Resum

Women’s personal documents from the time of the dictatorship : the documentary archive at Chile's Museum of Memory and Human Rights

Objective: To identify, describe and analyse the narratives present in the documents donated by women to Chile’s Museum of Memory and Human Rights (MMDH).

Methodology: A mixed-method exploratory study which presents a descriptive statistical analysis of the collection of documents donated to the MMDH, according to the person making the donation and the genre; an analysis of the profile, rationale, origin and type of experience described in order to propose a classification; and the analysis of 37 documents selected in order to illustrate this classification.

Results: Despite the severe restrictions imposed on political activity, association, and public discourse, and the profound damage that state terrorism inflicted on the social fabric, the personal documents of women bear witness to their fundamental role in the defence and promotion of human rights, as well as in the political, social and cultural mobilization against the dictatorship of Chile.