Date of Award

Fall 9-5-2025

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Philosophy

First Advisor

Joy Gordon

Abstract

The forced sterilization of Quechua-speaking women in Peru from 1996 to 2000 represents a case of genocide in which the state as an epistemic agent has a fundamental role. Although the systematic sterilization was carried out under the guise of a family planning program, the targeting of these women provides strong circumstantial evidence of genocidal intent. According to the testimonies of these women, medical staff, acting on behalf of the government, performed tubal ligation procedures through coercion, threats, lies, bribery, manipulation, and other tactics where the state intentionally withheld information, misinformed women, and failed to obtain proper consent. This research examines how epistemic injustice played a central role in the facilitation of this genocide, specifically focusing on how hermeneutical and testimonial injustice contributed to rendering Quechua women invisible and unheard. First, it deprived them of the necessary conceptual tools to understand the sterilization process, which went beyond a mere language barrier and resulted in a lack of transparency. Second, it discredited their voices, depriving them of consent and ultimately compromising their ability to gain public recognition of what occurred. The ongoing denial of this genocide is a clear reflection of the persistent epistemic injustice suffered by these women, which obstructs the path to meaningful reparations. Recognizing the genocide requires, first and foremost, confronting and eradicating epistemic injustice by adopting epistemic virtues and rejecting epistemic gaslighting. By restoring the epistemic conditions for these women to be heard, believed, and recognized as knowers, this work contributes to the broader conversation on epistemic justice.

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