Raul, came from what is considered an "untraditional family" in Peru. His parents were divorced and as a result his mother, Blanca, assumed the role of father and mother. It was her responsibility to raise his four sisters and three brothers. His mother had a small farm, north of Peru, in the small town of Piura.
Blanca saw to the financing and administrative work involved in the farm. The farm was productive enough to support family through the cultivation of rice, citrus, and corn. However, the work she did do was considered a "man's job" because it is the responsibility of the man to support the family, while the "woman's job" was to care for the children and the house.
Due to the uniqueness of the situation, I was unable to relate Raul's family to the roles that both men and women assume according to the strength theory. His mother clearly took on both primary subsistence activities as well as secondary subsistence activities. Blanca, when needed, planted, tended and harvested the crops, as well as cooking and preparing the food and caring for the children.
In his native country, women are not considered equal to men. In fact, they are considered of lower status. It was common for men to make all of the decisions and the women did as the men expected. Of course, this was when he was growing up, and with time some things have changed. For example, in the smaller towns women are not considered equal but in the larger cities, Raul has seen some changes and women's voices are being heard. But to what extent are they being heard?
After reviewing some current articles and studies I obtained off the internet, I will attempt to offer my explanations as to why I feel women are still being held down in Peru and not being treated as an equal. The government in Lima, Peru in an attempt to control women the government offered gifts of food and clothing if they underwent sterilization, more specifically tubal ligation. Unfortunately, many of the poor women of Peru was forced to submit to these procedures and "at least two women died and hundred injured" (Feb. 15, 1998, New York Times Article "Using Gifts as Bait, Peru Sterilizes Poor Women") as a result of these procedures.
Secondly, Latin American terrorist state strengthens male-dominant institutions and misogynist ideology, resulting in an increase in the discrepancy between female and male emotional states and interpersonal behavior. "The terrorist state strikes out against women simply because they are women. In the generally militarized social environment, as well as in the more specific torture situation, sexual brutalization of women escalates" (The gendering of human rights: Women and the Latin American terrorist state, Hollander, Nancy, Feminist Studies, Spring 1996).
And so the debate continues - - have women in Peru attained equality? No, I do not believe they have aspired to be an equal to the men. While some small steps may have been taken as Raul has pointed out, there are however social issues such as those described above compound problem.