Gender and Humanitarian Action in Central America: a critical reading from Southern Feminisms
Kaydedildi:
| Yazarlar: | , , |
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| Materyal Türü: | artículo original |
| Durum: | Versión publicada |
| Yayın Tarihi: | 2026 |
| Diğer Bilgiler: | This article critically analyzes the conceptual frameworks and gender perspective that structure humanitarian action today, from a Southern feministapproach. Through a theoretical and conceptual review, it problematizes thehegemonic logics that have historically defined humanitarian action from a universalist, technocratic, and depoliticized viewpoint, tending to reproduce asymmetrical relationships between aid-sending countries—generally from the Global North—and recipient territories—from the Global South. As an alternative conceptual framework, it incorporates the contributions of Southern feminisms, which challenge hegemonic logics and propose alternative ways of understanding and practicing solidarity in crisis contexts. This article draws on a qualitative methodological strategy combining documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews with representatives of social organizations and international agencies working in the humanitarian field in Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama. Drawing on this empirical corpus, the article examines how notions of gender, care, rights and autonomy are incorporated — or contested — in the design and implementation of humanitarian responses in contexts of prolonged emergency, structural violence and territorial disputes. We argue that consolidating a gender perspective in humanitarian action mustnot be limited to the inclusion of women in aid programs, as it requires articulation with an intersectional and decolonial critique that centers global power relations, historical trajectories of oppression, and collective knowledge constructed from the margins. Far from presenting a closed model of intervention, this article invites a situated reflection on the ethical and political conditions necessary to advance toward transformative humanitarian action that does not reproduce colonial hierarchies or cultural simplifications, and that is capable of engaging in dialogue with local forms of organization, autonomy, and sovereignty. Thus, it proposes to contribute to the construction of a critical theoretical framework that enriches the debate on humanitarian action from the perspective of Southern feminisms and strengthens the role of community actors and international organizations in producing comprehensive and emancipatory responses. |
| Ülke: | Portal de Revistas UNA |
| Kurum: | Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica |
| Repositorio: | Portal de Revistas UNA |
| Dil: | Español Inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:www.revistas.una.ac.cr:article/22472 |
| Online Erişim: | https://www.revistas.una.ac.cr/index.php/ri/article/view/22472 |
| Anahtar Kelime: | Central America decolonial approach gender perspective Humanitarian Action international cooperation Southern Feminisms acción humanitaria Centroamérica cooperación internacional enfoque decolonial feminismos del sur perspectiva de género |