Peru: from an exclusionary to a transforming constitutionalism, progress and pending challenges

Abstract

This article covers the evolution of key gender relations issues in Peruvian constitutions for almost a century, from 1931 to 2021. It analyses the path travelled from the exclusion of women as citizens to the achievement of parity in political participation; the transformation of the equality clause into one that has the possibility to incorporate discrimination based on sexual orientation as a prohibited category; as well as changes in the conception of maternity protection by the State, until one arrives at a provision that recognizes the right of people to decide individually about their reproductive choices. The article also reports on the participation of women in the struggle for these gains, their initiatives both in formal and informal spaces, as well as the demands of first and second wave feminist movements. All these points are organised through categories coined by Ruth Rubio Marín, to understand constitutionalism from a gender perspective: exclusionary, inclusive, participatory, and transformative constitutionalism.