Women and indigenous people in Latin America, an obstacle course for life

A February 2020 report “Application of the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention No. 169 of the ILO: Towards an inclusive, sustainable and fair future of the International Labor Organization” was cited in this Spanish language article, “Around 28 million men and 26 million women make up the indigenous population of Latin America and the Caribbean...Indigeneous people make up almost 30% of people living in extreme poverty.” More than 85% of indigeneous women “only find work in the informal economy.” “Only one in ten indigenous girls finishes secondary school in Latin America”

“Latin American indigenous women also face economic difficulties in accessing health services, according to the IACHR report that indicates that such social and economic exclusion entails permanent discrimination and makes them potential targets of violence.”

"In the area of ​​organizations that represent indigenous peoples there are also patriarchates, they want to shut you up," Ruth Alipaz, General Coordinator of the National Coordinator in Defense of Indigenous Peasant and Protected Areas of Bolivia, told DW. "Then there is the scope of the state apparatus: violation of rights, dispossession, looting of resources," she added, denouncing the harassment and criminalization suffered by indigenous women.”

Indigeneous women “have played a decisive role in the fight for the self-determination of their peoples and their rights as women.” They are” guarantors of culture” and contribute to “family sphere as well as in their communities, countries, and internationally.”