Speaking up in Peru

Maribel looks straight into the future with a warm smile.

Until not too long ago, less than 4% of rural communities in Peru had female leaders. Widespread machismo at the community level made it impossible for women to participate in meetings, let alone speak up or hold leadership roles. The community of Santa Rosa de Huancapuquio, where Maribel lives, was no exception.

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In Peru, access and participation in communal decision-making spaces has historically been a purely male affair, particularly within indigenous communities.

For decades, women have been silenced and excluded from their communities, unable to have a say in matters that affect them daily. 

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But Maribel wasn’t going to let that stop her. 

She started attending meetings when her daughter was only a baby. At the beginning she was alone and men in the community would wonder what she was doing there, what she thought she would accomplish.

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But after a while, thanks to her persistence and to the work of organisations like SER and ONAMIAP to empower rural women and promote their active participation in spaces where decisions were being made, more women started to attend.

"When we speak of machismo and domination, we speak of a system that has reduced women to service tasks and does not consider them in decision-making spaces," explains Melania Canales, President of ONAMIAP. "Men participate in the public space, but they do not take care of the housework and don't see it as their responsibility, when in fact it is." -

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In 2019, ILC National Engagement Strategy (NES) in Peru, of which SER and ONAMIAP are active members, promoted the amendment of article 19 of the General Law of Peasant Communities.

The amendment ensures that at least 30% of community board members are women.

Helping to push for women’s participation and engagement. 

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Maribel is now the treasurer of the community, but she covers a lot of other roles as well. Her days start at 4am and she doesn’t stop until late at night. She speaks at meetings, coordinates community activities, encourages men and women to listen to each other and collaborate.

She always answers when someone calls.

But she is not alone anymore. Two more women have joined her as authorities:

Marleny Gutiérrez and Enedina Najarro.

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So far, 25 communal statutes have been updated in Peru since the amendment, leading to the recognition of over 600 Quechua rural women from Ayacucho as qualified comuneras in their communities, and of over 300 Aymara women. 

Men, like Nilo and Smith, also began to learn about equal participation and what good it could do to their community as a whole.

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We've come a long way, but it’s not over. For more women to be able to become active members of their communities, it’s important to educate the new generation. 

"Children must come [to the meetings], it is necessary that they know about our community, as if it were their father. They must know about the history of our town, from our ancestors and how our grandparents were, so that they value our town, so that they do not leave our communities for other places.”

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Maribel looks at the road ahead with determination.

“If it were all in my hands, I would want it all now! But sometimes we find ourselves with limitations. What I know is that women don’t want to return to the previous situation, we want to look at the future, to do something for our people.”

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Learn more about how ILC is contributing to people-centred land governance in PERU in a summary of our contributions

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