(In honor of International Women's Day, I thought I would make a post about someone who, though young, continues to inspire me).
Usually, the phrase "16-year-old girl" is used to denote vain, vapid teenage girls that populate social networking websites (Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, etc) and do obnoxious things like post pictures of themselves 24/7, fangirl to Bieber or Selena Gomez and angst about clothes, popularity and/or boys. However, that's not always the case.
Maria Claudia Falcone (1960- disappeared 1976) was a high school student and political activist from the city of La Plata, Argentina (around an hour or so away from Buenos Aires). She was active in the UES (Union of Secondary Students) and participated in health and education projects in the poor neighborhoods that surrounded the city. She was also active in the Peronist Youth movement (which emphasized the left-wing tendencies of Peronist ideology).
Perhaps the issue most tied to Claudia Falcone is that of the high school student bus pass. She, along with many other high school students in La Plata, fought for a discounted bus fare for all high school students. The student pass intended to help out those who lived far away from the city and did not have as much money. The struggle was not just for the students of that era, but also for the students of the future. After many demonstrations, protests and petitions to the government, they finally achieved their goal of obtaining a discounted bus fare for all high school students.
However, in 1976, a new military junta took power in Argentina. The junta was extremely right-wing and sought to "eliminate" anyone or anything they saw as "subversive." In the same year, on the night of September 16, Claudia was kidnapped from her home, along with five other students who had participated in the struggle for the student bus pass (all between the ages of 16-18). This episode is now known as "The Night of the Pencils (La noche de los lapices)." She had just turned 16 years old.
Claudia, along with the rest of her friends, was first taken to a clandestine prison (Pozo de Arana) on the outskirts of La Plata. There, she and her friends were tortured and kept in inhuman conditions. Torture for Claudia, as well as other women who had disappeared, included rape and sexual assault. A week or so later, they were taken to another clandestine prison (Pozo de Banfield) in a suburb of Greater Buenos Aires.
The last time Claudia was seen alive was on December 28, 1976, by her friend and fellow student activist Pablo Diaz. Diaz was later freed and his testimony provides the basis for the Argentine film La noche de los lapices, which was released in 1985.
Claudia and her 5 friends still remain missing to this day.
Links:
More about "La noche de los lapices."
A profile on Claudia Falcone.