“I was working!”

Women Smugglers on Ecuador’s Borders

Resumo

Intersectional inequalities supported by systems of oppression based on gender, class, race and geographical location led women to become smugglersin Ecuador’s border provinces of Carchi and El Oro. These systems have fostered unequal access to paid work. Customs control, police and military subsumed under national security further aggravate women’s access to an income. In 2011, the Ecuadorian government launched the Comprehensive Security Plan to complement its militarized response to security threats, like smuggling. Although this initiative incorporated a human security discourse, it did not recognize the diversity of women's experiences of inequality. Drawing on Black feminism’s idea of intersectionality, matrix of domination and feminist critiques of national security, the concept of “feminist critical human security” is advanced. Women smugglers are characterized as criminals by the discourse of border security authorities. However, smuggling has become an alternative to the lack of job opportunities in the border region.