Motherhood, disability, and rurality: descolonising practices and knowledge via the Las Quiscas case in Chile

Abstract

ABSTRACT Women with disabilities face a series of obstacles while exercising their motherhood. Despite the inter-disciplinary studies which have been undertaken on this topic, the ‘modern/colonial/Western/urban’ comprehension of these studies is incomplete and often lacks contextuality. The aim of this study is thus to investigate the life trajectory of a woman with a visual disability, regarding her motherhood process in a rural area of south-central Chile. We used in-depth interviews and photographic records, together with epistemic support from Disability studies, Motherhood studies, Rurality studies, and Descolonial studies. The results provided three categories of analysis: impeding access to dignified motherhood; legal incapacitation: stripping motherhood due to disability; and dehumanisation and loneliness: waiting as a resistance strategy for a conscious motherhood. The conclusions show that exercising motherhood for a woman with disability living in rurality is a trench where the boldest have subverted the precariousness of life. Furthermore, descolonising strategies translate into waiting and passivity as practices which question the colonial comprehension of time.