Peasant popular feminism: fight integration

Abstract

In recent years, peasant women in Brazil and Latin America have created a concept to talk about their struggles and their feminism. While popular peasant feminism was constructed by peasant women in Latin America and the Caribbean, this article depicts its elements by examining the Peasant Women's Movement (Movimento de Mulheres Camponesas, MMC) in Brazil. Our objectives here are to reflect on whether women can build feminism through diverse agendas rather than only those historically associated with feminism and its current challenges, and to analyze how popular peasant feminism reflects achievements that extend beyond women. This article is derived from the author's doctoral dissertation, and utilizes the same methods, namely participatory research, documentary analysis of minutes from meetings of the MMC and of women participating in the Latin American Coordination of Rural Organizations (CLOC), meeting resolutions, and event reports. While the article focuses on the work of the MMC, the inherent relationship between the MMC and CLOC in establishing popular peasant feminism compels us to examine their trajectories together. We can affirm that for peasant women, being a feminist was a process of learning about feminism and recognizing oneself that was mediated by various struggles which were not always socially recognized as feminism.