Women’s community participation in a Ngöbe indigenous context in Costa Rica: Life trajectories and transformations

Abstract

This article explores the life experiences of indigenous women in a Ngöbe context in southern Costa Rica in relation to their community participation. The analyzed data was obtained through ethnographic fieldwork carried out in this community between 2015 and 2016. Data was gathered through participant observation and interviews with 16 indigenous women and nine other people from the community. This article also benefits from the constant interaction with these women since then. Experiences such as the end of a relationship, access to income, a partner’s illness, and access to education, among others, impact their involvement in community activities. Although paid work and domestic responsibilities often limit women’s participation in community organizations, women also transform the micropolitics of their community by advancing practices and discourses highlighting the importance and impact of women’s actions. Furthermore, women’s sense of belonging and connection to their Ngöbe identity and territory, despite placing them in a position of oppression and inequality, become drivers of agency in the domestic sphere, the community and local context.