MEXICO CITY, Mar 9 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) - Nearly 26 million Mexican women have no formal income according to a survey by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).

The report presented to mark International Women's Day yesterday showed that women without wages in Mexico are equivalent to 62 percent of the workforce.

INEGI adds that in most cases they are teenagers, young and elderly women who devote themselves to household chores and the family without getting paid.

The state institution stressed that 78 percent of Mexican women work more hours a day than men.

It states that the average working hours for women during the week is 41.3, while for men the average working week is 23.2 hours.

The Institute argues that many women spend approximately 27 hours in housework every seven days and 25 hours in the care of children, sick and elderly.

INEGI's own statistics corroborate that females dominate the country's population with 51.6 percent from more than 100 million inhabitants.

The insitutition said that more need to be done to achieve a greater presence of women in public life as it recalled that in three decades there have been only five women governors in the country's 32 states.

They occupy only five percent in municipal city hall administration and 20 percent in the judiciary. In the federal government there are 19 deputy ministers.

With regard to the educational level by gender, the institution said that eight out of 100 women cannot not read and write while the proportion among men is five out of 100.

INERGI also says that 43 women out of 100, aged over 15 have experienced emotional violence, economic, physical or sexual abuse.

It stresses that deaths due to gender violence throughout Mexico recorded 4.2 cases for thousand deaths.

Meanwhile in Tegucigalpa, Honduras an increase of violence is women's main worry in Honduras, where more than 400 were killed last year and most of those responsible remain unpunished.

That figure places this country as second, regarding the number of homicides in that social sector, following Guatemala, with 700 cases according to data published yesterday on the occasion of International Women's Day.

We think that the situation of violence is serious and we have started the year really bad on the matter, Visitacion Padilla Women for Peace Movement National Coordinator Gladys Lanza said.

She recalled that 407 women died violently last year and the number has reached 60 the current year so far adding that the problem has worsened.

"As we go so far, we can exceed the previous year's figures, said Lanza.

Although the problem has become widespread in all sectors including the rich and poor, it is in the middle class in which it has been seen more violence in recent days, she said.

According to Lanza, there is no commitment of the authorities to solve the uncontrolled violence and recalled that the government dismantled a telephone line that was previously used to report mistreatment.

She said women's organisations will begin a nationwide campaign this month to raise social awareness about the problem and demand punishment to those responsible for the crimes. -- NNN-PRENSA LATINA