A Thesis entitled Experiences of Bolivian Disabled Activist Women by Iblin Edelweiss Murillo Lafuente Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts Degree in Sociology ___________________________________________ Dr. Karie Peralta, Committee Chair ___________________________________________ Dr. Ally Day, Committee Member ___________________________________________ Dr. Shahna Arps, Committee Member ___________________________________________ Dr. Amanda C. Bryant-Friedrich, Dean College of Graduate Studies The University of Toledo May 2020 © 2020, Iblin Edelweiss Murillo Lafuente This document is copyrighted material. Under copyright law, no parts of this document may be reproduced without the expressed permission of the author. An Abstract of Experiences of Bolivian Disabled Women by Iblin Edelweiss Murillo Lafuente Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of arts Degree in Sociology The University of Toledo May 2020 Women who experience disability in Bolivia have been largely ignored within the Disability studies and Feminist scholarship. The daily situations that these women face are not documented, which contributes to their oppression, invisibility and lack of public policies that address their issues. This thesis presents global south experiences of disabled Bolivian women and describes how their active involvement as disability activists shape their identity, their social and political engagement and how they navigate social institutions. Using a series of questions framed by past disability activism scholarship, the global disability agenda of the United Nation Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities, and previous scholar activism in the field of disability, data was gathered, explored, analyzed through transnational feminist and global south disability studies perspectives. The aim is to identify how disabled activist women’s experiences in Bolivia may be different from the existing literature on disability, explore their activism and political agenda as examples of a new transnational feminist studies approach to disability, and propose a new theoretical understanding of disability by focusing on the unique social, iii cultural and political environment of Bolivia. The sources of information for the thesis include unstructured interviews and official Bolivian Government documents. This study is important for developing policies and practices that attend to the needs of disabled women in Bolivia. Key words: Transnational feminist disability studies, Bolivian disability studies. iv To my grandmother Yola Rodriguez de Lafuente, who peacefully transcended as a beautiful angel in the middle of this research and to my beamish niece Vera, who arrived right at the same time. May the happiness you both have given me blossom endlessly. v Acknowledgements My heart and ajayu belong to many places, and I am thankful to every piece of generous land that nurtures me. Thanks to my beloved Achachila Illimani, as well as the glorious sky from Toledo. My bestowed admiration and gratefulness to all the brave and wonderful Bolivian women who contributed with their time and stories to this research. I am grateful to all the department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Toledo for the support, not only to produce international research, but to participate in different sociological conferences to share my findings. It is a truly magnificent department, and I will miss everyone. Kind Pat and all professors, as well as fellow Master students, Solomon, Krista, Angela, Kelsey, Simon, Connor, Priscila, and Robin. It was a hectic experience, but it was fun to share it with you. Working with amazing scholars as part of my committee was an honor. Special thanks to Prof. Peralta, for providing such invaluable academic and personal commitment, guidance and inspiration. Thanks to Dr. Day, who opened my mind through enlightening conversations, as well as Dr. Arps, thank you for your thoughtful suggestions and time. Thanks to Dr. Sherry, for his guidance. Thanks to my visionary mom, Zulema Lafuente and caring dad Jose Luis Murillo for tenderly showing me rainbows after any rain. To my sisters Marcela and Solvej for healing my wounds and fears through magic and hope. To my loved one, Ricardo, for softly holding my hand as we blossom. Also, thanks to my grandfather Serafin for teaching how to read, write and ride a bike. To my grandmother Rosa, for sharing her passion for history with me. Finally, thanks to all my great grandmothers, for resisting and leaving space for new Pachakutis. vi Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ vi Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. vii Chapter one ......................................................................................................................... 1 I. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 A. Problem statement ...................................................................................................... 3 B. Research questions ..................................................................................................... 4 a. Primary research question ........................................................................................ 4 b. Secondary research questions .................................................................................. 4 C. Objectives ................................................................................................................... 5 Chapter two ......................................................................................................................... 6 II. Literature review .......................................................................................................... 6 A. Women and disability in Bolivia ................................................................................ 6 B. Disability studies ........................................................................................................ 8 C. Global disability studies ........................................................................................... 10 D. Disability and postcolonial theory ............................................................................ 14 E. Southern disability theory ......................................................................................... 15 F. Feminist, queer, crip studies ..................................................................................... 17 G. Debility, capacity, disability ..................................................................................... 19 H. Crip studies ............................................................................................................... 23 vii I. Coming to claim crip ................................................................................................. 25 J. Mad studies ................................................................................................................ 27 K. Ableism .................................................................................................................... 28 L. The ability contract ................................................................................................... 33 M. Disability activism ................................................................................................... 34 N. Transnational feminism ............................................................................................ 36 O. Global feminisms ..................................................................................................... 38 P. Grassroot Activism ................................................................................................... 44 Q. Women’s studies ...................................................................................................... 46 R. Latin American feminisms ....................................................................................... 47 S. Bolivian feminisms ................................................................................................... 50 Chapter three ..................................................................................................................... 55 III. Methodology .......................................................................................................... 55 A. Study participants ..................................................................................................... 57 B. Sampling ................................................................................................................... 63 C. Recruitment plan....................................................................................................... 63 D. Data collection and thematic analysis procedures .................................................... 64 E. Ethical considerations ............................................................................................... 66 a. Ability to consent ..................................................................................................