A Discussion of Dependency Rhetoric and Empowerment from NGO’s Websites for Indigenous Guatemalan Women

Since the Civil War of 1954, gender based violence has increasingly threatened the lives of Guatemala women. From that time, numerous international non-governmental organizations (NGO) have endeavored to defend and uplift the rights of indigenous women. However, this has created a dependency on foreign aid rather than empowering local communities with the tools they need to thrive. Through this project, I analyze the work of the websites of NGOs in Guatemala to determine the rhetoric and the visual representation of indigenous women that contributes to dependency. My study demonstrates that the majority of NGOs have fostered a mindset of dependency through their rhetoric rather than autonomous empowerment. To truly empower this community, NGOs’ based in Guatemala should redesign their websites to empower the women they serve in these following ways: write website text in Spanish to communicate efficiently in the home country, recruit indigenous women to be grassroot leaders within the NGO’s structure, and enable indigenous women to collaborate in the drafting of the web content. This will reduce dependency on outside organizations, which will lead to more sustainable solutions by empowering the women in indigenous communities to engender change