Mujeres en Acción Solidaria (Women in Solidarity Action, MAS) was a Mexican feminist organization active in the early 1970s. It can be seen as the first example of

second wave feminism Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in the early 1960s and lasted roughly two decades, ending with the feminist sex wars in the early 1980s and being replaced by third-wave feminism in the early 1990s. It occurred t ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

History

Founders of MAS included Ana Lau Jaiven. The group gained attention with a protest on

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in Mar ...

in 1971, when they demonstrated in front of the Monument to the Mother in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, bearing a sign reading ''"PROTESTA CONTRA EL MITO DE LA MADRE"'' ("Protest against the myth of the mother"). Though the roots of MAS can be traced to the radical inclusivity of the Mexican student movement of 1968, the Tlatelolco massacre of October 1968 had led to a climate of fear at open protest. Concerned friends of the organizers persuaded them to attempt to gain official permission to demonstrate. However, MAS continued with their plans after this permission was denied. On the day, the demonstration coincided with

Miss Mexico Miss Mexico is a national Beauty pageant in Mexico. It is responsible for selecting the country's delegates to international beauty contests: Miss World and other pageants such as Miss Supranational, Miss Cosmo and Top Model of the World. In ...

contestants arriving at the monument to make an offering. The juxtaposition of beauty queens and feminist demonstrators made it onto television news. In 1974 the group split, transitioning into the Movimiento de la Liberación de Mujeres (Women’s Liberation Movement, MLM). In 1977 it was integrated into the Coalición de Mujeres Feministas (Coalition of Feminist Women), refocussing its activity on

reproductive rights Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to human reproduction, reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights: Reproductive rights ...

References

{{reflist Feminist organizations in Mexico Women's organizations based in Mexico Organizations established in 1971 1971 establishments in Mexico Organizations disestablished in 1974 1974 disestablishments in Mexico