Women breastfeed their children during a protest outside the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019. The sign held at center reads in Spanish "Breastfeeding is a human right for women and children." The women are protesting after a woman was expelled last week for breastfeeding inside the museum. (Photo: Ginnette Riquelme, AP)
Women’s around the world demonstrated for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on Nov. 25.
In Mexico, the activism merged with mothers protesting at the Museum of Modern Art, where last week a woman was expelled for breastfeeding inside the building.
On Sunday, dozens of women gathered on the grass outside with babies and toddlers suckling at their breasts, and then entered the museum building.
Ximena Rueda, center, breastfeeds her daughter Julieta Ledesma Rueda during a protest outside the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019. The women are protesting after a woman was expelled last week for breastfeeding inside the museum. (Photo: Ginnette Riquelme, AP)
Ximena Rueda, whose daughter Julieta was happily feeding at her breast, said she felt “indignant” when she heard security guards had removed a breastfeeding mom from an art exhibit under the premise that food and drinks could not be consumed on the premises.
Breastfeeding needs to be normalized as healthy and natural, she said.
“This shame we feel is the thought that breasts are for something sexual and not something as natural as feeding,” Rueda said at a museum that frequently exhibits topless images of women as art.
Museum director Natalia Pollak said there is now a policy that clearly states breastfeeding is allowed anywhere at the museum, which she said seeks to be an inclusive environment that promotes gender equality and serve as an inspiration to other public spaces.
Mothers breastfeed their children during a protest inside the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019. The women are protesting after a woman was expelled last week for breastfeeding inside the museum. (Photo: Ginnette Riquelme, AP)
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Another protester, Fernanda Herranz, who held her daughter Coco at her breast, said she has felt discriminated against while breastfeeding, such as the time a restaurant employee asked her to breastfeed in the bathroom rather than at the table.
Contributing: Amy Haneline, USA TODAY
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