Indyra Mendoza

Indyra Mendoza
Mendoza in 2021
Born (1968-05-04) 4 May 1968
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Alma materUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras
OccupationsLGBTQ+ activist, human rights defender, economist and numismatist
OrganizationCattrachas Lesbian Network

Indyra Mendoza Aguilar (born 4 May 1968) is a Honduran LGBTQ+ activist, human rights defender, economist and numismatist. She is coordinator of the Cattrachas Lesbian Network. In 2021, Time magazine named Mendoza among the 100 most influential people in the world.

Biography

Mendoza was born on 4 May 1968 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.[1] She studied economics at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH).[2]

Mendoza came out as a lesbian aged 28,[3] with her newly-found identity clashing with her former Roman Catholic ideals.[4] Mendoza has since written children's books and short stories about lesbian life.[3]

Mendoza is coordinator of the Cattrachas Lesbian Network (originally named the Red de Respuesta Lésbica CATTRACHAS), the first lesbian feminist organization in Honduras, founded in 2000. The network is a nongovernmental organization that carries out investigations for legal cases in defence of members of the LGBTQ+ community[2][3] and tracks anti-LGBTQ+ crimes.[5][6][7]

In 2012, Mendoza and the Cattrachas Lesbian Network with the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization[8] sued Honduras before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (ICHR) in Costa Rica over the murder of Vicky Hernández, a transgender woman and activist, during the 2009 Honduran coup d'état.[9] In June 2021, the Inter-American Court ruled in favour of the plaintiffs, declared Honduras responsible for Hernández's death and issued protection measures for transgender people in Latin America.[7][10] In 2022, Honduran president Xiomara Castro publicly apologized.[11]

In 2020, 16 LGBTQ+ people from Honduras applied for asylum in the United States, citing a threat to their lives because of their sexual orientation.[12] Mendoza compiled reports and accompanied them to their legal hearings.[12][13]

In December 2021, the Cattrachas Lesbian Network was awarded the European Human Rights Award by the European Union and its Member States.[14] In 2021, Time magazine named Mendoza among the 100 most influential people in the world.[15][16][17]

Alongside activism, Mendoza is also an economist and numismatist. She is the author of the Honduran coin collecting guides La vuelta al mundo en 80 monedas (2007) and El delito de falsificación de moneda en Honduras, 1880-2017 (2017).[18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Challenging power: Raising the profile of women human rights defenders: CATTRACHAS - INDYRA MENDOZA, ALEJANDRA HERNANDEZ, SEYDI IRIAS, KATHERIN ZERÓN" (PDF). Amnesty International. 2018. pp. 12–13. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  2. 1 2 Pavón, Karol (21 September 2021). "Indyra Mendoza, hondureña entre las 100 personas más influyentes del mundo, según la revista Time". El Heraldo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 10 October 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 Padilha, Saulo (12 August 2020). ""For me, being a human rights defender is rewarding, but it is also an act of courage"". Sur - International Journal on Human Rights. Archived from the original on 15 July 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  4. ↑ Bolaños, Christine (29 March 2017). "Lesbian Feminists Challenge Latin America's Political Discourse". International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF). Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  5. ↑ Lichtenstein, Isabelle (26 June 2021). "Indyra Mendoza". GO. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  6. ↑ Winstead, Ryan (21 June 2019). "Cattrachas: the lesbian collective in Honduras tracking anti-LGBTQ violence and disrupting bias". The Fund for Global Human Rights. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  7. 1 2 Paddison, Laura; Lakhani, Nina (29 June 2021). "Honduran state responsible for trans woman's murder – court". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  8. ↑ "Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and Red Lésbica Cattrachas Take Honduras to Court for the Extrajudicial Killing of Trans Activist Vicky Hernández". GlobeNewswire News Room. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  9. ↑ Helou, Samanta. "This activist group is taking on the state of Honduras in the first trans femicide court case". International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF). Archived from the original on 30 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  10. ↑ Lopez, Oscar (29 June 2021). "International Court Rules in Favor of Trans Rights in Honduras". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  11. ↑ "Honduras reconoce su responsabilidad en la muerte de Vicky Hernández, una mujer transgénero". El País (in Spanish). 10 May 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  12. 1 2 Arellano, Diego (13 August 2021). "Honduras registra 389 crímenes de odio contra la comunidad LGTBI desde el 2009 y el 90% siguen impunes". NODAL (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  13. ↑ Urbina, Julia (20 August 2021). "LGBTIQ-Personen in Honduras besonders gefährdet". amerika21 (in German). Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  14. ↑ "Unión Europea otorga premio d DD.HH a la organización Cattrachas ⋆ 2022". El Diario de Latinoamérica (in European Spanish). 11 December 2021. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  15. ↑ "Indyra Mendoza and Claudia Spellmant: TIME100 2021". Time. 14 September 2021. Archived from the original on 12 February 2025. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  16. ↑ "Indyra Mendoza entre las 100 mujeres de 2021 de GO Mag". Reportar Sin Miedo (in Spanish). 26 June 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  17. ↑ "Indyra Mendoza y Claudia Spellmant, dos hondureñas entre los personajes más influyentes de 2021, según Time". Radio America (in Spanish). 15 September 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  18. ↑ "Indyra Mendoza Aguilar". Numista. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
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