Blog #5: Changing Roles of Women in Indigenous Communities in Mexico Society

Changing Roles of Women in Indigenous Communities in Mexico Society

             After our visit to the women’s center in Oaxaca the evolution of roles for women in Mexico are becoming increasingly clear.  During our discussion on the ever growing problem of young women dropping out of school before finishing high school it was evident that one of the center’s main goals was to promote education in young girls, because they hypothesized that the best way to improve the position of women is by providing them with an education.  This education is a means to rise out of a situation and create a better life, and for the center we visited it was so vital to their mission to provide access to high school that they created a scholarship for young girls in indigenous communities.  This scholarship attributed 1800 pesos a month to the girl for various expenses such as books and school supplies, but also allocated for the family to take some of the money to use for food and other familial expenses to help eliminate some of the family pressure to drop out of school to get a job or help around the house.  When asked about the shifting roles of women in indigenous communities however, the speaker was reluctant to give a concrete example because there are several mitigating factors involved in any such discussion. 

First the role of women in terms of politics in several communities surrounding Oaxaca has changed due to continuous migration to the United States, as men leave to find work in the United States the women must fulfill their husband’s responsibility to the local political system by serving on the local committee or whatever other position it is they were scheduled to serve.  This allows women to become strong political figures inside of their local communities; it still is only because their families don’t have a male due to migration.  Due to the underlying reasoning behind the ability of women to serve, it comes as a sort of bittersweet achievement.  This movement allows for women to prove themselves as capable leaders, but it also shows the incredibly slow process of change in these indigenous communities.

Women in the workforce, as far as indigenous communities are concerned, are becoming more and more common.  This was showcased by our visit to the weaver’s house in Teotitlan, where the man of the house explained that in his grandfather’s time it was unheard of to have female weavers.  At the time women only worked to clean and prepare the wool for weaving, never to actually create one of the beautiful rugs themselves.  This custom has gradually been changing as generations pass, which is echoed in our reading about the Zapotec women.  “In the early 1970’s, young women began to weave along with their brothers, so that the pool of family weaving labor was expanded.” (Zapotec Women pg. 177)  While this is just the beginning of the integration of women in the work force, it seems to follow the trend of progress based on necessity.  That necessity can be brought about through political pressure, as in the case of the United States, or through economic factors, in the case of the Zapotec women and the women filling the places of their husbands in other indigenous communities.

All of these examples are strong indications of the movement in Mexican society towards a more gender equal nation, however it does not give any sort of indication of how long the process of total equality will take.  It is encouraging and discouraging to hear that women are growing increasingly more important in their communities but still are looked at as inferior and not as important as their male counterparts.  It is culturally shocking to see the still prevalent distinction in gender relations here in Mexico versus those we have established in the United States, and while there is still argument as to whether the U.S. has achieved true equality in any sense, it has certainly taken greater strides than Mexico.  However, when you look at the entire history of Mexico as a country, it is easy to see how the country has struggled with meeting the needs of the 21^st century ideals of America when their history is full of conflict without resolution and a government which is continuously inefficient at solving any problem.  This realization of the difference in history and political system more than accounts for the lack of progress in terms of gender equality.

- Brandon Hubbard -