

General Assembly of the Organization of American States The General Assembly is the supreme decision-making body of the Organization of American States (OAS). The General Assembly came into being as a part of the restructuring of the OAS that took place following adoption of the Protocol of Buenos Ai ...

, held in Cancún, Mexico, as the Paraguayan representative of the Trans Persons Network of Latin America and the Caribbean (Redlactrans). In the Assembly, the Paraguayan chancellor opposed the approval of an article on the rights of

persons. In September 2017, Rotela gave the talk "¿Nos define el sexo?" (Does sex define us?) on the Gramo conversation platform. She was a candidate on the Kuña Pyrenda Movement's list for the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in the

2018 Paraguayan general election General elections were held in Paraguay on 22 April 2018. President Horacio Cartes and Vice-President Juan Afara of the Colorado Party were not eligible for re-election. The presidential elections were won by the Colorado Party's Mario Abdo Be ...

. Part of her platform was based on "recognizing the gender identity of trans people, access to economic, social, cultural, civil, and political rights for the entire LGBT community, and the approval of a law against all forms of discrimination." In July 2018, she was invited by the United States government to participate in the

International Visitor Leadership Program The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is a professional exchange program funded by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The mission of IVLP is to offer current and emerging international leader ...

(IVLP), the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

's main professional exchange program.

Name change

In December 2016, through a civil trial, Yren Rotela became the first trans person, together with Mariana Sepúlveda, to present a request to change her name in Paraguay. Five months later, on 11 May 2017, she received a favorable opinion from the Civil and Commercial Judge Julia Rosa Alonso Martínez. Under Article 25 of the

Constitution of Paraguay The Republic of Paraguay is governed under the constitution of 1992, which is the country's sixth since independence from Spain in 1811. Independence The recorded history of Paraguay began in 1516 with the failed expedition of Juan Díaz de Sol� ...

, the case marked a milestone in the country's jurisprudence. However the Prosecutor's Office appealed the measure, and the case is still before the Chamber of Civil Appeals; In 2022, still not being able to change their names, they decided to take the matter to the UN. As of October 2017, Paraguay does not have a gender identity or anti-discrimination law.

References

External links

Panambí: Association of Transvestite, Transsexual, and Transgender People
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rotela, Yren 1981 births Living people Paraguayan feminists People from Asunción Sex worker activists Transgender rights activists Transgender women Travestis

Biography

Professional career

Name change

See also

References

External links