Political Participation Afro-descendant Women: the Network of Afro-Latin American, Afro-Caribbean and Diaspora Women Before the World Conferences (1996-2006)

Abstract

This article reconstructs the political strategies developed by the Network of Afro-Latin American, Afro-Caribbean and Diaspora Women promoted during the years 1996 and 2006 within the framework of the celebration of world conferences and international treaties. In order to do this, in the first place, their main initiatives carried out at that time will be investigated; second, the internal implications produced by the process of institutionalization and participation in world conferences will be reconstructed; and, finally, the actions carried out by the RMAAD that sought to promote the empowerment and political participation of black women will be analyzed. As a methodological strategy, a qualitative analysis is proposed that includes in-depth interviews with RMAAD activists and documents written by the organization. Finally, this paper intends to contribute to the perspectives and studies that seek to reconstruct the historical-political roots of the intersectional struggles of Afro-descendant women from Latin America and the Caribbean, invisible and silenced in the academic productions of the region.