Land loss and Garifuna women's activism on Honduras' north coast
Abstract
This paper reports on the gendered impacts of Honduras' neoliberal agrarian legislation within the context of tourism development. It draws on ethnographic research with the Afro-indigenous Garifuna, to demonstrate how women have been most affected by land privatization on the north coast of Honduras. Garifuna communities are matrifocal and land had historically been passed through matrilineal lines. As the coastal land market expands, Garifuna women have lost their territorial control. The paper also treats Garifuna women's activism as they resist coastal development strategies and shifts in landholding. While women have been key figures in the Garifuna movement to title and reclaim lost ancestral land, the movement as a whole has yet to make explicit the gendered dimensions of the land struggle. The neglect may be attributed to the activists' adoption of an indigenous rights discourse.
Publication Title
Journal of International Women's Studies
Recommended Citation
Brondo, Keri Vacanti, "Land loss and Garifuna women's activism on Honduras' north coast" (2007). Anthropology Faculty Publications. 17.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/anthropology-facpubs/17
