The Politics of Gender, Human Rights, and Being Indigenous in Chile

This article examines gender politics and human rights as they relate to Indigenous women. It considers whether a conception of rights centered on the individual can truly promote the collective rights of indigenous peoples. Additionally, the author discusses the limitations of gender norms in understanding the reality of indigenous women in many contexts. She explores how the identification of Mapuche women in Chile mediates gender and human rights and considers the multiple identifications of Indigenous women. The article discusses the various means through which Mapuche women identify with the Mapuche community as whole, and differ from non-Mapuche Chilean women.