The right to education of indigenous child mothers: respected, protected, fulfilled? An ethnographic account on the reality of an indigenous child-mother’s right to education in Cusco, Peru

Abstract

This ethnographic study focuses on the reality of the fulfilment of the right to education of indigenous child mothers in Cusco, Peru. This is an explorative study that opens the discussion to the intersectional issue relating to motherhood, gender and education, in relation to indigenous culture, guided through the main question: “To what extend are obstacles posed in realizing the right to education for indigenous child-mothers of Cusco, Peru and how can these be tackled?” The 4As scheme is used to evaluate whether education is accessible, available, acceptable, and adaptive, and whether the state, therefore, respects, protects, and fulfils the right to education. The research aims to raise awareness as to what it means to be an ICM and how both the Peruvian government and society respond to this, investigated through theories of cosmovision, indigenous identity and a legal framework on the right to education. I argue that while the Peruvian government has progressed a lot, much still needs to be done. ICMs suffer a lack of regulations and insufficient monitoring of those that do exist. The societal relevance lays in the fact that this study addresses a pressing issue in society. The current COVID-19 pandemic has les to a raise in ICMs and has had a worsening effect on the right to education of ICMs. Keywords: Ethnography | Right to Education | Indigeneity | child-mothers | cosmovision | 4A Scheme | Cusco | Peru