Indigenous Mapuche Women Mobilize Against State Repression and Patriarchy in Chile

By teleSUR

21 June 17

Reflecting on their own experiences as Mapuche women, the collective wants to raise awareness about their struggle against gender violence and state abuses.

he collective Yafvluawiñ inchiñ pu zomo gen based in Chile called on Mapuche women to mobilize Thursday against all types of violence they experience on a daily basis.

Describing their two-folded position as Mapuche and women, they condemned the patriarchy in Western societies as well as the gender violence experienced within the Mapuche people.

“The Mapuche feminism dates back from the voices and actions led by our grandmothers, who refused to keep silence, who resisted,” said the statement.

The stories of abuses and gender violence have been orally transmitted from generation to generation, and the mobilization does not mean to victimize Mapuche women but rather make visible their struggle and strengthen their movement, they added.

The call comes about one month after a Mapuche woman named Josefina Allilef Huenchumil was burnt by her partner Mario Guido Domihual Cheuquian and a friend of his in the community of Freire.

But beyond gender violence, the collective also condemned the state repression, which also affects Mapuche women and children, with the militarization of security and the criminalization of the struggle categorized as “terrorism” by Chilean authorities.

The Mapuche of Chile are one of the largest Indigenous communities in South America and make up an estimated 10 percent of the country’s population. They have been involved in a continued struggle to defend their native land and traditional way of life despite many of their leaders being imprisoned.

Mapuche people are more likely to be killed by Chilean police than those who are non-Mapuche, according to Human Rights Watch. In 2012, the organization called for Chilean authorities to carry out a “prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation” into the unlawful use of force by police against the Indigenous community.