La historia de las mujeres campesinas de la comunidad La Esperanza, cantón Sígsig (1940-1992)

Abstract

The history of rural women is broad, complex, and fundamental to understanding the social, cultural, political, and economic processes of a community, a city, or a country. Thus, this study investigates the activities, roles, presence, and situation of rural women in the history of the community of La Esperanza in the canton of Sígsig, province of Azuay, Ecuador. It also mentions aspects of the history of women such as education, traditional medicine, and health, the hacienda, agrarian reform, and roles in the community and family. This research was carried out through a qualitative approach using the ethnographic method that allowed access to the life stories of the women of La Esperanza, who through their testimonies revealed the incidence of women, from their childhood to their adulthood. Despite the challenges related to inequality and lack of access to education and health, the rural women of La Esperanza have been an active subject in the community and have achieved changes and development in the community since its conformation in 1940 until the consolidation of the "new" Esperanza in 1992.