Women in Colombia
Colombian Independence Movement. Portrait by Jose Maria Espinosa, 1855 | |
General Statistics | |
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Maternal mortality (per 100,000) | 92 (2010) |
Women in parliament | 20% (2014)[1] |
Women over 25 with secondary education | 56.9% (2012) |
Women in labour force | 60% (2014)[2] |
Gender Inequality Index[3] | |
Value | 0.424 (2021) |
Rank | 102nd out of 191 |
Global Gender Gap Index[4] | |
Value | 0.710 (2022) |
Rank | 75th out of 146 |
Rights |
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Theoretical distinctions |
Human rights |
Rights by beneficiary |
Other groups of rights |
Part of a series on |
Women in society |
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As established in the Colombian Constitution of 1991, women in Colombia have the right to bodily integrity and autonomy; to vote (see also: Elections in 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.[5]
History
Background
Women in Colombia have been very important in military aspects, serving mainly as supporters or spies such as in the case of
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
Educational rights
Human rights in Colombia |
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Before 1933 women in Colombia were only allowed schooling until middle school level education.
Legal contracts rights
A group of women led by
Suffrage rights
Women's right to suffrage was granted by Colombian political Gustavo Rojas Pinilla 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.
Family life
Cohabitation is very common in this country, and the majority of children are born outside of marriage. In the 2000s, 55,8% of births were to cohabiting mothers, 22,9% to married mothers, and 21,3% to single mothers (not living with a partner).[7] Family life has changed dramatically during the last decades: in the 1970s, 68,8% of births were inside marriage;[7] and divorce was legalized only in 1991.[8]
Issues
Domestic violence
In the 1990s, Colombia enacted Ley 294 de 1996, in order to fight domestic violence.
Abortion
Abortion in Colombia has been historically severely restricted, with the laws being loosened in 2006 and 2009 (before 2006 Colombia was one of few counties in the world to have a complete ban on abortion);[12] and in 2022 abortion on request was legalized to the 24th week of pregnancy, by a ruling of the Constitutional Court on February 21, 2022.[13]Up until that point, women who had abortions in this largely Catholic nation faced sentences ranging from 16 to 54 months in prison. According to this decision, women may obtain an abortion up until the sixth month of pregnancy for any reason. A 2006 court decision that also allowed doctors to refuse to perform abortions based on personal beliefs stated that this was previously only permitted in cases of rape, if the mother's health was in danger, or if the fetus had an untreatable malformation.[14]
The armed conflict
The
See also
References
- ^ "Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%) | Data".
- ^ "Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15-64) (Modeled ILO estimate) | Data".
- ^ "Human Development Report 2021/2022" (PDF). HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORTS. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ "Global Gender Gap Report 2022" (PDF). World Economic Forum. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- ^ (in Spanish) University of Vigo; political rights and citizenship of Colombian women
- ^ (in Spanish) Colombialink.com: First woman to enter a university
- ^ a b "La fecundidad no matrimonial en América Latina: indicadores y análisis comparativos a partir de datos censales" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-06-14.
- ^ "Colombia profile - Timeline". BBC News. 8 August 2018.
- ^ "Ley 294 de 1996". Archived from the original on 2016-08-16. Retrieved 2015-06-14.
- ^ "Ley 1257 de 2008" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-07. Retrieved 2015-06-14.
- ^ a b c "Violence against Women in Colombia" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-09-29.
- ^ Prada, Elena; Singh, Susheela; Remez, Lisa; Villarreal, Cristina (September 2011). "Unintended Pregnancy and Induced Abortion in Colombia: Causes and Consequences" (PDF).
- ^ Case C-055
- ^ "With advances and setbacks, a year of struggle for women's rights". france24. 30 December 2022.
- ^ "Violence and discrimination against women in the armed conflict in Colombia".
Further reading
- (in Spanish)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, retrospective exposition. Bogota April–September 1996)
- (in Spanish)DE KARPF, Ana. "Balance de 40 años del voto femenino". En: Unión de Ciudadanas de Colombia. Memorias, 5º Congreso Nacional. Cali, octubre, 1997.
- (in Spanish)JIMENO, Gladys. Las semillas dan sus frutos. En Memoria de María Consuelo Niño, Bogotá, 3 de julio de 1986. Fotocopia.
- (in Spanish)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.
- (in Spanish)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.
- (in Spanish)MUSEO DE ARTE MODERNO DE MEDELLÍN. Débora Arango, 1937–1984. Exposición Retrospectiva. Catálogo Medellín. 1984.
- (in Spanish)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.
- (in Spanish)Periódico Una voz insurgente, 1944.
- (in Spanish)SCOTT, Joan. "El problema de la Invisibilidad". En: RAMOS ESCANDÓN, Carmen (Comp.). Género e historia, Instituto MORA-UAM, México, 1992.
- (in Spanish)TORRES GIRALDO, Ignacio. María Cano: Mujer Rebelde. Editorial La Rosca, Bogotá, 1972.
- (in Spanish)URIBE DE ACOSTA, Ofelia. Una Voz Insurgente, Ediciones Guadalupe, Bogotá, 1963.
- (in Spanish)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.