Comando Plath: Feminist Collective Disrupts Peruvian Literary Scene

Comando Plath, a feminist collective founded on August 29, 2017, in Lima, Peru, by women writers, artists, and intellectuals, confronts harassment and machismo in the Peruvian cultural sector. The group, which grew to 600 members within days via Facebook, aims to make women's work visible and denounce patriarchal violence. Their first manifesto, dated September 8, 2017, compiles sexist comments women hear in literary circles. In 2019, they denounced the all-male opening ceremony of the Fil book fair, which honored Mario Vargas Llosa, leading to apologies and increased awareness. They also organized Fiera, Peru's first festival of literatures and activisms, planned for June 2020 but postponed, featuring indigenous poets like a Shipibo woman weaving and chanting íkaros. The collective uses interventions, such as overlaying women writers' faces on a historic photo of the Hora Zero movement at Café Queirolo. A related platform, Comadres, audits editorial and event lists to promote women specialists. Comando Plath's second manifesto, 'The lyrical self will scream as long as it lives in a country of rapists,' was released on October 24, 2017.