Last night, students gathered in White Plaza for a candlelight vigil in remembrance of indigenous women murdered in Mexico, Guatemala and Canada. The vigil kicked off a two-day conference entitled “Feminicide = Sanctioned Murder: Race, Gender and Violence in Global Context.”

The conference, which will take place today and tomorrow in Tresidder Union, intends to explore ways to bring about justice for the murdered women. Featured speakers include Elena Poniatowska, Rita Segato and Marcela Lagarde, who joined students for the vigil yesterday.

At the vigil, which was entirely student-run, participants gathered around a small altar covered in candles and bouquets of pink roses and lilies. The words “Stop Feminicide” and “Ni Una Mas” were written on the altar.

In accordance with the tradition established at conferences at other schools, students read the names of the murdered women aloud to honor them.

“Some of them don’t even have names, because they couldn’t be identified,” said Edgar Chavez ‘09, communications chair of Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA), which co-sponsored the vigil.

According to conference literature, the ongoing deaths of poor and working women in Mexico, Guatemala and Canada have reached epidemic proportions.

In just one Mexican city, more than 400 women have been murdered over the last 14 years while over 600 have been reported missing. In Guatemala, more than 700 women are killed every year. Recently, a conference in Canada revealed that over 100 indigenous women have also been murdered there in recent years.

“I thought it was important to show solidarity with what’s going on,” Chavez continued. “Stanford students aren’t very aware of this issue, but it’s been very difficult in areas along the Mexico-US border.”

Luz E. Reyes ‘07, who helped organize the vigil and was a member of the conference’s steering committee, felt that Stanford students would participate despite a lack of awareness.

“I think Stanford students in general are really motivated toward social justice,” she said. “This is a momentous opportunity for students to be involved in this issue, which has received a lot of attention in the media lately.”

“Especially the Latino students are pulled toward it, because these women are like us,” she added.

Reyes said that she was saddened by the fact that the Mexican government has taken few steps to stop the violence against women for the last 10 years. These feelings motivated her to help plan the vigil.

“We wanted to do something that showed student support and involvement in the issue,” she said.

According to Reyes, the conference received a lot of support from the University. Reyes called Spanish Prof. Yvonne Yarbro-Bejarano “the spearhead of the entire conference.”

The conference, which was organized by the department for comparative studies in race and ethnicity, will bring together the most knowledgeable experts on the recent murders, including mothers of murdered and disappeared women, activists, academics, writers and journalists, human rights lawyers, artists and filmmakers.