Democracy at the Margins: Rural Women’s Political Involvement and Rights in Santo Domingo, Ecuador

Abstract

This paper examines the political participation of rural women in Ecuador, within the framework of constitutional rights, highlighting the gap between formal legal equality and its effective realization in contexts of structural inequality. Using a qualitative, descriptive–interpretative approach, the study was based on fieldwork conducted in two rural communities of Santo Domingo, where semi-structured interviews were applied to a convenience sample of 33 women participating in an empowerment program promoted by the local government. Data were analyzed through qualitative coding and thematic categorization. The findings reveal that women’s political participation is significantly constrained by structural barriers such as economic precariousness, the burden of unpaid care work, limited institutional presence, and restricted access to information. Additionally, a fragmented understanding of constitutional rights was identified, along with a predominance of participation at the community level and minimal involvement in formal decision-making spaces. Sociocultural factors, including entrenched gender roles, family power dynamics, and symbolic violence, further reinforce these limitations. The study concludes that addressing rural women’s political participation requires an integrated approach that combines legal, institutional, and sociocultural transformations, as well as the design of public policies with a territorial and gender-sensitive focus.