The political participation of women guarani in northwestern of Argentina

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explore the ways in which the Guaraní women of

northwestern Argentina appropriate and acquire new knowledge and cultural practices promoted by development workers. This article investigates two instances of women’s participation in public sphere: training for development projects and participation in workshops. We also analyze the extent to which transformation of the political role of the indigenous women influence their communities and their process of ethnic and cultural reaffirmation. Guaraní women live in rural communities in the north of Salta province. These communities are the focus of development programs promoted by NGO personnel. This article has an anthropological and gender perspective. In the first parte i present a brief historic background of the guaraní and attempts to explore women’s political participation in different public spheres and their process of empowerment