Women's rights in Colombia
Encyclopedia
Colombian Constitution of 1991
The Political Constitution of Colombia, better known as the Constitution of 1991, is the current governing document of the Republic of Colombia. Promulgated on July 4 of 1991 , it replaced the Constitution of 1886...
, women in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
have the right to bodily integrity and autonomy; to vote (see also: Elections in Colombia
Elections in Colombia
Elections in Colombia are regulated and controlled by the National Electoral Council which also gives information on elections and election results in for the politics of Colombia....
); to hold public office; to work; to fair wages or equal pay; to own property; to receive an education; to serve in the military in certain duties, but are excluded from combat arms units; to enter into legal contracts; and to have marital, parental and religious rights. Women's rights in Colombia have been gradually developing since the early 20th Century.
Background
Women in Colombia have been important in military aspects, serving mainly as supporters or spies such as in the case of Policarpa SalavarrietaPolicarpa Salavarrieta
Policarpa Salavarrieta , also known as La Pola, was a Neogranadine seamstress who spied for the Revolutionary Forces during the Spanish Reconquista of the Viceroyalty of New Granada. She was captured by Spanish Royalists and ultimately executed for high treason...
who played a key role in the independence of Colombia from the Spanish empire
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
. Some indigenous groups such as the Wayuu
Wayuu
Wayuu is an Amerindian ethnic group of the La Guajira Peninsula in northern Colombia and northwest Venezuela. They are part of the Maipurean language family.- Geography :...
hold a matriarchal society in which a woman's role is central and the most important for their society. Women belonging to indigenous groups were highly targeted by the Spanish colonizers during the colonial era. Many indigenous women were subject to slavery, rape and the loss of their cultural identity.
Throughout the colonial era, the 19th century and the establishment of the republican era, Colombian women were relegated to be housewives in a male dominated society. Education for women was limited to the wealthy and they were only allowed to study until middle school in monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
under Roman Catholic education. On December 10, 1934 the Congress of Colombia
Congress of Colombia
The Congress of the Republic of Colombia is the name given to Colombia's bicameral national legislature.The Congress of Colombia consists of the 102-seat Senate , and the 166-seat Chamber of Representatives ...
presented a law to give women the right to study. The law generated controversy, as did any issue related to women's rights at the time.
Educational rights
Before 1933 women in Colombia were only allowed schooling until middle school level education. LiberalColombian Liberal Party
The Colombian Liberal Party is a center-left party in Colombia that adheres to social democracy and social liberalism.The Party was founded in 1848 and, together with the Colombian Conservative Party, subsequently became one of the two main political forces in the country for over a century.After...
congressman Jorge Eliécer Gaitán
Jorge Eliécer Gaitán
Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala was a politician, a leader of a populist movement in Colombia, a former Education Minister and Labor Minister , mayor of Bogotá and one of the most charismatic leaders of the Liberal Party.He was assassinated during his second presidential campaign in 1948, setting off...
defended the decree Number 1972 of 1933 while the conservative Germán Arciniegas
Germán Arciniegas
Germán Arciniegas was a Colombian essayist and historian. Arciniegas wrote over 50 books and many columns in the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo and also taught at Columbia University in New York.- Books :...
opposed it, to allow women to receive higher education schooling. The decree passed and was signed by the Liberal government of Alfonso López Pumarejo
Alfonso López Pumarejo
Alfonso López Pumarejo was a two-time Colombian president and political figure, as a member of the Colombian Liberal Party. He served as president of Colombia for the first time between 1934 and 1938 and again between 1942 and 1945....
. The state owned National University of Colombia
National University of Colombia
The Universidad Nacional de Colombia , also called UNAL or just UN, is a public, national, coeducational, research university, located primarily in Bogotá, Medellín, Manizales and Palmira, Colombia...
was the first higher education institution to allow female students. Gerda Westendorp was admitted on February 1, 1935 to study medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
. Gabriela Peláez, who was admitted as a student in 1936 graduated as lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, becoming the first female to ever graduate from a university in Colombia. María Carulla founded in 1936 the first school of social works under the support of the Our Lady of the Rosary University
Our Lady of the Rosary University
The Universidad del Rosario is a university originally founded on Roman Catholic principles, in 1653 by Fray Cristobal de Torres. Located in Bogotá, Colombia, due to its important place in Colombian history, it is known as "The Cradle of the Republic". It had also a primary and secundary school...
. After these, women began not be seen as inferior by many for their academic achievements, creativity and discipline, and began to support the idea of citizenship for women following the example of other countries. The constant political violence, social issues and economic problems were one of the main subjects of study for women, mainly in area of family violence and couple relationships, as well as children abuse
Children's rights in Colombia
Children's rights in Colombia refers to the status of children's rights in the Republic of Colombia. Colombia signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989 and later ratified the CRC on September 2, 1990...
.
Legal contracts rights
A group of women led by Georgina Fletcher met with then president of Colombia Enrique Olaya HerreraEnrique Olaya Herrera
Enrique Alfredo Olaya Herrera was a Colombian journalist and politician, President of Colombia from August 7, 1930 until August 7, 1934 representing the Colombian Liberal Party.- Early years :...
with the intention of asking him to support the transformation of the Colombian legislation regarding women's rights to administer properties. The law was named ley sobre Régimen de Capitulaciones Matrimoniales ("Law about marriage capitulations regime") which was later proposed in congress in December 1930 by Ofelia Uribe as a constitutional reform. The law's main objective was to allow women to administer their properties and not their husbands, male relatives or tutors, as had been the case. The move generated a scandal in congress. It did not pass, and later generated persecutions and plotting against the group of women. As leader of the group, Georgina Fletcher was persecuted and isolated. The Régimen de Capitulaciones Matrimoniales was once again presented in congress in 1932 and approved into Law 28 of 1932.
Suffrage rights
Women's right to suffrage was granted by Colombian dictator Gustavo Rojas PinillaGustavo Rojas Pinilla
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla was a Colombian politician, military officer, General of the Army and President of Colombia between 1953 and 1957.- Biographic data :...
in 1954, but had its origins in the 1930s with the struggle of women to acquire full citizenship. In 1957 women first voted in Colombia on a plebiscite.
Further reading
BANCO DE LA REPÚBLICA – BIBLIOTECA LUIS ANGEL ARANGO – BIBLIOTECA VIRTUAL. Débora Arango, Reseña de Exposición Restrospectiva. Santafé de Bogotá, Abril-Septiembre, 1996. (Bank of the Republic - Luis Angel Arango Library - virtual library. Debora Arango, Restrospective exposition. Bogota April-September, 1996)DE KARPF, Ana. “Balance de 40 años del voto femenino”. En: Unión de Ciudadanas de Colombia. Memorias, 5º Congreso Nacional. Cali, octubre, 1997.JIMENO, Gladys. Las semillas dan sus frutos. En Memoria de María Consuelo Niño, Bogotá, 3 de julio de 1986. Fotocopia.LUNA, Lola. Los movimientos de mujeres en América Latina y la renovación de la Historia Política. Universidad del Valle – Centro de Estudios de Género Mujer y Sociedad. Editorial La Manzana de la Discordia, Santiago de Cali.MEDINA, Medófilo. “Mercedes Abadía – el movimiento de las mujeres colombianas por el derecho al voto en los años cuarenta”. En: En Otras Palabras No.7. Mujeres que escribieron el siglo XX. Construcciones del feminismo en Colombia. Santafé de Bogotá D.C. Colombia, Enero-Junio de 2000.MUSEO DE ARTE MODERNO DE MEDELLÍN. Débora Arango, 1937-1984. Exposición Retrospectiva. Catálogo Medellín. 1984.PELÁEZ MEJÍA, Margarita María y Luz Stella Rodas Rojas. La Política de Género en el Estado Colombiano: un camino de conquistas sociales. Editorial Universidad de Antioquia. Medellín, 2002.Periódico Una voz insurgente, 1944.SCOTT, Joan. “El problema de la Invisibilidad”. En: RAMOS ESCANDÓN, Carmen (Comp.). Género e historia, Instituto MORA-UAM, México, 1992.TORRES GIRALDO, Ignacio. María Cano: Mujer Rebelde. Editorial La Rosca, Bogotá, 1972.URIBE DE ACOSTA, Ofelia. Una Voz Insurgente, Ediciones Guadalupe, Bogotá, 1963.VELASQUEZ TORO, Magdala, Catalina Reyes y Pablo Rodríguez. “Proceso histórico y derechos de las mujeres, año 50 y 60. Las mujeres en la Historia de Colombia. Tomo I, Editorial Norma, 1995.- VELÁSQUEZ, Magdala y otros. 40 años del voto de la mujer en Colombia. Feriva, Cali, 1997.