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The handle http://hdl.handle.net/1887/38182 holds various files of this Leiden University dissertation.
Author: Ortiz, Barbara
Title: Making the invisible visible : the position of indigenous women in Mexico. A general overview of the challenges ahead
Issue Date: 2016-02-23
M AKING THE I NVISIBLE V ISIBLE :
T HE P OSITION OF I NDIGENOUS W OMEN IN M EXICO
A General Overview of the Challenges Ahead
Barbara Ortiz
M AKING THE I NVISIBLE V ISIBLE :
T HE P OSITION OF I NDIGENOUS W OMEN IN M EXICO
A General Overview of the Challenges Ahead
Proefschrift ter verkrijging van
de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden, op gezag van Rector Magnificus prof. mr. C.J.J.M. Stolker,
volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties te verdedigen op dinsdag 23 februari 2016
klokke 16.15 uur door
Barbara Ortiz
geboren te Borgerhout (Antwerpen) in 1984
Promotores
Prof. Dr. Maarten E.R.G.N. Jansen
Prof. Dr. Antonella Cammarota (Università degli Studi di Messina)
Promotiecommissie
Prof. Dr. Corinne L. Hofman, decaan Faculteit der Archeologie (voorzitter) Prof. Dr. Jan C.A. Kolen
Prof. Dr. Willem F.H. Adelaar
Dr. Sabina Aguilera Madrigal (Freie Universität, Berlin)
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES ... ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... xi
I.INTRODUCTION ... 1
A. Making the Invisible Visible ... 4
B. Methodology ... 8
C. Mexican Anthropology: Where Are the Women? ... 11
D. Definition of Indigenous Peoples ... 14
II.THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ... 17
A. Towards a Feminist Anthropology ... 18
B. Addressing Male Bias in Anthropology ... 22
C. Postcolonial Feminism ... 24
About Saving Women ... 26
D. Analysis of Anthropological Works ... 28
1. Millán – El cuerpo de la nube. Jerarquía y simbolismo ritual en la cosmovisión de un pueblo huave ... 29
2. Olavarría – El cuerpo flor. Etnografía de una noción yoeme ... 31
3. Monaghan – The Covenants with Earth and Rain: Exchange, Sacrifice, and Revelation in Mixtec Sociality ... 32
4. Dehouve – La ofrenda sacrificial entre los tlapanecos de Guerrero... 34
E. Feminist Anthropology in Mexico ... 35
F. Conclusion ... 37
III.HISTORICAL CONTEXT:THE FEMINIST MOVEMENT ... 38
A. First Wave: A Feminism of Equal Rights ... 39
1. First Feminist Wave in the West ... 39
2. Early and First Wave Feminism in Mexico ... 41
B. Second Wave: A Feminism of Women’s Liberation ... 44
1. Theoretical Base ... 44
2. Second Wave Activism in the West ... 46
3. Historical Feminism in Mexico ... 47
C. Third Wave: Against Universal Womanhood... 48
1. Postcolonial and Postmodern Critiques ... 48
2. The United Nations and Women ... 49
3. Popular and Civil Feminism in Mexico ... 50
4. Indigenous Feminism in Mexico ... 51
D. Conclusion ... 57
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IV.WOMEN AND HEALTH CARE IN MEXICO:THE NEED FOR EDUCATION,PREVENTION, AND AN INTERCULTURAL APPROACH ... 59
A. General Health Care Situation in Mexico ... 63
B. Reproductive Health: The Right to Decide and the Importance of Education in Preventing Health Risks for Women ... 66
1. Family Planning and Contraception ... 67
2. Teenage Pregnancies and Early Marriage: Limiting Emancipation ... 71
3. Abortion: A Taboo Topic ... 74
4. Forced Sterilization of Indigenous Peoples ... 77
5. Women’s Cancers: Another Example of the Lack of Information ... 79
6. The Need for Sexual Education and Prevention ... 80
C. Maternal Health: Illustrating the Need for an Intercultural Approach to Health Care in Mexico ... 81
1. Maternal Mortality in Indigenous Regions: Indicator of a Larger Problem ... 81
2. Health in an Intercultural Context ... 83
3. A Role for Traditional Medicine: The ‘Parteras’ and the Humanization of Delivery ... 88
D. Conclusion ... 94
V.FEMALE POLITICAL PARTICIPATION:CONQUERING SPACES ... 98
A. National Policy on Female Political Participation ... 101
1. Mexican Gender Quota: The Gap Between Candidacy and Election ... 103
2. The Use of ‘Juanitas’: Getting Around Gender Quota ... 104
3. Other Government Initiatives Regarding Female Political Participation ... 107
B. Female Voters ... 109
C. Eligible Women ... 111
1. National Level ... 111
2. State Level ... 121
3. Municipal Level ... 124
D. Indigenous Women and Politics: Between Tradition and Modernity ... 127
1. The Trap of Tradition? ‘Usos y Costumbres’ in Indigenous Municipalities ... 128
2. Working with the Available Data: The Case of Oaxaca ... 130
3. Structural Obstacles for Indigenous Women in Politics ... 134
4. Cultural Obstacles: “Tú cállate, tú eres mujer, no sabes nada.” ... 136
5. Changing Times: Defying Traditions and Social Structures ... 142
6. Are Indigenous Women Not Participating? ... 144
7. Movement of Indigenous Women: Activism and Leadership ... 149
E. Conclusions ... 154
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VI.THE IMAGE OF WOMEN IN MEXICAN MEDIA:FIGHTING STEREOTYPES ... 158
A. Female Gender in Mexican Media: A General Overview ... 162
1. Women Working in Mexican Media: The Struggle for Equality... 163
2. Women in Mexican Media Content: The Female Body at the Service of Men ... 169
B. The Representation of Indigenous Women in Mexican Visual Culture: Historical Context ... 174
1. La India Bonita: The Creation of a Stereotype... 178
2. Consolidation of a Stereotype ... 181
C. Making the Invisible Visible: Indigenous Women in Mexican Media ... 187
1. Television As a Role Model... 188
2. Absence of Indigenous Women on Mexican Television ... 189
3. Influence of Television on the Indigenous Self-Esteem ... 194
D. Conclusion ... 197
VII.EDUCATION IN MEXICO:BRINGING ABOUT CHANGE, OR REPRODUCING INEQUALITY? ... 200
A. Types of Education in Mexico... 206
1. Schooling Level ... 207
2. Modalities of Education ... 208
B. General Problems in Mexican Education ... 213
1. Dominance of the Teachers’ Unions ... 213
2. Unequal Distribution of Education Resources ... 214
3. Poor Infrastructure and Lack of Educational Material ... 214
4. Professionalization of Mexican Teachers ... 215
5. Efforts to Evaluate Mexican Education ... 216
C. Education in Rural and Indigenous Regions: The Need to Adapt to Varying Teaching Contexts ... 219
1. History of Rural and Indigenous Education: In Pursuit of a Homogenized Mexican Nation ... 219
2. Obstacles for Rural Education ... 221
3. Current Situation of Indigenous or Bilingual Education ... 222
4. Racism and Discrimination of Indigenous Children ... 226
D. Gender Policies in Mexican Education: More Than Good Intentions? ... 229
1. Legal Context ... 229
2. Equal Access to Education ... 230
3. Gender in Mexican Textbooks ... 231
4. And in Practice... ... 232
5. Indigenous Girls in Mexican Education ... 234
E. Conclusion ... 238
“We Are Educated, But Now What?” ... 240
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VII.GENERAL CONCLUSION ... 243
A. Making the Invisible Visible ... 243
Addressing the Male Bias ... 243
Women and Health Care in Mexico: The Need for Education, Prevention, and an Intercultural Approach ... 245
Female Political Participation: Conquering Spaces ... 246
The Image of Women in Mexican Media: Fighting Stereotypes ... 247
Education in Mexico: Bringing About Change, or Reproducing Inequality? ... 249
B. For Future Research ... 252
Gender Based Violence ... 252
Migration: Shifts and Evolutions in Gender Relations ... 254
Domestic Work ... 255
Discrimination of Indigenous Women Within the Mexican Justice System ... 255
C. Final Remarks ... 256
Prevailing Machismo ... 256
Racism and Interiorized Discrimination ... 256
Institutionalized Discrimination ... 257
The Need for Reliable Official Statistics ... 258
Agency of Indigenous Women ... 259
Valorization of Indigenous Knowledge ... 260
Towards a Socially Engaged Discipline ... 261
BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 264
Audiovisual Material ... 293
Interviews ... 294
ENGLISH SUMMARY ... 295
NEDERLANDSE SAMENVATTING ... 299
PROPOSITIONS ... 304
CURRICULUM VITAE ... 306
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Percentage of women between 15 and 49 years by use and knowledge of contraceptive
methods, Mexico, 2009……… 68
Figure 2: Percentage of women between 15 and 49 years, living in a union, and using contraceptive methods, per federal entity, Mexico, 2009……… 70
Figure 3: Percentage of women between 15 and 49 years according to their use of contraceptives during their first sexual relation, per age group, Mexico, 2009……….. 70
Figure 4: Estimated annual number of unsafe abortions per 1000 women aged 15–44 years, by sub regions, 2008……….. 76
Figure 5: Percentage of pregnancies according to the type of delivery for each federative entity, Mexico (Last pregnancy occurred between 2004 and 2009)……… 92
Figure 6a: Members of the federal Chamber of Deputies, by sex, Mexico, 1997-2015………. 118
Figure 6b: Members of the federal Chamber of Deputies, by sex, Mexico, 1997-2015………. 118
Figure 7a: Senators, by sex, Mexico, 1994-2015……… 119
Figure 7b: Senators, by sex, Mexico, 1994-2015……… 119
Figure 8: Gender quota in electoral state legislations, and proportion of female and male deputies in the state congresses, Mexico, 2012 and 2014……….. 123
Figure 9: Presence of women and men in the political structures, Mexico (2011, 2012, 2014)……….. 126
Figure 10: Women elected as counselor in the municipalities following the ‘usos y costumbres’ for the period 2011-2013, Oaxaca, Mexico……… 133
Figure 11: Screenshots of the ForoTV weather forecast with Mayte Carranco, October 23 – November 1, 2012……….. 165
Figure 12: María Bibiana Uribe, El Universal, September 15, 1921... 179
Figure 13: María Bibiana Uribe “La India Bonita”. Cover of El Universal Ilustrado, August 17, 1921…… 179
Figure 14: Jesús Helguera, Carreta tehuana... 183
Figure 15: Jesús Helguera, Cuquita y la fuente, Oil on canvas, 1953... 183
Figure 16: Jesús Helguera, La michoacana, Oil on canvas... 184
Figure 17: María Candelaria (MX, 1943), screenshot with Dolores del Río and Pedro Armendáriz... 185
Figure 18: La Jornada, 15th of January 2012………... 193
Figure 19: Equivalence of the National Educational System with the International Standard Classification of Education………. 206
Figure 20: General scheme of the Mexican national educational system. Educational school services 209 Figure 21: Percentage of students in preschool education per educational service, Mexico, 2013…….. 212
Figure 22: Percentage of students in primary education per educational service, Mexico, 2013………… 212
Figure 23: Percentage of students in secondary education per educational service, Mexico, 2013……. 212
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
For this research, I traveled a winding road with numerous obstacles. All along, I was lucky to have many people by my side who encouraged and supported me. I wish to thank them all for their contributions to this project. It allowed me to learn and grow; it was an experience that changed me and the way I look at the world.
First, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Dr. Maarten Jansen, for his guidance throughout this entire process, his patience, comprehension, and trust, and for being an extraordinary motivator.
Thank you for always giving me just the push I needed to believe in my own research. I also thank Dr. Antonella Cammarota, for her constructive comments and suggestions.
I am indebted to the Center for Mexican Studies of the University of Antwerp, for providing the ideal working conditions and flexibility to carry out my research; and for always taking a sincere interest in the progress of my project.
I also wish to thank Philippe Bermann, for allowing me to spend time at the Casa del Estudiante Triqui, for his trust and enthusiasm; and the students of the Casa del Estudiante Triqui, especially the girls, for sharing their time, experiences, dreams, and laughter with me.
Thank you to Sofía Robles (Ser Mixe), María Teresa Cruz (IMO Oaxaca), Adriana Márquez Altamirano (ex-becaria Casa de la Mujer “Rosario Castellanos” Oaxaca), María del Rosario Martínez Miguel (Casa de la Mujer “Rosario Castellanos” Oaxaca), Araceli Gil (Nueve Lunas), Dr. Soledad González Montes (PIEM, Colegio de México), and Dr. Jeanett Reynoso Noverón (Centro de Lingüística Hispánica, UNAM), for the valuable time and information they generously shared with me; and especially Judith Bautista Pérez, Zaira Alhelí Hipólito López, and Flor Julián Santiago, who inspired me with their strength, intelligence, and motivation.
Heartfelt thanks to Sylvia Mohr, for so meticulously proofreading my text and improving my English.
Thank you to my friends in Belgium and Leiden, who gave indispensable pep talks, offered welcome distraction, and were there when I needed them. By sharing the burden they lightened the load!
Thanks in particular to Dr. Araceli Rojas Martínez Gracida, for her support, both on an academic and personal level, for inspiring me, and always finding the right words. Es en los momentos dificiles que uno conoce a sus amigos. ¡Gracias...!
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Thank you to my family in Mexico, for their love and support in this adventure. Thank you to Graciela Pinet Cabrera for sharing her experiences as a primary school teacher. A very special thanks to the Ortiz Castro and Ortiz Merino families as well as María del Socorro Ortiz Ugalde, for providing a truly warm and welcoming home while I was in Mexico, and for taking care of me in infinite ways.
¡Gracias de todo corazón!
I am thankful to my family in Belgium, my brother, my grandmother, for their encouragements and patience. It’s finally finished!
Last but not least, I cannot thank my parents enough for their support, board and lodging during the last intensive months of my research, but also for their boundless faith in my capacities. My mother, for showing me how to be a strong woman; my father, for being a feminist, and educating me as such. For teaching me to love my roots. For giving me all the opportunities in life a person could wish for, for pushing me to keep on learning every day and find my own way.
