In this report I argue that the analytical unit of feminicide must be expanded beyond gender in order to assess the axis of inequality upon which gender violence in
contemporary Guatemala is being waged. Intersectionality and a gendered racial
formation theory provide a more nuanced basis from which to undertake an analysis of
gender violence and feminicide, and the grounds for devising effective long-term strategies for ending violence in its myriad forms. Second, I argue that the increased
visibility of feminicide of late in Guatemala, far from being evidence of gradual progress
toward addressing the problem, should be read as a sign of the problem‘s deepening, in a
new and perhaps exacerbated form. Using historical examples from the Guatemalan
women‘s movement, I demonstrate that demands to end gender violence and increase the
rights of women, when articulated by the state, have often led not to a diminishing, but a
reshaping of patriarchy and other forms of oppression. The Guatemalan state‘s transition
towards neoliberal governmentality, and the gendered subject formation that is a part of
this process, raise additional contradictions that merit further attention. State-based
approaches to women‘s rights and protection should be merely one element of a larger
political strategy towards more radical transformations of the state and racial, social and
economic inequalities that will end gender based violence in the long-term. / text
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UTEXAS/oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/ETD-UT-2011-05-3662 |
| Date | 13 July 2011 |
| Creators | Ihmoud, Sarah Emily |
| Source Sets | University of Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
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