The adverse circumstance of the coronavirus made the celebration of Mother’s Day different . Less closeness, more social distancing, but the same love for those who, in the midst of a pandemic, have been a mother, worker, teacher and caregiver.
Alicia Bárcena, executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), has stated, with regard to unpaid work, that women work up to double or triple in their homes “and this is also due to the suspension of classes that gives additional burdens to women ”.
According to figures from María Noel Vaeza, regional director of UN Women , a study by the organization determined that if a minimum wage was placed on unpaid care (from accompanying children in virtual classes to caring for the elderly) , in salary terms it would be equivalent to 20% of the Gross Domestic Product of a country.
Even (data from ECLAC) it is women who are on the front line in health (more than 73% of health personnel) and earn 25% less than their male colleagues. The payoff for that immense effort is hard to fit in one day. However, December 8, like every year, has been a shower of roses, gifts, affections and celebrations for all mothers.
The Panama Vieja Escuela portal tells the beautiful story of this celebration: it began with a meeting at the Rotary Club of Panama , when they wanted to have their own date to remember Mother’s Day.
The President Belisario Porras set the date May 11, 1924 by official resolution. In 1930 a group of Catholic women organized and asked President Florencio Harmodio to change the date to December 8 , the Day of the Immaculate Conception.
Although there were some discrepancies due to the religious sense of December 8, the National Assembly approved it and through Law 69 of December 18, 1930 this day was consecrated to honor Panamanian mothers, an emotional date full of meaning in tribute to them, mothers, heroines in this difficult time where the role of care becomes increasingly relevant and essential to heal and relieve humanity.
