Feminism In Latin America

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The exclusionary nature of political systems of Latin America reached its height under the military governments in the 1970s, particularly in Argentina and Chile . As a consequence of this divisionary rule, women’s participation in collective actions associated with the struggle for their rights and their identity rose significantly in order to combat the prevailing ideological burden of femininity . Women in Latin America began to participate in social protests and manifestations in order to fight the patriarchal family model had established itself as an accepted form of rule - an idea regarding the subordination of women being anchored to the strongly cohesive family group that constitutes the base of the whole system of social relations and divisions of labour and areas of activity between men and women . Craske argues that women have achieved a greater voice and presence in the region’s politics and their participation in social movements has had a considerable impact on women’s empowerment and has led some to deepen their political participation . With the use of Argentina and Chile, the issues that women in these countries embraced through their movements from the 1960s to 1980s will be explored.
In 1973, Chile witnessed the emergence of a militaristic leader – Augusto Pinochet. The Pinochet dictatorship that controlled Chile during this period led to a society that was filled with fear, repression and suffering. It has been argued by some, such as Alicia Frohmann and Teresa Valdés, that this was especially true for women in Chile who were active in the struggle for survival . Clandestinely, women began to form ‘underground’ organisations that played a significant role in opposing the dictatorship as the government develop...

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...empowerment, the wish to be seen in the political world, gender fuelled economic inequalities and the fight against ‘machismo’. It appears that one common idea that appears consistently in these movements is the resilient importance of ‘motherhood’ that seems to cut above class and underline the irrelevance of political belonging or boundaries. On top of this, there appears to be another clear form of continuity between these movements – gender identity. Some argue that women are claiming rights and gaining a voice and are no longer passive observers of the political process but more so have greater autonomy and power to decide their own futures , but, a valid question, however, is: are these inequalities rooted too deep in Latin American societies or have the movements these women led and fought for transformed the traditional ideological stance of these nations?

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