Gioconda Belli is one of the most popular writers in Latin America, known for the novels "The Inhabited Woman", "Daughter of the Volcano" and her autobiography "Defense of Happiness" and her other books.
“Only 9 percent of 399 heads of state are women, and only 13 percent of all parliaments in the world are women.
That's why this book chronicles the experiment in which women seized power in a small, corrupt country."
Nicaraguan writer Gioconda Belli's novel "The Country of Women" addresses this inequality. A group of women seize power in the small fictional country of Faguas, which in many ways resembles Nicaragua. She sends the men home for six months to cook, iron, clean and look after their babies. Some guys don't like it at all, they end up assassinating President Viviana.
Violence against women is a major theme in the novel and is actually common in Nicaragua. The current Nicaraguan president, Daniel Ortega, is accused of sexual harassment by his stepdaughter. Gioconda Belli: "I think two things are serious: First, having a president who attacked his daughter, which comes close to legitimacy because of impunity, and on the other hand, political violence that goes unpunished."
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The author uses political violence to imply election fraud and corruption that critics of the government accuse Ortega of. Gioconda Belli, 63, now living alternately in Nicaragua and Los Angeles, joined the revolutionary Sandinista movement against the Somoza regime as a young woman. The Sandinistas overthrew the Somoza family dictatorship, which had lasted for more than 40 years, at the end of 1978, after fierce fighting. Daniel Ortega also emerged from the revolution. Belli says it's a big disappointment that Ortega is now following a rather authoritarian path.
"It's sad to see a right-wing dictatorship on the one hand and a symbol of the revolutionary process that was once so hopeful for. That's how I see it, this story is long. I'm trying not to suffer, I'm trying to be optimistic."
Other grievances are also touched upon in the novel: problems that go far beyond Nicaragua's borders, such as corruption, human trafficking, and the gap between rich and poor.
Written with intelligence and humor, the novel does not bring you to tears, but touches on many wounds. For example, in the tropical country of Faguas, a chief judge keeps a penguin in his home at great expense just for his enjoyment. According to Belli, the story is said to have actually happened.
Although the author says that she writes for Nicaragua, it can be adapted to any country in the world. After all, most of the problems faced by women in the world are common. It's worth to read...
You can buy the book on amazon.
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