Women and Political Violence in Contemporary Peru

Abstract

It follows from the discussion of the question of women and political violence in the contemporary Peru which I attempted to explore in its historical perspective in this essay, that the peculiarity of the division of labor in the Andean Sierra, based on the gender ideology which recognizes women's work as a complementary to men's work as relatively capable of resisting the extra-economic pressures of underdeveloped capitalism, has facilitated women's incorporation into an armed struggle led by the Sendero Luminoso. For Vicky Pelaez, a leading Peruvian journalist, “in the conditions of the Andean Sierra the movement could not survive and expand without the participation of women whose historical heritage of struggle has been multiplied by socio-economic and political crisis of the Peruvian state.”1 On the other hand, the organizational framework of the PCP-SL, which recognizes and applies in practice the principle of equality between men and women, has stimulated female political activity. The inclusion of issues important to women in Sendero Luminoso's agenda has given additional impetus to the incorporation of women into class struggle not only as supporters or militants, but also as political and military leaders. Increasing participation of women in political and military actions creates additional conditions for the survival and expansion of collective action started by the PCP-SL years ago, using political violence as the main instrument of a new “democratic” revolution in Peru.