[Anita: a Maya peasant woman on the rise]. / Anita: una campesina maya que sale adelante.

PIP: Chan Kom, a village of 623 inhabitants in the Yucatan peninsula whose population lives primarily by slash-and-burn maize agriculture, has been well studied by social scientists for over 50 years. The roles of women during that time have been interpreted by men, and it is the object of this article to examine the needs and desires of women and the ways in which they seek to improve life for themselves and their families. Anita at 38 has 7 living children from 10 pregnancies. Her husband is a subsistence farmer who works part time at a variety of jobs. The oldest daughter married at 17. A 16-year-old son Emiliano attended an agricultural vocational school to which his family sent him after great sacrifice. After completing school Emiliano became a promoter for the National Indigenist Institute. A daughter finishiing primary school wished to continue studying but her father objected that she would probably get married and her mother worried about her safety if she left home to study. She and a sister were sent to live with the daughter of her mother's comadre in a nearby city in the hope that she would learn office work. A 12-year-old son at home, who is not such a good student, helps the father in farming. 2 little girls are the only other children still at home. Anita's last 2 deliveries were difficult and dangerous, and for 3 years she and her husband have been attempting to avoid another pregnancy, using a combination of withdrawal and rhythm. She and her husband discussed vasectomy with a Maya-speaking North American doctor, but came to no decision. Anita states that many Maya women do not menstruate between pregnancies, or do so only once or twice. Anita has had 2 miscarriages and 2 daughters since deciding that she wanted no more children. She accepted a prescription for pills but was afraid to take them. Fear of disturbing the "tipte," a regulating organ believed by Maya women to lie behind the navel, prevented her from choosing sterilization.^ieng

Anita: a Mayan peasant woman copes.

PIP: This is a case history of Anita, Mayan woman aged 38, who lives in the small village of Can Cun in the Yucatan, Mexico. She has had 10 pregnancies and 7 living children. She nearly died with her last birth. She has a good relationship with her children. She worked several jobs and sold illegal alcohol to put her son, Emiliano, through school. She is close with her married daughter, aged 17. She herself was married at 17. Because of previous bad pregnancies Anita would like to have no more children. Her husband, Demetrio was interested in a vasectomy but couldn't believe he would have the strength to work after the operation. He, like many Mayan men, practiced coitus interruptus and rhythm. When Anita finally went to the family planning clinic, under the auspices of the author, she chose oral contraceptives, but she never actually used them. Many Mayan women seldom get a period because they are always lactating. Some women would rather be pregnant then menstruating. The husband opposes schooling for his children because he needs them to help him work their crops of beans and corn. Sending children to school creates hardship because cash is needed for living expenses.^ieng