Much like any other parent, Martha and her partner have invested time in looking for the perfect Mexico City school for their three children. Instead of just the typical pressures that comes along with finding a school that best fits the needs of their children, the same-sex couple has been met with close-mindedness, discrimination, and hatred. On November 24, Martha (who didn’t reveal her last name to protect her children’s privacy) and her partner filed a complaint with the Consejo para Prevenir y Eliminar la Discriminación de la Ciudad de Mexico (Copred), Animal Politico reports.
According to Martha, it all started in July 2015 when she tried to enroll her oldest daughter – aged 2.5 at the time – at Olinca in San Angel. She toured the school and felt it could work for her daughter. She then asked the director for the kindergarten class if there were other students with same-sex parents. “Her immediate reaction was to change her expression,” Martha told Animal Politico. “The director’s response was, ‘No, we don’t have a problem with that, so long as they don’t make a scene in front of the children.’” Those last few words really struck a nerve with Martha. Upon asking for clarification, she learned the director didn’t want the couple to “disrespect” anyone.
On Twitter, Olinca stated that it accepts all types of families – disputing that it didn’t single out same-sex couples.
In November, Martha and her partner went to Senda to enroll their daughter and twin sons. When they asked the staff about how open they were to the gay community, the parents felt encouraged by the initial interaction. However, Martha soon received a phone call and was asked to come in. There, she learned that once again she and her family were being rejected.
“They began by telling me that they wanted the school to be more open, but unfortunately, the parents of the other children were very ‘Catholic’ and they couldn’t accept my children,” Martha said. “Plus the school didn’t want the other children to bully my children for having two moms. They said they preferred to ‘protect’ them and shield them from that ‘suffering.’”
Once again, she felt furious, but decided to move forward and try to find a school. That’s how she ended up at MiKínder in Jardines del Pedregal. She was told it was a secular school, but then she learned that the school is affiliated with Opus Dei, a Catholic organization that works to infuse society with Christian ideals.
At that point, Martha decided to file the Copred complaint. The parents no longer want their children to attend these schools. Instead, they want the schools to be sanctioned, so that other families don’t have to go through the same unfair process.