Pobladoras, Indígenas, and the State
Conflict Over Women's Rights in Chile
Chile has made a public commitment to equality between women and men through the creation of a National Women’s Service, SERNAM. Yet, indigenous Mapuche women and working-class pobladora activists assert that they have been excluded from programs implemented by SERNAM. Decisions about what constitutes "women’s interests" are usually made by middle class, educated, lighter-skinned women, and the priorities and concerns of poor, working-class, and indigenous women have not come to the fore.
Through critical analysis of the role of the state, the diversity of women’s movements, and the social and political position of indigenous peoples in Latin America, Richards provides an illuminating discussion of the ways in which the state defines women’s interests and constructs women’s citizenship. This book makes important contributions to feminist studies, theories of citizenship, and studies of the intersections of class, gender, and race.
Acknowledgments
1. Women's Rights and Representing Difference
2. Women's Activism and the Chilean State
3. National Development, Social Policy, and the Poor
4. Participation and the Representation of Pobladoras in the State
5. State Goals, National Identity, and the Mapuche
6. Vision de Pueblo and the Representation of Mapuche Women in the State
7. Why Difference Matters
Appendix: Research Sites, Sample, and Design
Notes
Bibliography
Index