Patriarchy In Mexico

“Woman General am I”: The Empowerment of Indigenous Women in Mexico

Through the rising attention paid to feminist spaces, the concept of “patriarchy” has come to occupy the public eye. Patriarchy is the economic, social, and psychological domination of society through male power structures. In the Americas-North, South, and Central,-patriarchy underlies the majority of governmental and societal hierarchies. However, resistance movements in recent history have focused on overhauling the patriarchy in favor of power structures with gender equity. Two seperate movements, the EZLN insurgency and the indigenous literary explosion, have centered on promoting a focus on matriarchy. Through political activity, spirituality, and storytelling, indigenous

The first of these terms is arguably the most difficult to define: “indigenous.” The word indigenous has been utilized to refer, historically, to any group of people which originally inhabited a particular area-usually in reference to country-prior to colonization efforts. In the context of this essay, however, “indigenous” is in reference to the societies and cultures which originally inhabited, and continue to inhabit, Mexico. This includes the Nahuatl, the Maya, the Tzotzil, and countless others. Another important concept is the idea of “matriarchy.” Matriarchy, in the context of indigeneity, is the promotion of women into positions of power and influence, especially women who are already respected as elders. An additional concept that is central to indigenous cultures not only in Mexico, but globally, is that of “land-based cultures.” Members of land-based cultures often view humanity as connected to, enveloped by, or part of the landscape which they inhabit. Destruction of the land is destruction of a crucial part of land-based

From its beginning, the EZLN has prioritized the rights of indigenous women. On the day that their insurgency began, the EZLN published “The Women’s Revolutionary Law.” This document clarified that from its initiation, the Zapatistas were committed to granting indigenous women the rights they had been denied by the patriarchy for centuries. The EZLN declares that not only will women be “incorporated into the revolutionary struggle,” but that they will also “be able to occupy positions of leadership in the organization and hold military ranks in the revolutionary armed forces” (EZLN 67). Additionally, the document acknowledges the many rights denied to women, including work and fair pay, impact on family size, community authority, healthcare, education, fair marriage, and freedom from violence and sexual assault (EZLN 67). This serves as a noticeable departure from the previous pattern set by the Mexican government, as well as society writ large; according to an Amnesty International survey of 100 Mexican women who had been arrested, seventy-two were sexually abused and thirty-three were raped (Amnesty International 2016). The Zapatista’s decision not only to protect women, but to value their voices, experiences, and leadership, illustrates the ascendancy of indigenous women in