With the first 4 hours in Spanish and the following 4 in English, the marathon will feature women s voices about health rights as an issue of full citizenship for women. The considerations that lead to this Call to Action are based on the fact that the right to have rights is still pending for women, by virtue of their exclusion from decision making about our lives, our health, our bodies and thus, about the destinies of our families and our societies. In this situation, women often encounter great difficulties in the exercise of the right to full citizenship. That right requires economic and social conditions to enjoy an optimum condition of health that should be provided by the State.
Privatization proliferates, resulting in the selling of health to citizens who can pay for it.
Likewise, there is a shortage of resources used by the States to promote women's health. States have ratified numerous international legal instruments that safeguard the right of individuals to enjoy the most optimum state of health. The International Covenant of Cultural, Social, and Economic Rights, and the International Pact of Political and Civil Rights also refer to this matter. However, the daily reality of women and girls does not give account of any greater justice and equity in the enjoyment by women of the right to health and to welfare. On the contrary, the prevalent economic, social, and political conditions in the majority of countries have eroded the quality of life of most people, including their health.