Karol Alejandra Arambula Carrillo

Karol is a Consultant in International Affairs from Guadalajara, Mexico. She graduated in International Relations and has a vast experience in international conferences endorsed by the United Nations, the Organization of American States, among other local and international governmental and non-governmental organizations. She is also a blogger for other online publications such as The Typewriter (Australia), Crónica Global (Mexico), Paradiplomacia (Latin America) and Delta Women Empowerment Initiative (Africa).

Posts Written by Karol
By Karol Alejandra Arambula Carrillo • 9 years ago

From Nigeria to Iraq: The on-going failures to protect women and girls in armed conflict

 Flickr ©

Cross-posted from TransConflict

Over 100 days have gone by since rebels of the Boko Haram armed group kidnapped almost 300 girls in Chibok, Nigeria. The world rapidly found out about the outrageous and dangerous conditions Nigerians were living under the Boko Haram threat. The #BringBackOurGirls campaign -which spread across the globe, gathered dozens of important public figures along with thousands of global citizens demanding the Nigerian government to take all possible actions to find these women and girls. Although some of those girls managed to come back home after escaping, others continue to be held hostage and media’s attention to this issue has significantly decreased.

Unfortunately, the story repeats today in Iraq as the government has confirmed that hundreds of Yazidi women were kidnapped by the Islamic State (IS) fighters and it is feared they are now being used as slaves. These women are part of a Kurdish-speaking ethno religious minority living in northern Iraq, which historically has been accused of devil worship by orthodox Muslims. Due to pre-Islamic beliefs, the Yazidi have been oppressed by Muslim neighbors and have been victims of harsh treatment since the ruling of the Ottoman Empire during the 18th and the beginning of the 19th centuries. They have been subject to 72 genocidal massacres and the Ottoman Turks and Muslim Kurdish, managed to almost wipe out their community in the 19th century. Persecution ...
By Karol Alejandra Arambula Carrillo • 9 years ago

Femicide in Mexico: An Unpunished Crime

Cross-posted from The Red Elephant Foundation

Femicide in Mexico has been brought to light since the beginning of the 1990s when Ciudad Juarez witnessed the killings and disappearances of hundreds women and girls in the state of Chihuahua. However, despite international attention and strong condemnations against the Mexican government -which the Inter-American Human Rights Court considered as one of the main responsible of the killings-, the situation of femicide in the country has worsened.

The concept of femicide has been highly debated by feminists, scholars and international organisations, having almost a collective consent that femicide can be understood as ‘the killing of females by males because they are females’. Femicide is usually perpetrated by men, and in some rare cases, ...

Cross-posted from The Red Elephant Foundation

Femicide in Mexico has been brought to light since the beginning of the 1990s when Ciudad Juarez witnessed the killings and disappearances of hundreds women and girls in the state ...
By Karol Alejandra Arambula Carrillo • 9 years ago

Mexico’s public funds used to run prostitution networks: Gutiérrez de la Torre

Politics in Mexico have a particular way of functioning. Politicians do as they please, act without fear or accountability for their actions, and benefit from public positions in a society characterized by impunity, corruption, influence peddling and illicit enrichment. It may seem that political positions are used to favour powerful individuals, instead of focusing on the common good of Mexican society.

Cuauhtémoc Gutiérrez de la Torre was until last April, head of the National Revolutionary Party (PRI) in the country’s capital, Mexico City. This man is now the protagonist of one of the worst scandals in PRI’s history, which is yet to be punished by the authorities.

Politics in Mexico have a particular way of functioning. Politicians do as they please, act without fear or accountability for their actions, and benefit from public positions in a society characterized by impunity, corruption, influence peddling and ...
By Karol Alejandra Arambula Carrillo • 9 years ago

Nigeria’s failure to its women and girls

The Sharia Conflict in Nigeria has witnessed confrontations between the Muslim majority and Christian minority since 1999. Sharia law was established in several Northern states oppressing the Christian minority and causing significant outbreaks in the region.

The Islamist Boko Haram group started an armed rebellion against the Nigerian secular government in 2009, causing the death of almost 4,000 people in a three-year period. The group conducted operations that did not make it to the international headlines until very recently, after the clashes between Nigerian security forces and members of the group that caused the death of 700 people. Amnesty International estimates that over 1,500 people have been killed in this year‘s clashes, most of them civilians.

The Sharia Conflict in Nigeria has witnessed confrontations between the Muslim majority and Christian minority since 1999. Sharia law was established in several Northern states oppressing the Christian minority and causing significant outbreaks in the region.

The Islamist Boko ...
By Karol Alejandra Arambula Carrillo • 10 years ago

Enough Is Enough: Mexican Women Join Self-Defense Forces

Over the last decade, Mexico has become a battlefield as a consequence of the ‘War on Drugs’ led by former president, Felipe Calderón. Several public and private national and international organizations have concluded that Calderón’s administration left an estimated of 60 to 85.000 deaths and over 150.000 internally displaced people. Nonetheless, violence cannot be attributed to the last decade exclusively. Increase in violence over the last years is a direct consequence of many decades of influence peddling, collusion, corruption and impunity in which many political actors have been nastily involved. Crime was left to grow disproportionately, without any real effort to eradicate poverty, inequalities, unemployment and many other social and economic problems that led civil population to ...

Over the last decade, Mexico has become a battlefield as a consequence of the ‘War on Drugs’ led by former president, Felipe Calderón. Several public and private national and international organizations have concluded that ...
By Karol Alejandra Arambula Carrillo • 10 years ago

Elections in Zimbabwe: A Threat to Women

Zimbabwe’s history is complex. As the vast majority of African nations, this country (formerly known as Rhodesia) declared independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965, then renamed and finally self-governed as Zimbabwe on 18 April 1980. Currently, is placed as number 172 in the Human Development Index and has been ruled by Robert Mugabe since 1980. Eager to remain in power, international and regional organizations have constantly demanded justice for victims of intimidation and violence, especially during electoral contests which threaten his mandate.

Women make up for the 52% of the population in Zimbabwe, nonetheless, have limited access and participation in the country’s public life. In their path towards democracy, women have become targets of attacks as a result of the efforts ...

Zimbabwe’s history is complex. As the vast majority of African nations, this country (formerly known as Rhodesia) declared independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965, then renamed and finally self-governed as Zimbabwe on 18 April 1980. ...
By Karol Alejandra Arambula Carrillo • 10 years ago

Mexico’s Pending War against Rape

(Trigger Warning)

Of the many problems my country faces, violence is undeniably the worst of all. Nonetheless, not all problems make it to the headlines as frequently as others, such as the cases of rape. And if they do make it to the headlines, it’s often by judging characters and not the root causes that led to these crimes.

Mexicans are used to hearing about violent acts against women, since this society seems to be ruled by it. Femicide in Juárez and the state of Mexico, or the alarming statistics of domestic violence in states like Jalisco, do not longer seem bother neither the public nor the authorities.

However, it ...

(Trigger Warning)

Of the many problems my country faces, violence is undeniably the worst of all. Nonetheless, not all problems make it to the headlines ...
By Karol Alejandra Arambula Carrillo • 10 years ago

Unresolved business: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (UNICEF)

As many as 30 million girls are at risk of being cut over the next decade if current trends persist, says UNICEF in its most recent report on FGM/C.

A total of 125 million women and young girls suffer the consequences of FGM/C as a result of social convention practices which are far from being eradicated. Even though the majority of men and women wish this to end, UNICEF’s report suggest that the number of victims will continue if adequate prevention programs are not implemented.

Currently, 29 African countries continue to practice FGM/C in which over the half of victims who are cut come mostly from Egypt (27.2 million), Ethiopia (23.8 million) and Nigeria (19.9 million). In half of the countries, ...

As many as 30 million girls are at risk of being cut over the next decade if current trends persist, says UNICEF in its most recent report on FGM/C.

A total of 125 million women and young ...