Abstract :
This article examines a nearly century-long women’s involvement in the associations of the Palestinian community in Chile (1920-2010). By reconstituting the long course of action followed by women in these institutions we intend to analyze the transformation that gender roles have undergone, especially with respect to women’s increasing politicization in support of the Palestinian cause. Did “long-distance nationalism” (Anderson, 1998), so far a male-exclusive domain, allow the women of the diaspora to renegotiate their roles within the community’s associations? After going through the historical background of Arab-Palestinian female immigration to Chile, we show how the involvement of these women has shifted from a commitment manifesting itself in gender-segregated associational work to a militancy claiming leadership positions within gender-mixed associations. We also highlight the successes of this struggle for equality as well as its limitations. In the last section of this paper, we examine the reasons that led many women, particularly those belonging to the young generations, to prefer leaving the associational milieu rather than engage in confrontations with their male counterparts.
