Kuna Women

When looking upon many other cultures and the affects globalization and commercialization has had on their lives, in comparison to Kuna men and women, we find there to be a generally beneficial outcome. Although in contrasting of gender, we find women to be doing exceptionally well with the connection to Mola making. From the commercialization of their hand crafted products we are able to see them becoming active in marketing, retaining control over land and economic resources, learning and developing business skills, as well as controlling income in the household.
Since globalization has changed the cash economy of San Blas, women have become heavily involved through the marketing of their Molas. Before this shift from self-sufficiency to dependency on international markets, Kuna women were traditionally part of an egalitarian society where they contributed equally to men. But from an international standpoint the range of sales in Panama City for male intermediaries is larger and more profitable. Offering a way for inequality to step in. However within the household, globalization in Panama has offered the Kuna women a higher level of control. The Mola Cooperative in particular has helped to ensure this
Among the many changes, we find the agricultural integration and general household tasks in the lives of the Kuna women, have decreased quite a bit. Before the production and commercialization of Molas, women would gather fruit, catch crabs and shrimp, prepare and preserve food, as well as plant and harvest in the field with the men. However, now the organization of women’s labor among generations has changed with this commercialization. Women no longer have much time to spend doing household tasks or even productive, past time activities such as fishing, for they are spending far more of their time in the production of