Rosa Julieta Montaño Salvatierra

Julieta Montaño

in 2015
Born Rosa Julieta Montaño Salvatierra
16 August 1946
Quillacollo, Cochabamba, Bolivia
Nationality Bolivian
Occupation attorney, human rights activist
Years active 1981present
Known for Oficina Jurídica para la Mujer

Julieta Montaño (born 1946) is a Bolivian attorney, human rights defender, woman's rights activist, feminist writer and a 2015 winner of the US State Department's International Women of Courage Award.[1]

Early life

Rosa Julieta Montaño Salvatierra was born 16 August 1946 in Quillacollo, Cochabamba, Bolivia. She completed her basic studies and then earned a Bachelor's Degree in Humanities from the Universidad Mayor de San Simón in 1965. Completing her Law Degree at the same university in 1972, Montaño earned Master's Degrees[2] in human rights and political science at the Universidad Mayor de San Simón and University of Huelva, Huelva, Spain[3] and went on to work on her doctorate in human rights at the Universidad Pablo de Olavide in Seville, Spain.[2]

Biography

Montaño has served as Vice President of the Human Rights Assembly of Bolivia and as the Comptroller of Cochabamba, Bolivia.[4] From 1997 to 2002 she served in the Chamber of Deputies representing the Cochabamba Department.[2][4]

In 1981, during the Bolivian Cocaine Coup, Julieta Montaño, who was at that time heading the Union de Mujeres de Bolivia (UMBO) (Union of Bolivian Women) was placed under house arrest.[5] The dictatorship ended on 4 August 1981[6] and Montaño returned to her legal practice.[2]

On 11 April 1985 Montaño founded the Oficina Jurídica para la Mujer (OJM) (Legal Office for Women) to promote women’s rights and work towards the elimination of and protection from sexual exploitation and violence against women. Through education and public policy creation as well as social, psychological, and legal assistance, the organization promotes gender equality.[7] Since its founding, the organization has provided legal aid for rape, sexual harassment and domestic violence to more than 30,000 women and has worked with the Bolivian legislature in drafting laws to protect women from these kinds of issues. As just one such example, in 2013, the Bolivian Government passed a femicide regulation punishing perpetrators with a maximum sentence of thirty years without the possibility of parole. It is the harshest penalty allowed under the law of the country.[8]

Despite being jailed during the era of the Bolivian dictatorship, Montaño has continuously worked to change public policy. According to the US State Department, she has "influenced nearly every piece of legislation that advanced women’s rights over the past 30 years" in Bolivia.[1]

Associations

Selected works

References

  1. 1 2 "Biographies of 2015 Award Winners". U.S. State Department. March 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Resumen de curriculum vitae" (in Spanish). Organization of American States. 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  3. 1 2 "CEJIL’s Board of Directors". http://cejil.org. Retrieved 12 March 2015. External link in |website= (help)
  4. 1 2 3 "Cuerpo Docente Diplomado en Derechos Humanos y Mujeres". www.icach.org.bo (in Spanish). Ilustre Colegio de Abogados de Chuquisaca. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  5. "The Americas: The Republic of Bolivia" (PDF). Amnesty International Report 1981. London: Amnesty International Publications. 1 May 1980 to 30 April 1981: 118. 1981. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  6. Wagner, Maria Luise (December 1989). "Transition to Democracy". A Country Study: Bolivia. Library of Congress. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  7. Department of International Affairs/Secretariat for External Relations. "Application to Participate In OAS Activities Pursuant to Article 6 of the Guidelines for Participation by Civil Society Organizations in OAS Activities". Organization of American States. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  8. "Montaño: Violencia contra mujeres aumenta "en cantidad y crueldad" en Bolivia" (in Spanish). Vida Latina San Diego. Efe. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  9. "Asamblea elige nuevos representantes en organismos hemisféricos" (in Spanish). Panamá: Terra. Efe. 5 June 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
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