Presented on 26 April, 2023
The Anglo-Bolivian Society was honoured to host Sarah Abdoo, founder of Adelante Mujer, a non-profit organisation supporting women in Cochabamba.
In Bolivia, 7 out of 10 women have been victims of physical violence (ONU Mujeres), and 60% of these are young women (Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas). Although Bolivian law penalises gender-based maltreatment, violence against women is accepted as ‘normal’ by society in general and by the victims. Abused women are trapped in a toxic cycle of fear and low self-worth.
Abused women are trapped in a toxic cycle of fear and low self-worth. Adelante Mujer, a non-profit organisation supporting women in Cochabamba, provides a free 8-month rehabilitation programme of emotional and economic empowerment – Sumak Kawsay (‘live well’, in Quechua) – to local women suffering from domestic violence. The women are trained in various skills and receive individually structured therapy programmes, as well as legal and medical advice. Adelante Mujer also offers cooking workshops to tourists, taught by the Warmis, the graduates of previous years’ programmes, as well as running a catering service. Both these activities are as self-sustaining as possible. Adelante Mujer’s objective is to show women who have suffered from violence at the hands of others all their lives a way forward that recognises their courage and uses their individual talents to guide them towards economic independence and to give them the skills and confidence to inspire other disadvantaged women. This year’s programme began on 6 April.
Sarah Abdoo
After completing a degree in Psychology and Philosophy at the University of Oxford in 2015, Sarah Abdoo worked as a researcher and social media copywriter in the UK and Argentina before her journey creating Adelante Mujer began in Bolivia in 2019. In this Zoom talk from Cochabamba, Sarah explained the work of Adelante Mujer and how it has developed over the last five years.
The Anglo-Bolivian Society 