A construção jurídica da igualdade: uma análise das cotas de gênero na polícia militar do Ceará à luz do constitucionalismo feminista

Abstract

The legal construction of the principle of equality and its application in affirmative action policies is examined, with a particular focus on gender quotas in the Military Police of the State of Ceará. The analysis is grounded in the distinction between formal equality and substantive equality, in order to assess the constitutional legitimacy of affirmative measures aimed at promoting the inclusion of women in historically masculinized institutions. The study investigates whether gender quotas, within the context of state military corporations, constitute an effective instrument for the realization of substantive equality or whether they paradoxically operate as mechanisms that restrict women’s access. Methodologically, the research adopts a qualitative approach of an exploratory and analytical-interpretative nature, relying on bibliographic and documentary research encompassing constitutional and infra-constitutional norms, judicial decisions, institutional data, and specialized literature in feminist constitutional theory and law. The theoretical framework is grounded in feminist constitutionalism, understood as a critical hermeneutical method capable of revealing the gendered dimensions embedded in the production, interpretation, and application of law. The study also examines the case law of the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court concerning affirmative action and recent decisions affecting the constitutionality of gender quotas within military corporations. It concludes that, although gender quotas may assume an inclusive function, their effectiveness depends on a constitutional interpretation committed to substantive equality, as well as on the adoption of complementary structural measures aimed at ensuring women’s retention, professional advancement, and the overcoming of symbolic and institutional inequalities that affect women in military careers.