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In the 2023 National High School Examination, out of 3.9 million registered candidates,

61.3% are women (approximately 2.4 million). This predominance of female registrations is

women.

According to data from the Higher Education Census for 2022 (INEP, 2023), the

distribution of higher education institutions in Brazil, including public and private ones, is quite

unequal. The North, a region that concentrates most of the states belonging to Legal Amazon,

had the lowest number of HEIs

that year, compared to other regions of Brazil, totaling only

201 institutions.

In addition to the scarcity of HEIs in the Amazonian states compared to other regions,

most of these institutions are not public, which becomes relevant considering the per capita

income in this macro-region, which is one of the lowest in Brazil in relation to the national

distance and the inefficiency of the mobility network, both urban and intra-regional, in

This issue of accessibility inefficiency due to the lack of a transportation structure, both

within the city and between cities, affects women and penalizes them more. Structurally, they

are more tied to private spaces, with few opportunities to access public spaces, especially if

According to the INEP research, the distribution of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) by geographic region

is as follows: Southeast 1,098, Northeast 611, North 201, Midwest 289, and South 395.

The per capita income of the North region in 2022 was $1,107.00, the second lowest, only higher than that of the

Northeast region, which was $1,023.00. The national average was $1,625.00. Available at:

https://agenciadenoticias.ibge.gov.br/agencia-sala-de-imprensa/2013-agencia-de-noticias/releases/37023-ibge-

divulga-o-rendimento-domiciliar-per-capita-e-o-coeficiente-de-desequilibrio-regional-de-2022

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they are mothers and/or wives. Thus, these regional difficulties in access and urban mobility

end up affecting women more than men. For them, spending hours traveling to another location

national average is 27%. Additionally, according to the same document, the states in the region

show a significant disproportion in relation to the appropriate school age group, not only in

higher education but at all levels of education. This means that in the Amazon, children, young

people, and adults are not accessing educational institutions at the appropriate time more often

than in the rest of the country.

The reason for this imbalance, as indicated by the cited document, is related to the

absence or insufficiency of public policies capable of addressing the specific difficulties of the

region, such as "mobility deficiencies" and the lack of "engagement" of students (AMAZÔNIA

2030, 2021, p. 42, our translation). Regarding this latter point, it is essential to consider that as

Thus, we believe that the lack of "engagement" is more of a consequence, an effect, and less of

In the practical experience of Amazonian women, statistical data reveal themselves as

objective barriers that hinder their daily lives and spatial and social mobility. The insufficiency

of public policies capable of engaging Amazonians in education encounters practical obstacles,

such as the lack of daycare centers where they can leave their young children to attend school

or university. These absences paralyze women and make them more susceptible to poverty and

violence.

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compared to the national average, with rates of 51% and 66.4%, respectively (AMAZON 2030,

2021). The absence of these public policies puts the Amazonian population in a cycle of poverty

as from the unequal form of capitalist reproduction. In conflicts over land resulting from the

occupation of these territories by capitalist development megaprojects, women, due to the

subaltern position they occupy in the structure of the mode of social reproduction, are victims

of violence ranging from the invisibility of their work to the extermination of their existence.

In addition to the violent process of deterritorialization faced by their families and

communities when development projects occupy their territories, women face risks of rape,

unwanted pregnancy, loss of their children, husbands, and other loved ones, food insecurity,

and mental health problems. Furthermore, as women, they are preferential targets of the

brutality of capital representatives (big businessmen), the state (police), and organized groups

community context. They fear for the lives and integrity of their partners, parents, and children,

or indirect representatives of megaprojects) do not tolerate women's resistance, even when this

resistance is passive, as it challenges the dominant patriarchal model in these regions.

In addition to the lack of tolerance regarding the presence of women in public spaces

claiming rights, they face mistrust from their partners when they decide to fight to defend their

territories. In situations where women do not remain silent, thus challenging pre-established

gender patterns, they risk becoming victims of domestic violence by husbands, ex-husbands,

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context, activism for these women often represents not only a challenge to their public

interactions but also an act of rebellion within their homes.

Regarding the complexity of the dynamics between being a woman and being a leader

in a structurally patriarchal society, and the difficulty men face in recognizing and validating

female leadership, Maria Querubina Silva Neta, who is a coconut breaker and union leader in

Maranhão, recounts in her autobiographical work, Uma mulher praticamente livre, the effort

women need to undertake to be recognized as leaders by their peers. Historically, unions,

associations, universities, and other entities have been spaces of power predominantly occupied

by men. In the Amazonian context, characterized by the historical process of reproducing

patriarchal relations, combined with the typical characteristics of frontier spaces, as emphasized

by José de Souza Martins (2016), women are often relegated to secondary roles, even when

both in rural and urban areas. These analyses have approached the territory from the female

women not only as participants in the struggle processes but as protagonists.

Studies, such as those conducted by Erica Santos and Vanda Pantoja (2023), analyze the

situation of women leaders facing criminalization and legal proceedings initiated by the

company Vale S.A. for defending their rights in territories affected by mining in the states of

Pará and Maranhão. In these regions, there is a faint presence of the welfare state, but a strong

influence of the State as an orderer, contributing to the organization of territory from the

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In addition to intimidations, threats, and enclosures that restrict freedom of movement,

contaminate local water bodies, and increase food insecurity, the criminalization of leadership

rural areas, something that was not common in the early publications. An analysis of the

Pastoral Land Commission reports between 2007 and 2022, using the keyword "woman,"

reveals that the term was present in the publications with some regularity, showing variations

over the years. The lowest incidence was recorded in 2015, with thirteen (13) references to the

term, while the highest occurred in 2018, with ninety-three (93) mentions. However, in the

mentioned series, only in the years 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 did the publication specifically

address violence in rural areas, addressing the situation of women. In the other publications,

they were mentioned as victims of violence in rural areas in general, with emphasis only on

cases of murder.

carried out in rural areas by women.

methodology of the Pastoral Land Commission, the number of families involved in conflicts is computed rather

than individuals (BASTER, 2018, p. 83).

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By recognizing the regional diversity within the Amazon, we refer to it in the plural:

Amazons of the rivers, forests, savannah, and drought; of saints, apparitions, shamanism, and

the enchanted; Amazons of indigenous peoples, black populations, caboclos, and migrants who

have come here. This ecological and cultural diversity is reflected in the diverse experiences of

being a woman and being a man.

This dossier, Epistemologia Feminina: As mulheres e suas lutas no campo e na cidade

territories and shape distinct forms of life within them. These are women who do not fit into

generic stereotypes of "being a woman" and, therefore, mostly do not identify themselves as

experiences and for these to be recognized as valid knowledge. This perspective entails the

especially in education at all levels.

With the aim of bringing visibility to the experiences reported here, we express our

gratitude to Cadernos de Campo: Revista de Ciências Sociais, who worked diligently to make

this publication possible. We thank the entire team of editors, represented by Lucas Flôres

Vasques, with whom we interacted during most of the process of organizing this dossier. We

express our gratitude to the authors of the articles included here: Ana Claudia Fernandes,

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Pereira Vasques, and Thelma Mendes Pontes. We conclude by providing a summary of each

discussion that follows in the articles.

practice to patriarchy and arguing that countries that have managed to increase the number of