Women's Bodies, Citizenship and Violence

This paper proposes a reflection on women's citizenship in Chile. Chilean women, struggled to become recognized as citizens for decades, getting that legal status in the second third of the twentieth century. However, when examining the conditions under which women's citizenship unfolds, it is clear that this process was not successful. Chilean women got an incomplete and imperfect citizenship, and they are daily victims of symbolic and even physical violence, whenever they get involved in politics. Therefore, their political status was not only a matter of law, but the result of the conditions of subordination and dependency which constitute the pillars that our socioeconomic system requires for its reproduction. Getting a truly full citizenship, with pluralistic and equal participation of women requires a discussion about the kind of democracy we want, and from the women perspective - just like Julieta Kirkwood stated-A new democratic ideal which may challenge the interweaving between the neoliberal system and this exclusive democracy. A debate which is particularly relevant nowadays, when Chileans are searching for a formula to produce a new Constitution.