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Show Hinckley Journal of Politics Autumn 1998 occurred on a large scale. Sociologist Virginia Vargas categorized the Peruvian women's mobilization into three groups: '"feminist"' movements (middle-class), '"popular"' movements (lower-class), and "'traditional'" movements (multi-class) (quoted in Herzog 1993, 122). In the 1970s, Peruvian feminists learned that the hierarchical structure and ideology of political parties were not conducive to feminists' goals. They left political parties and began participating in independent feminist centers. These feminists protested against the exploitation of women, particularly in opposition to beauty contests. Despite their intentions to appeal to the interests of lower-class women, they failed to articulate how the subordination of women impacted women of all classes (125). Feminists in Peru made the mistaken assumption that women of all classes share the same concerns. An example of this is illuminated by the 1985 general elections. Two women from the feminist movement were allowed to run for Parliamentary seats. Their campaign slogan, "Women, vote women!" embodied a vague assumption of sisterhood which ignored the practical needs of women in Peru. As a result of their shortsighted feminist platform, neither candidate won the election (Barrig 1994, 164). Feminism failed as an effective political voice because feminists did not address the practical gender interests of other middle-class and any lower-class women. Lower-class women in Peru mobilized to meet practical gender interests. Many women's organizations were based on the plight of the working-class woman. In communities without water systems, electricity or garbage collection, communal cooperation was essential for survival. While the men worked, the women searched for food, kerosene, and clean water. These women organized in order to achieve their goals more effectively (Barrig 1994, 165). Two specific types of popular mobilization, communal kitchens and Vaso de Leche, achieved different levels of political success. Communal kitchens helped poor communities, especially during times of economic crisis. Communities were able to purchase subsidized food from the United States and religious organizations. These organizations were remarkably common and effective throughout Peru (165). However, communal kitchens never gave rise to more substantial political activity. In fact, the government neglected to implement food relief programs because its leaders knew that the women would continue to run the communal kitchens to feed their families. This perpetuated the subordination of women in many ways. First, the women solved the immediate problem of the food shortage, which allowed the government to ignore the causes of the problem. Second, by placing the responsibility of health and food on the women, the community could not see the reasons to mobilize for change. Third, communal kitchens absorbed the energy and attention of the women, which prevented them from participating in other political activity. Finally, women had established themselves as a manipulatable group, which weakened their voice in government (166). Vaso de Leche (Glass of Milk) was a similar but more successful organization. Vaso de Leche, which was supported by the Peruvian government, provided children with a portion of milk each day. More than 100,000 women were given the opportunity to mobilize under this effort. Because the program was funded by the government, it came under the supervision of middle-class leaders. Although Vaso de Leche started as a single-class organization, it developed into a multi-class organization. Leaders of Vaso de Leche advocated close ties with the government from the beginning; the women who participated in Vaso de Leche learned about politics and municipal relations. These government ties helped many women from the program get elected to municipal office (Barrig 1994, 171-172). The outcomes of the communal kitchens and Vaso de Leche can be evaluated in the context of strategic and practical gender interests. The communal kitchens only addressed practical gender interests. The women involved recognized a need to extend their efforts to strategic gender interests, but they had locked into a "survival mode" that left them feeling helpless. In contrast, the women of Vaso de Leche successfully balanced strategic and practical gender interests. As a result, their political voice was moderately strengthened (168-169). Other multi-class women's organizations were traditional in that they stemmed from church groups or political parties. These groups were made up of women from the middle and lower classes. Women in political parties made gains in employment equality and welfare reform. Women from the Roman Catholic Church organized literacy programs and political, economic, and legal courses. They mobilized for the rights of children and provided food and education to children. Women also mobilized in favor of labor rights. Unfortunately, party, religious, and labor affiliations were dangerous and many women lost their lives to Sendero Luminoso's guerilla attacks (Herzog 1993, 127-128). Fear of Sendero Luminoso limited the size and success of traditional movements (Barrig 1994, 170). Though most of them embraced both practical and strategic gender interests, they appeared to be too radical to their opposition. Although their efforts were cut short, multi-class movements, such as Vaso de Leche, were the most successful in influencing change in government for the benefit of women (168). Numerous failures of Peruvian women's groups to affect political change led women to change their political strategies. Women's groups of all classes formed coalitions to influence the government (173). It seems that women had always realized that multi-class groups would have been the most effective, but they were nearly impossible to sustain due to class conflict and political instability. Finally, in 1992, the leader of Sendero was captured and accessibility to the government improved. A women's group called the Committee of Women for an Aware Vote brought together feminists, political activists, and leaders from the lower-classes to help inform voters on Peru's new constitu- 9 |
