by Maria Antonieta Saa

Almost two million women said no to Pinochet and his dictatorship in the plebiscite that was held in Chile on 5 October 1988.

During all these years, women have been considered those most supportive of Pinochet and his government who were sure that the majority of women would vote for them. But no, the majority of women supported the choice for democracy, and this is one of the most significant political facts of the plebiscite.

This support that the majority of women gave to the choice of voting NO to Pinochet came as a surprise to the leaders of the democratic parties also.

Hindered by their patriarchal perspective, they find it difficult to understand what has happened among women from different sectors of society who, in the face of economic crisis and the authoritarianism of the dictatorship, have organized themselves and have become aware that the democratic system opens spaces to advance the improvement of women's living conditions.

We have no doubt that this result is the fruit of the untiring work that thousands of women have carried on daily during these past fifteen years in the various organizations that have arisen to defend human rights, to meet the survival needs of the family, for women's rights and for the massive participation in the campaign for the plebiscite itself where thousands of women worked to support the choice for democracy and demonstrated an exemplary sense of civic responsibility.

Three cheers for the Chilean women! We now face the enormous challenge of seeing that the democracy that we are in the process of building together with the majority of the people of Chile, will mean an advance for us in terms of equality at all levels of national life.