Peru is known for its world-recognized food and the beautiful landscapes from our three regions. Growing up as a woman in Lima prompted my drive constantly: a never-ending oligarchy, a culture of sexism, one that is outraged by the scandalous decisions of a soccer referee, but cannot be bothered with news of death, disappearance, or rape. Living in Peru is an eye-opening experience as you get to identify the huge socioeconomic contrast that most tourists are not shown when visiting. A culture that has grown hearing terrible news on the daily, even the first things that kids listen to on the radio on their way to school are news of death, missing persons, or street violence. Children in my country grow up surrounded by negative news of hostility and aggression.
Take for example the following events that happen this year:
- The government restricted public activity by gender. Both genders were allowed to buy groceries on different weekdays, but often transgender women were harassed on the streets and not allowed to enter a supermarket because they were not "female enough".
- A child fell into a well that was placed inside a children's playground, authorities took too long to come and he died.
- A girl was raped by 5 men and the men's lawyer said publicly it was the girl's fault because she chose to take on "a social life."
I fear every time I have to walk down the streets because a catcall can turn into something more aggressive. I know and live through the dangers that this culture poses. Saturated by my context, I found shelter in literature. I could escape reality and flee to other worlds, fighting mischievous villains, monsters, and wandering haunted forests. Horror tales that felt real every time I found myself walking alone down a dimly lit Miraflores street or a sunny day in a street in Magdalena. It wasn’t until I realized that every day, millions of women have to go through the same horror story, and every day as the pandemic progressed, street violence and social insecurity became worse, so I decided to make a change.
Recently during the Peruvian lockdown, the Lima Municipality announced a national contest called “Applica a tu Ciudadanía,” a native app design contest intended to solve different problems encountered in the local community. The contest looked to promote digital citizenship and was divided into 6 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). I participated in the category “Peace Culture and Violence Prevention” related to SDG 16: “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.” For me, it was an intellectual challenge since all the participants were UI/UX professionals or university students. I developed an app that facilitated the connection between Lima citizens and the authorities of each district, through having a strong connected community, we can decrease social insecurity. Last year, in Peru’s capital, Lima, the crime rate increased tenfold during the pandemic, this was due to the closedown of several businesses, making this app extremely useful. The prototype was selected as the winner of the contest in its category and as a young woman that has to walk down the streets of Lima knowing that at any moment her life could be in danger, I am extremely proud of this project.
My context provided me with the maturity and persistence to create solutions that will target the issues I encounter, and I will always keep fighting to help my community improve to someday reach a sustainable society. We, as the current young leaders, must understand that we are the present, and if we take action today, we’ll be making sure that the issues that happen in the present won’t happen in the future. To achieve sustainability we must learn to give efficient solutions that make sense both economically, environmentally, and socially. Don’t be afraid to raise your voice and share your perspective with others, learn from other people’s backgrounds and ideas, and keep in mind, it is natural to make mistakes. Search for other young leaders that will complement your ideas and come up with better solutions for today's societal challenges.
From an early age, I shaped my problems into novel characters. I grew alongside them, and this made me realize that strength is not written on the face of a book, but in the memories of each healed wound that motivates one to become a character that inspires others in the same way that novels inspired me. I will always keep looking for ways to help society improve, and help those who face injustices due to the way that the system treats them. Be the hero of your story, take on the role of the activist rather than a spectator to become part of the solutions you take part in.