Multicultural Turn and the Web of Oppressions: Strategies Promoted by the Afro-Latin American, Afro-Caribbean, and Diaspora Women Network (1992-2019)

Lucía María Busquier
Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad, Argentina

Abstract:

This article analyzes the initiatives promoted by the Network of Afro-Latin American, Afro-Caribbean, and Diaspora Women (RMAAD), founded in 1992. Specifically, three initiatives are highlighted: the claim for the inclusion of ethnic-racial and sex variables in censuses, their views on paid domestic work, and the access, recognition, and fulfillment of their sexual and reproductive rights as Afro-descendant women. The methodology followed was based on in-depth interviews to RMAAD activists and an analysis of written documents: testimonials, reports, and official bulletins produced by the organization. With an intensifying neoliberal model in place and the rise of multiculturalism as a backdrop, RMAAD directed its efforts to fight the increasing violence, inequalities, and discrimination faced by Black women in the region, viewing racism, sexism, sexuality, and poverty as overlapping phenomena.

Keywords: multiculturalism, intersectionality, ethnic-racial variable, paid domestic work, sexual rights, reproductive rights.