Re-examining identities and power: Gender in peacebuilding in Colombia

As part of a four-country research project on gender in peacebuilding, this report examines the case of Colombia, where society has been deeply affected by both decades of armed conflict as well as high levels of criminal violence.

Our research approaches the challenges of peacebuilding in Colombia from a ‘gender-relational’ angle, which looks at men, women and trans- and intersex people as gendered beings, takes into account the interaction between gender identities and other markers such as age, class, disability, marital status and the like, and examines how these identities are constructed relationally to one another. We approach gender not as a ‘technical’ peacebuilding issue, but as a lens through which to analyse societal norms, identities and power dynamics.

After giving a background to the history of violent conflict in Colombia and its gendered dynamics, the report examines three local civil society organisations that, in their own way, approach peacebuilding in a gender-relational way. The three organisations are:

  • Association of Women of Eastern Antioquia (Asociacion de Mujeres del Oriente Antioqueño, AMOR), a women’s organisation that is increasingly working on issues of both femininities and masculinities
  • Wayuumunsurat/Mujeres Tejiendo Paz (Women Weaving Peace), an organisation led by indigenous women working for transitional justice and gender equality
  • Santamaria Foundation (Santamaría Fundación, SF), a trans-women’s rights organisation

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Renegotiating the ‘ideal’ society: Gender in peacebuilding in Uganda