Violencia de género en una comunidad indígena ngöbe de Costa Rica: Reflexiones sobre las respuestas de mujeres indígenas ngöbes
Fecha
2024-01-01
Tipo
artículo original
Autores
Quesada Cordero, Carolina
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Editor
Resumen
Este artículo analiza las respuestas de mujeres indígenas ngöbe ante situaciones de violencia de género, con el apoyo de conceptos provenientes de la cosmología mesoamericana y el concepto de agencia, entendido como una práctica de pertenencia (Weir, 2013). Se enfatizan las respuestas que recurren a la conexión identitaria y a la renegociación de las relaciones dentro de la comunidad y con instituciones externas. Asimismo, se resalta la aspiración de las mujeres de asegurar una vivencia plena de su cultura y sus creencias para sí mismas y para las futuras generaciones. Para este análisis se utilizan datos obtenidos mediante el trabajo de campo etnográfico en una comunidad ngöbe del Sur de Costa Rica durante 2015 y 2016. Este artículo concluye que la conexión sustantiva que establecen las mujeres con su identidad puede cimentar su estatus en la comunidad, dándoles un mayor margen para sus acciones y, con ello, la posibilidad de generar espacios internos seguros para sí mismas y para otras mujeres. Asimismo, las mujeres han logrado construir y mantener redes de apoyo para fortalecer los espacios de protección. En el contexto de estas redes de apoyo se empiezan a renegociar y reconfigurar algunas formas de relación prevalentes en la comunidad e incluso las relaciones con instituciones externas a esta. Al echar estos procesos a andar, las mujeres fomentan el respeto a la dignidad propia y mejoran el bienestar comunitario.
In this article I examine the responses of Ngöbe indigenous women to experiences of gender violence, aided by concepts from Mesoamerican cosmology and the concept of agency as a practice of belonging (Weir, 2013). Emphasis is placed on responses to gender violence that rely on the connection to the Ngöbe identity and the renegotiation of relationships within the community and with external institutions. I also highlight the aspirations of indigenous Ngöbe women to ensure a full experience of their culture and their beliefs for themselves and for future generations. The empirical data comes from the ethnographic fieldwork in a Ngöbe indigenous community in southern Costa Rica undertaken during 2015 and 2016. In this article I conclude that women’s substantive connection with their identity can reinforce their status in the community and expand the scope of their actions and as a result impact on the possibility of generating safe spaces for themselves and for other women in the community. Likewise, women have managed to establish and maintain supportive networks that offer spaces of protection. In the context of these networks, they have begun to renegotiate and reconfigure prevalent forms of relationship in the community and with external institutions. By setting these processes in motion, they promote respect for women’s dignity and improve the well-being of the whole community.
In this article I examine the responses of Ngöbe indigenous women to experiences of gender violence, aided by concepts from Mesoamerican cosmology and the concept of agency as a practice of belonging (Weir, 2013). Emphasis is placed on responses to gender violence that rely on the connection to the Ngöbe identity and the renegotiation of relationships within the community and with external institutions. I also highlight the aspirations of indigenous Ngöbe women to ensure a full experience of their culture and their beliefs for themselves and for future generations. The empirical data comes from the ethnographic fieldwork in a Ngöbe indigenous community in southern Costa Rica undertaken during 2015 and 2016. In this article I conclude that women’s substantive connection with their identity can reinforce their status in the community and expand the scope of their actions and as a result impact on the possibility of generating safe spaces for themselves and for other women in the community. Likewise, women have managed to establish and maintain supportive networks that offer spaces of protection. In the context of these networks, they have begun to renegotiate and reconfigure prevalent forms of relationship in the community and with external institutions. By setting these processes in motion, they promote respect for women’s dignity and improve the well-being of the whole community.
Descripción
Palabras clave
Mujeres indígenas, Violencia de género, Equilibrio, Relacionalidad, Agencia como pertenencia, comunidad indígena ngöbe, Indigenous women, gender violence, balance, relationality, agency as belonging