What life in favelas can teach us about the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: Lessons from Dona Josefa

Abstract

In this article, we adopt a non-conventional approach to investigate the experiences and existential postures of women who, as residents of Brazilian favelas, find themselves at the frontline of a struggle for survival—and dignity—amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We reveal this struggle through the voice of Dona Josefa—a 66-year-old, former domestic care worker and resident of Ocupação Esperança (Occupation Hope), a feminist favela on the outskirts of São Paulo. We interweave our reflections with those of Dona Josefa, who acts as representative of one of the many disenfranchised communities that are confronting one of the worst crises in recent history, in one of the most inequitable countries in the world. Connecting our discussion with feminist writers and calling attention to a more collective stance in feminism, overall, we offer a shift from knowledge gleaned from institutional and privileged spaces in the Global North to knowledge gained by observing individual struggles in the favelas of the Global South.