My name is Nelia Curmina, I am 26 years old and I come from Champotón in Campeche.
I found out about REDMYH when I came to study in Campeche City and started learning more about women’s issues and human rights. They are pioneers in human rights work in Campeche and well known amongst advocates. I also sought out REDMYH to build community, and to be with people who share my concerns about human rights.
I became more switched on to the issue of abortion when I was at University. When the COVID pandemic hit in 2020 I was the administrator of some feminist websites and I started getting a lot of messages saying, “I’m pregnant, help, what do I do?”.
At that time, I didn’t have many tools, so I started researching organisations. There’s a lot of information online, both good and bad. So you have to know how and where to look for it.
I started researching, and fortunately, I saw a call for applications from a collective in Aguascalientes here in Mexico called Morras Help Morras – they were especially looking for people from outside of main cities. I applied and was selected, and from then on I received a lot of information about accompaniment, about the different situations you can be exposed to when you decide to accompany someone with their abortion, or in their decision to continue with a pregnancy.
When it comes to abortion issues, there are many misconceptions.
There are many myths that have not been debunked, even though there is now much more information available and many people are better informed.
I always try, and I was taught by the support network, to see abortion as something positive, as an activity that can even be pleasant and happy.
So, my goal is to find other ways to talk about a topic that has been removed from public discussion and bring it to light with a positive perspective, so that we can talk about it freely, without stigma. I think that will go a long way in working towards good access to abortion.
I am happy to be with other women – to hear their stories and learn from them.
It’s so important to know that we are not alone.
We can feel very alone in the struggle for abortion rights and you say to yourself, ‘Well, it’s just me, it’s going to be very difficult to achieve anything.’ But then you remember that there are lots of others who probably feel the same way and you seek out that community, letting go of the idea that we can do it alone.
It is a privilege to have the opportunity to accompany someone through their abortion – to be in such a delicate moment in their life. I do what I can to make them feel comfortable and to know that they are not alone.
Interview with Nelia Curmina who is a Promoter with SAAF grantee partner REDMYH in Mexico.