2 Feminism in Ecuador: Reproductive Rights and Rural Housework – Sebastian

Sebastian Groom

Feminism in Ecuador Outlined by Reproductive Rights and Rural Housework

Introduction

I remember visiting Ecuador a year ago after graduating high school, as I had done so many times before traveling to my mother’s homeland. But this trip was different. While the lush green scenery and delicious local cuisine remained prevalent, I realized that not everything was perfectly structured in Ecuador as I had once imagined it being when I was a kid. On this trip, I was more observant of the disparities in certain occupations: from what I saw and heard, the men I knew in Ecuador worked in business, medicine, or construction. The women I knew were teachers, nurses, or cleaners. After reading and discussing frameworks of gender and its stereotypes that have persisted within Latin America, I began to question those disparities that I saw in Ecuador just a year ago. Why were there no male cleaners? Why did I never hear about female doctors? In this paper, I examine how the feminist movement and its large-scale social movements in Ecuador can help answer those questions, and help eliminate these harmful conventional images of men and women in Ecuadorian society. Specifically, by analyzing the theoretical frameworks displayed by scholars like Castells, Alvarez, Anzaldúa, and Lugones, I seek to affirm that unpaid housework in rural sectors of Ecuador, as well as reproductive rights in these areas, are two critical issues that need both more attention and more reformation in Ecuador because they are stark indicators of the progress of the Ecuadorian feminist movement, as well as the future trajectory of gender equality in Ecuador.

Early Ecuadorian Feminism

When it comes to the development of feminist organizations in Ecuador, we can look back nearly 400 years to truly grasp how Ecuador’s societal view of gender has fallen in to place. When Spanish colonialism ravaged its way through Ecuador, apart from diseases, religion, and weaponry, another foreign aspect of society that Spanish colonists introduced was the idea of marianismo. This ideological and intangible social concept was implemented by Spanish colonists, and created the gender dynamic structure that is still seen in Ecuador today. Marianismo is supposed to describe true, ideal femininity from the perspective of European colonialism. The concept displayed women as modest, subordinate to their husbands, and confined to household work; it is the “female” equivalent of machismo, which sets to display men as dominant, overpowering figures. However, even with the implementation of these ideas into society, people in Ecuador, specifically Indigenous and rural communities, continued to fight against these ideas.

Even before issues like unpaid housework and reproductive rights became so prominent, Indigenous and rural communities had been mobilizing feminist practices since before the 17th century.^[1] Within these communities, ideas of gender were very different compared to the images constructed by the white Europeans. Within these communities, as mentioned by Scholar Hannah Poor at Brown, gender was not the binary concept that it is today.^[2] While their feminist practices may not have been as evident as the practices seen today, many of these indigenous communities are most certainly still entitled to be labeled as feminists; through their daily practices, they exhibited equality amongst people of all genders within their sphere. Early feminist genealogy of Latin America depicted through writings by Juana Inés de la Cruz of Mexico, who’s writing “exemplifies the existence of lettered women intellectuals who resisted systems of domination”^[3], shows that these practices were prominent throughout the region of Latin America. Within Ecuador and the region itself there existed and interwoven feminist collective, with communities embodying the ideas put forth by prominent feminists. However, when Spanish colonists came in, this began to change: “With the cult of marianismo, women were relegated to the domestic sphere and, even after the expansion of citizenship rights, treated as second-class citizens”^[4], writes Marc Becker, a scholar at Gettysburg College. This further solidified the gender disparity in Ecuador at the time. From colonialism until today, this gender disparity has continued to grow. Ecuadorian Feminist literature, like writings by 19th century writer Zoila Ugarte de Landívar in El Grito del Pueblo and early 20th century poet María Luisa Lecaro, remained steadfast sources of feminist mobilization^[5], but the potent sphere of marianismo continued to make its mark on Ecuadorian society.

Feminist Social Uprisings

Feminist struggles became more widespread issues in the 1970s when, after president Jose Ibarra was ousted from the presidency in 1972, Ecuador fell under the rule of a powerful, belligerent military junta. Similar to the militarist dictatorships that existed in other Latin American countries, Ecuador became a country where women’s rights were severely restricted. Under military rule, the voices of women were faint, drowned out by sexist legislation drafted by male politicians. It wasn’t until the 1980s, when economic instability allowed for the decomposition of the militarist structure that had been in place, that women’s organizations again began to be heard publicly around the country. That growth has continued to today, with many organizations in Ecuador leading the charge in their fight for women’s rights.

While feminism in Ecuador has displayed tremendous growth in many areas, certain societal and governmental factors continue to limit the extent to which legislation passed actually takes a step forwards in terms of women’s rights. As I will discuss later, legislation on abortion is a severe restriction towards women’s rights: “In Ecuador…induced abortion is defined as a crime in the penal code, with few exceptions”.^[6] Women are being restricted on the choices they can make about their own bodies, blocking the progress of Ecuadorian Feminism and gender equality. However, through the use of powerful social movements and global initiatives, Ecuadorian feminist organizations have brought a voice to women in Ecuador, allowing women across the world to learn from how they are taking action. Utilizing global initiatives and social movement tactics such as sit-ins, protests, boycotts, and marches^[7], Ecuadorian activists in Ecuador have been able to insert themselves into the political conversation, specifically with regards to reproductive legislation. To change that legislative framework, the answer lies within the social actions of Ecuador’s feminist movements.

When looking at large scale feminist social movements in Ecuador and the formation of prominent women’s rights groups, I think it’s important to trace back to one of the most prominent feminist mobilizations in Ecuador’s history: the 1940s and the work of communist activist Nela Martinez Espinosa. A fighter against the neo-colonialist social structures that existed, and still exist, in Ecuador, Martinez led the Glorious May Revolution in 1944, solidifying the exit of the Ecuadorian oligarchy that had been in place.^[8] Years earlier in 1933, when the Liberal Revolution in Ecuador began to pick up pace, Martinez joined the Communist Party as its only woman, marking the commencement of her influential political career^[9]. Martinez efficiently utilized her position as a member of the Communist Party in Ecuador in that she “established relations with several trade unions, published radical revolutionary texts, and organized protests and demonstrations”^[10], setting a prime example for Ecuadorian women fighting for equality at the time while also displaying a social mobilization format that can be used as a framework for Ecuadorian activists today. This format can best be viewed by way of analyzing social movements and the many gears needed to run such movements.

Theoretical Framework-Substructures of Social Movements

This sort of format holds many similarities to the social framework mentioned by Manuel Castells in The Power of Identity. Just like how Castells discusses the structures of project identities, where “social actors…build a new identity that redefines their position in society and, by so doing, seek the transformation of overall social structure”^[11], Martinez and the Ecuadorian Communist Party worked to challenge and supplant the existing patriarchal hierarchy in Ecuador, with the goal of reforming the entire societal infrastructure in a way that was more equitable and just. All of this essentially culminated in La Gloriosa, the aforementioned Glorious May Revolution. Nela Martinez had become the first woman elected to the Ecuadorian government, marking the start of a shift away from the patriarchy and solidifying the effectiveness of the social movement structures undergone by the Communist Party. The party enacted a takeover of the government, which had been led by the dictatorial figure Carlos Arroyo del Río^[12]. This infiltration of such a misogynistic government allowed for Ecuador to begin to embrace its feminist history and feminist future. However, while Martinez set the precedent for modern, “young visionary” women’s movements in Ecuador^[13], the feminist movement overall in Ecuador has continued to face massive political and social hurdles, specifically when it comes to expanding women’s reproductive rights and attributing significant value to women’s housework. By analyzing the state of these two issues, both of which have been historically underreported, we can grasp a better understanding of the Ecuadorian Feminist movement and how the movement itself has shifted national sentiment regarding gender-based equality.

Case-Reproductive Rights

Women’s reproductive rights have been a pretty censored topic in Latin America, and the case is certainly the same in Ecuador. Since the rule of conservative dictatorships during the 20th century, women’s reproductive rights have been extremely infringed upon, and legislation has been strict to say the very least. For example, only a year ago did Ecuadorian lawmakers pass legislation, certified with a signature from right-wing president Guillermo Lasso, that approved “setting regulations for terminating pregnancies resulting from rape, following a Constitutional Court ruling that decriminalized such abortions.”^[14] Before this legislation, abortion was only allowed in Ecuador when a woman’s life was endangered by pregnancy. Even still, only recently did the Constitutional Court call for the decriminalization of abortion in Ecuador. It is also important to note that in rural areas of Ecuador, access to safe abortions are seldom found, and so as a result of strict abortion laws women are having more unsafe abortions.^[15]

For centuries, even while the feminist movement continued to grow, reproductive rights were few and far between because of strict, male-benefiting legislation. Legislation requiring different application process for passports for men and for women, legislation providing unequal pay between men and women, and laws prohibiting access to credit based on gender are some of the many legislative examples that have existed in Ecuador and contributed to the existing gender disparity.^[16]

Reproductive Rights-Politics and Press

However, a shift has begun to fall into place, thanks to the fact that the conversation has become much more public.^[17] Amidst strict legislation, feminist activists in Ecuador who are striving to expand women’s rights have brought attention to the topic through protests, movements, and utilizing the cultures of politics. Cultural politics, as described by scholar Sonia Alvarez and her colleagues in Cultures of Politics: Politics of Cultures, “determine the meanings of social practices and which groups and individuals have the power to define these meanings”, while also showing that “…the politics of representation…has a direct and clear link with the exercise of power and, correspondingly, with resistance to it.”^[18] In essence, Alvarez argues that these cultural politics enacted by Latin American feminists are tapping into the “politics of representation”; they are fighting for representation, for a voice, because the more they are noticed the more governments will hear about them, and thus will be forced to act on the issues feminists are protesting over.

In similar fashion, feminists in Ecuador have helped publicize their fight through interviews and testimonies.^[19] Through most of the 20th century, and still today, the voices of women were very restricted, and it was hard for groups to truly develop and grow their own voice. But, since the 1970s when Ecuador’s dictatorship days came to an end, feminist groups started to develop their voice and display it by interviewing women around the country and publishing those interviews. Specifically, interviews of those that have experienced the hardships of having an abortion where it is “criminal” to do so. Since 2009, over 30 women have been jailed for having abortions; Secretariat of Human Rights Bernarda Ordóñez says that “more than 3,000 girls under the age of 14 become mothers as a result of rape” every year.^[20] These are a few of many horrifying statistics that show the consequences of such restrictive reproductive legislation. However, Feminist newspapers have begun to focus on not quantifying the issue to such a scale.

In an interview for Nuestra Palabra, which is the first feminist newspaper in all of Ecuador founded by the aforementioned heroine Nela Martinez, the words of a young girl in Ecuador painfully depict the reality of the restriction of reproductive rights in Ecuador: “Lucía was raped on her way out of school, and in June 2015 gave birth alone in the bathroom of her home. The baby died. She was 15 years old when she was prosecuted for abortion and homicide and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for homicide.”^[21] The rapist was never even arrested or charged. This is a prime example of how those in power in Ecuador, who are often dominant male legislators, make abortion a criminal act and utilize it whenever they can to further restrict the voices of poor women in the country. It has become a tool for those in power to maintain their power, and perpetuate the social and gender differences that have continued to plague Ecuador for years. News sources like Nuestra Palabra and others continue to publicize similar interviews which, I believe, truly showcase the emotional and physical damage that women across Ecuador continue to deal with. Another form of cultural politics, these interviews and stories published by prominent feminist news sources continue to gather attention towards advancing women’s rights in Ecuador, putting the spotlight on governmental officials to see if they will take the next step and abandon their plagued Eurocentric ideologies. Moreover, prominent journalists like Sarahi Maldonado of the feminist collective have mentioned and cited these sources in their work, as have influential political figures like Rosana Alvarado, the former first vice President of Ecuador’s National Assembly.^[22] This utilization of cultural politics has become a powerful tool for Ecuadorian feminists, but is not foreign to the movement.

Breaking the Coloniality of Gender

Feminists in Ecuador have witnessed the enactment of such cultural politics for years. Since Ecuador gained independence from Spain in the early 1820s and later broke off from Gran Colombia around 1830, “the preservation of women’s roles was viewed by the state…as a crucial aspect of ‘civilizing’ the nation”^[23], writes scholar Amy Coger Lind in Gendered Paradoxes. From the very beginning of Ecuador’s transition from a land wrought with hierarchical leadership into a more modern nation state, Eurocentric views of womanhood underpinned class differences between elites and non-elites.^[24] As scholar Maria Lugones writes in Coloniality of Gender, “Gender does not need to organize social arrangements, including social sexual arrangements.”^[25] The gender arrangements observed in Ecuador are not something that is fundamental to society; rather, they are binary interventions that were implemented during colonialism centuries ago and have persisted through today. But what Lugones shows is that this “coloniality of gender” can be combated. In Ecuador, for certain, the feminist movement has been doing its part to break down those aforementioned gender arrangements.

These Eurocentric views have unfortunately remained steadfast, and it is through the utilization of cultural politics and similar methods that feminist groups and activists have begun to shift the narrative. By combating these Eurocentric views with more modern, equitable ideologies by way of pacific protesting and news broadcasting, Ecuadorian feminists have brought their issues to the forefront. Solutions remain blurry, but what is most certainly clear is that women in Ecuador must continue fighting for what they believe, spreading their word, because as Alvarez and Castells showed us, strength in numbers exists when it comes to social movements and challenging the dominant political desires.^[26]

Case-Housework in Rural Ecuador

Another instance aside from reproductive rights where women in Ecuador HAVE begun to shift the narrative has been in the area of housework. The topic of housework has been, for years, contested not just in Ecuador but around the world. In the United States, I think many people are less aware of the gender inequality that exists in Latin America. Specifically, smaller and less economically powerful countries like Ecuador receive much less attention here in the United States. Nonetheless, gender inequality regarding work is most certainly present in Ecuador, and to an alarming degree: “In urban areas, the average monthly income for a woman is around $100 less than that of a man despite the fact that urban women work an average of 15 hours and 47 minutes more per week than their male counterparts”^[27], reports the Borgen Project, a non-profit combating global poverty. This gender pay gap is widened with the fact that urban women work more than their male counterparts, demonstrating a very clear imbalance in what women are paid versus what men are paid in Ecuador, which is also further evidence of the daily societal structures governed by the coloniality of gender.

In the realm of economics, it is often debated as to what value should be attributed to the work that is done not just in the field but also in the home, that of which is done primarily by women. In most countries, the work done at home primarily by women holds no economic value and is not included in any economic measure.^[28] Maricela Tapuy, a forest worker in the province of Orellana, was interviewed saying “Even though they are participating in the forest-based work, they still have to do the housework. So each woman is doing her housework, child-rearing, agricultural work – plus the work in the forest”, referencing the women in her rural community.^[29] Again, not only are women often working the same or more than their male counterparts outside the home, in most instances they are also bearing the brunt of all the work there is to be done at home, with which comes no added value. No payment or recognition acts as a value indicator for this work which is in fact very valuable. Furthermore, when focusing on the state of employment in Ecuador, a country that like many others in the Global South deals with a lot of poverty, it is clear that there exists both an economic AND a gender gap when it comes to this unpaid work.

First, those who live in poverty are often the ones who “have to cope with the devastating effects of price increases and lack of basic resources on a daily basis”, as the previously mentioned Lind demonstrates.^[30] People residing in poor, rural communities in Ecuador are faced with a multitude of economic disadvantages compared to people part of a higher social class like those Lind mentioned. For example, rural women in Ecuador specifically are not granted full access to social security, because they “lie over a thin line between two different special social security regimes —the Rural Social Security System and the one enshrined in the Organic Law of Labor Justice and Recognition of Housework”.^[31] Even corporations designated to assist people, specifically women, in rural sectors of Ecuador are not capable of providing fundamental human rights like social security because of the fact that there is just so little attention towards housework, particularly in rural Ecuador.

Apart from vast class stratification, there also exists a pronounced gap in gender opportunity within each social class. When looking at the rural communities that comprise most of Ecuador’s diverse land, Lind shows us that women clearly have it harder than men: “The position of poor women is considered inferior to the position of their male counterparts because most women are forced to work both within and outside the household.”^[32] These women are then thrust into a dangerous and perpetual cycle, because as economic conditions continue to worsen, and thus apply pressure to poorer communities, households cannot afford the in-home services that their wealthier counterparts utilize; services like cleaning, plumbing and sanitation, and even cooking are all done at home by the women of the household, on top of their out of home work. It is for this reason that Lind argues that “women are seen as crucial to the social reproduction of their communities”^[33], in that it is women who are bearing most of the societal responsibilities. Like Maricela Tapuy who I mentioned earlier, like the many women who are not receiving access to social security; women in rural areas are working tirelessly to provide for themselves and for their families and receiving little in return. However, along with these responsibilities women have established powerful relationships with each other through the formation and action done with prominent feminist organizations. It is these organizations, like UN Women and the PROAmazonia program^[34], that are fighting for women in rural communities and to push feminism forward, and achieve what women across Ecuador have been working towards since the valiant work of Nela Martinez.

Conclusion-Explanation vs Answer

As I look back on that trip to Ecuador after my senior year, I realize that there are explanations to why wealthy families only hired women to clean their house, explanations to why so many doctors and business workers I knew were men. The explanation, as I have outlined, is the social structure of gender that has persisted in Ecuador for centuries. This coloniality of gender, while often unrealized by many on a day to day basis, is constantly shaping the actions of society in Ecuador; it is the explanation to many of the queries I held after visiting Ecuador. As this essay has detailed, the ignorance towards rural housework and reproductive rights in Ecuador have exacerbated the disparity between men and women in Ecuador.

However, while this explains so much of the underlying structures in Ecuadorian society, it is not the answer. It is important to differentiate between the explanation of an issue and the answer to that issue. We can spend years explaining why these structures exist, and yet Ecuador, and Latin America, still lack a definitive answer. While there may be no definitive answer in the foreground, I do think there lies a definitive starting point: action. As Nela Martinez did in 1944, as brave women have done through testimonies, as Maricela Tapuy and many other women have done through interviews, and as so many women have done in Ecuador through large scale movements and protests, there must be action taken against gender inequality. There have been several instances in recent years where action has been taken, by way of social movements and reformed reproductive legislation, but it can’t end there. Social action must be constantly, funnily enough, in action. I am optimistic that by retaining courage and taking action against these issues of gender, Ecuador can continue to progress into a society where colonial substructures of gender are erased.