"We don’t need allies. We need people to deconstruct themselves." : A qualitative study of the dynamics between trans* rights and the women's rights movement in Ecuador.

In our field of peace and development, gender equality and human rights are key themes, specifically in their overlap with social justice movements globally. Latin America, with its vibrant history of feminist and anti-colonial activism, provides a rich context for examining how different social movements advocate for marginalized groups. Through a thematic analysis of qualitative interviews with trans* and cisgender activists, this research hopes to shed light on the Ecuadorian feminist movement’s views on gender diversity and equality while assessing the extent to which the movement addresses trans* rights issues. Using the Lugones' coloniality of gender theory and Rodríguez Madera's necropraxis framework, the study analyses how social, structural, and historical factors influence the feminist movement’s attitudes towards trans* identities, as well as how they affect the lives of trans* people in Ecuador.