The Canary Islands Institute of Equality has presented in Tías the self-care guide "Mala de ascostarme". The director of the ICI, Kika Fumero, stated during the official presentation that "care must put our lives at the center". "For there to be sustainability in life, we must see our own life and take care of it. If not, it will be difficult to be in harmony with the environment around us," she stressed.
Kika Fumero explained the creation process of the guide, starting from "the development of a survey on co-responsibility during the pandemic, which highlighted the greater mental burden on women compared to men".
The guide, published by the ICI and created by expert María Martín Barranco, is structured in six practical booklets that allow "awareness of the degree of self-neglect and learning personal self-care strategies", under the titles "The Neglected"; "Bad at Going to Bed"; "Mirror, Mirror"; "That's How I Like It"; "I Don't Have Enough Life"; "I Love Myself, I Take Care of Myself".
After the last booklet, the ICI notes, two annexes with complementary materials are included to address the practical work: one dedicated to "Vital Strengths" and another to the "Emotional Scale".
María Martín Barrancho is the author of the guide
The author of the guide, María Martín Barranco, holds a degree in Law, is a consultant specializing in social intervention with a gender perspective, a trainer and researcher in equality, and the author of the books "Ni por favor ni por favora", "Mujer tenías que ser" and publications edited by the ICI such as the "Self-Care Guide in Social Intervention", aimed at professionals who intervene with women victims of gender violence, and the "Security Plan for Victims of Gender Violence", developed after the declaration of the state of alarm due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
As the author points out, the central axis of the guide is "our neglects, those things that seem 'normal' to us and leave us exhausted", and it breaks down through the booklets indications for each woman, "at her own pace", to redirect these behaviors that "always have perverse results". "The patriarchal system teaches us to devalue and despise ourselves through omnipresent and incessant internal and external messages," she adds.
The manual also includes reflections from women who "have gone through the process of recognizing the violence they exert against themselves and have embarked on the path of self-care".
On Thursday, October 7, the director of the ICI will attend the presentation of the guide "Mala de acostarme" at the CEO Ignacio Aldecoa located on Calle Nueva España, 1, on the island of La Graciosa.
Practical workshop based on the guide
After the official presentation, expert Dácil Alamo Cruz gave a practical workshop based on this guide, which, through individual exercises and group dynamics, facilitates self-care strategies. Among other topics, it addresses the lack of attention to physical well-being, nutrition, weight, personal image, pleasure, emotional well-being, and work and leisure time.
Dácil Alamo Cruz is a consultant in Gender Equality projects and has extensive experience in intervention with women in a state of vulnerability. In her professional experience, her work in a women's center in Canada stands out, where she acquired feminist intervention techniques to promote mental health, fight against poverty and violence, and encourage citizen participation. For two years, she has been developing collective care projects in the Canary Islands.
The mayor of Tías, José Juan Cruz, thanked the ICI for working "throughout the regional scope to disseminate strategies such as self-care that is presented in Tías". "In the municipality, we are very aware of inequality and the need to work to mitigate it," said the mayor.
Registration open for the conferences on October 27 and 28
From the ICI, they point out that the presentation of the guide and the workshops, activities that will be carried out on all the islands throughout the month of October, "will culminate with the celebration of the international conferences on self-care and co-responsibility", organized by the ICI and which will take place on October 27 and 28, at La Laguna Gran Hotel, on the island of Tenerife in person, but can also be followed from anywhere online after formalizing the prior registration.
Registration is now open for both formats through the website: http://jornadasautocuidado.com/inscripcion-jornadas