Essay Sample on Women in Andean States: Discrimination Despite Equality Deserved

Introduction

Women in Andean states have suffered a lot of discrimination that come about because of the elite white males that lived in their nations. Together with the indigenous Indians, women were subordinated by the colonial, patriarchal, and catholic society. They were all denied citizenship to their country, and they did not have voting rights long after they had achieved their independence. There was a lot of discrimination they faced, despite the equality they deserved. Since the indigenous women faced a lot of discrimination due to their race, class, and gender, they are often known as the “triple burden of the indigenous." Indigenous feminism cropped up because of their efforts to fight for their rights to citizenship, justice, and to avoid discrimination. Indigenous feminists in the Andean nations faced a lot of discrimination despite their efforts to fight for equality and justice and their involvement in Andean politics, and they are continually facing a lot of discrimination.

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Women Rights in Andean States

Rights are universal, and every citizen should be accorded the rights. However, discrimination and denial of citizenship to illiterates and different groups of women have led to uneven access to rights among different social subjects. Historically, Andean states have been slow in the legislation of women's rights mainly because of the gender hierarchies that inform the legal systems and the actions of the state throughout the Andean region (Lafleur, Jean-Michel, and Romero 14). Women have not been able to acquire autonomous rights accorded to them by the state constitutions, even as ethnic people or peasants. According to Andean history, there has been a constant contest of indigenous people and feminist women to gain their rights. This has varied depending on the time and the place, political ideologies, and organizations.

In political, economic, and social terms, Andean societies and republican states have not considered the indigenous women as full citizens of the nation despite the feminists' efforts in demanding justice and equality (Hammond 246). Despite a constant reworking of the transnational and the national context of human rights, there has been a permanent exclusion of women's rights in the areas in which they are awarded or enforced. The first Andean nation to give women the right to vote in 1929 was Ecuador. The move was focused on checking the more radical liberal forces in Ecuador, such as the growing communist and feminist movements (Tapia 236). Feminists were mostly linked to conservatism, religion, and tradition. Also, the right to vote was given to women by the political coalition to ensure that they created a bulwark against what they saw as a growing threat of socialism in their community (Tapia 237). Additionally, since the 1929 constitution stipulated that the citizens should be literate, it led to more exclusion of the indigenous women from voting rights and different rights.

Rise of Feminism in Andean States

The May revolution began in 1944, which led to a rise in the number of women fighting for political presence. It was a revolution focused on the removal of president Carlos Arroyo del Rio from power, and most women held essential positions in this uprising. For instance, A Cayambe indigenous leader Dolores Cacuango set up an organized attack on an army barrack in the vicinity (Hammond 246). On the other hand, white feminists grouped different protestors that circled the Government Palace. After the president resigned, Nela Martinez served as the minister in the government for three days. However, the next president Vlasco Ibarra did not include the women in the government despite the contribution they had made in the insurgence (Hammond 246). Even though there was new drafting of the constitution in 1945, which included several improvements of rights such as the eradication of child labor, the creation of education avenues, and recognizing the workers’ rights, women were not recognized, and they were not given the rights that they required.

The amendment of the constitution in 1967 obligated women to vote similar to their male counterparts. Another constitution was developed in 1979, and this did away with the requirement of literacy for citizenship rights and protected citizens against discrimination due sex or race (Velásquez 251). Nonetheless, women had a weak role in the political lives, and in 1984 female candidates in congress were only 15% of the total number of women. Three women also achieved offices in the 71 deputies in congress. A new amendment in 1988 came into action, ensuring that 30% of all the congress's candidates should be women with an increase in this percentage by 20% in 2008. Another law in 1987 ensured that women were equal to men in matters concerning inheritance, rights regarding property, and divorce (Velásquez 251). There is a lot of legal ground that feminist women have gained in Ecuador in the last fifty years. However, the law often does not translate into practice.

Current Conditions of Feminism in Andean States

Currently, the women in the Andean states are continually facing several systematic threats to their lives because of the historical inequalities and the patriarchal beliefs that are perpetuated by the neoliberal capitalist colonial system (Velásquez 253). There is much indifference in the states, which do not consider women's lives to be important. Furthermore, the government has an increased amount of neglect, and they do not consider the Andean women to be a priority in their creation of policies. Policies created are also exclusionary and biased towards the cities, and they are directed towards leaving out the territories in their Amazon communities and rural areas (Velásquez 255). There is a dramatic health crisis in women communities, caused by minimal specialized treatment and teams, medicines, and health centers that ensure that the women communities receive attention from their cultures and to ensure that there is a preservation of the ancestral knowledge that will ensure healing and prevention. Several activities by the transnational companies have continually preyed on the common assets and to raise the risks of environmental degradation and pollution in their communities (Velásquez 255). Female human rights defenders are continually being murdered as they support the female initiatives while the government is not making any efforts to eradicate and sanction these crimes that are increasingly becoming systematic. There is also an escalation of authoritative force by military forces and threats to the Andean nations which is represented by the Colombian government where the public is mobilizing their forces in the different regions, increasing fear and persecution of the indigenous communities, mostly on women where there is increased rape perpetrated by the active military (Velásquez 256).

The Brazilian government which is a far-right and a fascist government that is allowing grilieros, loggers, and mining which allows the advancement of the territories in the Amazon, leading to increased deforestation and environmental degradation which greatly affects the indigenous population in the desire it has to cement the ultraliberal project to privatize common issues (Monette 644). Violence towards women of all ages is progressive. It entails forced confinement where they are forced to live with their oppressors without the response from their government, which has reacted with measures from an urban perspective instead of focusing on the indigenous plight of the women, making them invisible in the government response to their plight.

There is a rise in poverty and food insecurity. The government has provided a solution through the delivery of food baskets and economic bonds that do not reach their communities and, therefore, affect the larger population of women, teenagers, and girls. Women's care work has continually been outsized, including the contribution it has made to life sustenance; they also have several responsibilities in the family and the productive work in the communities. A digital and technological gap is present, and this has left multiple girls and adolescents without access to formal education.

Due to the risks posed to the indigenous women's health and lives and the large loss of life, there is a need to place the women's agenda as a priority within the framework of response to the different difficulties these women face in their lives (Monette 644). It includes forming a new and productive feminist organization based on sustainability, equality, and justice. This would guarantee that there is sovereignty in the territories and a harmonious relationship with nature.

Conclusion

Indigenous feminists in the Andean nations faced a lot of discrimination despite their efforts to fight for equality and justice and their involvement in Andean politics, and they are continually facing a lot of discrimination. However, while rights are universal and every citizen should be accorded the rights, discrimination, and denial of citizenship to illiterates and different groups of women have led to uneven access to rights among different social subjects. Historically, Andean states have been slow in the legislation of women's rights mainly because of the gender hierarchies that inform the legal systems and the actions of the state throughout the Andean region. In political, economic, and social terms, Andean societies and republican states have not considered the indigenous women as full citizens of the nation despite the feminists' efforts in demanding justice and equality. Furthermore, while there has been a constant reworking of the transnational and the national context of human rights, there has been a permanent exclusion of women's rights in the areas in which they are awarded or enforced. Ecuador became the first Andean nation to allow women to vote in 1929, and the move was focused on checking the more radical liberal forces in Ecuador, such as the growing communist and feminist movements. Women were mostly linked to conservatism, religion, and tradition. Also, women had achieved their right to vote by the conservative political coalition to ensure that they create a bulwark that was against what they saw to be an increase in the socialism threat in society.

Works Cited

Hammond, Gregory. "Women's Place in the Andes: Engaging Decolonial Feminists Anthropology." The Latin Americanist 63.2 (2019): 246-247.

Lafleur, Jean-Michel, and Maria Vivas Romero. "Combining transnational and intersectional approaches to immigrants' social protection: The case of Andean families' access to health." Comparative migration studies 6.1 (2018): 14.

Monette, Marie-Eve. "Decolonial Approaches to Latin American Literatures and Cultures." (2018): 643-645.Tapia, Silvana Tapia. "Feminism and Penal Expansion: The Role of Rights-Based Criminal Law in Post-Neoliberal, Ecuador." Feminist Legal Studies 26.3 (2018): 285-306.

Velásquez, Teresa A. "Enacting refusals: Mestiza women’s anti-mining activism in Andean Ecuador." Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies 12.3 (2017): 250-272.