Barrios de Chúngara, Domitila (1937–)
Barrios de Chúngara, Domitila (1937–)
Bolivian political activist and writer. Name variations: Domitila Chungara. Born May 7, 1937, in Bolivia; married 1958; children: 11.
Elected general secretary of Comité de Amas de Casa de Siglo XX (Housewives Committee of the Twentieth Century, 1963 and 1977) which pressured the government to improve conditions for miners; imprisoned and tortured for voicing opposition to the "Massacre of San Juan" (1967); published testimonial book "Si me permiten hablar …" Testimonio de Domitila, una mujer de las minas de Bolivia (1977, trans. as Let Me Speak! Testimony of Domitila, a Woman of the Bolivian Mines, 1978); with 4 other women, organized historic hunger strike (1977–78), which included 4,000 strikers and created sufficient pressure to overthrow Hugo Banzer's military regime; organized women's march in Copenhagen, Denmark, to protest atrocities against miners by the military; opened Escuela Móvil Domitila (Domitila Mobile School) in Bolivia (1990). Other writings include !Aquí también Domitila! (Here Domitila Also!, with David Acebey, 1985) and La mujer y la organización (Women and Organization, 1980).