Interview with Diana Miloslavich Túpac

Abstract

Diana Miloslavich Túpac was born in Huancayo, likely in the late 1950s or early 1960s. Diana is the Director of one of the most important women's organizations in Perú, an expert on advancing women's policy, and an accomplished author with more than 40 years of experience working to advance women's political participation and human rights in Perú. She obtained a Masters in Literature at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos and was a Ph.D. Candidate in Social Sciences, specializing in History with the thesis "History of the Political Participation of Women in Perú." Diana has participated in the execution of numerous projects in the promotion of legal and political initiatives related to women's rights. For example, as part of the Women's Forum in Perú, she presented the first proposals for gender quotas and domestic violence in 1991. She was an advisor to the Women's Commission of the Municipality of Lima and of the creation of the Pro Equity Office from 1999 to 2002. In 2003, she was part of the team with the Ministry of Women and Social Development. In 2011, she was part of the Transfer Commission of the new government, and later Head of the Cabinet of Advisers to the Minister for Women. Diana has also participated in various projects with organizations such as: Equality Now, DAWN, RENAMA, Social Watch, UN Women, UNIFEM, UNFPA, UNICEF, DIAKONIA, CUSO, NOVIB, Oxfam, UE, and USAID, among others. Most recently, she was a major player in the campaign to promote and pass the newly established Gender Parity Law (Law No. 31030, 2020. Diana is currently the Director of the Political Participation and Decentralization Program of the Peruvian Women's Center, Flora Tristán, a key feminist institution created in 1979 with a focus on women's rights. She is also an accomplished author (select titles): The Autobiography of Maria Elena Moyano: The Life And Death Of A Peruvian (1992), with editions in Spain and translated in Italy, USA and Japan); Women's Literature, A look from feminism (2012); Flora Tristan: Peregrinations of an Outcast at the Fair (2019); Feminism and Suffrage 1933-1956 (2015); Political Harassment in Peru: A look at Electoral Processes (2016), Gender, Parity and Disaster Risk Management (2019), publishing both through Flora Tristán and an academic press in the U.S.