Background Women in Colombia have been very important in military aspects, serving mainly as supporters or spies such as in the case of
Policarpa Salavarrieta who played a key role in the independence of Colombia from the
Spanish Empire. Some indigenous groups such as the
Wayuu 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 under
Roman Catholic education. On December 10, 1934 the
Congress of Colombia 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.
Liberal congressman
Jorge Eliécer Gaitán defended the decree Number 1972 of 1933 to allow women to receive higher education schooling, while the conservative
Germán Arciniegas opposed it. The decree passed and was signed by the Liberal government of
Alfonso López Pumarejo. The state-owned
National University of Colombia was the first higher education institution to allow female students.
Gerda Westendorp was admitted on February 1, 1935, to study
medicine.
Gabriela Peláez, who was admitted as a student in 1936 and graduated as a
lawyer, became the first female to ever graduate from a university in Colombia. In 1936,
María Carulla founded the first school of social works under the support of the
Our Lady of the Rosary University. After this, women began to be seen by many as equal to men for their academic achievements, creativity, and discipline. At the same time, citizens 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 among the main subjects of study for women, mainly in the areas of
family violence and couple relationships, and also in
children abuse.
Legal contracts rights A group of women led by
Georgina Fletcher met with then-president of Colombia
Enrique Olaya Herrera 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 enable women to administer their properties by themselves instead of their husbands, male relatives or tutors, as had been the case previously. 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 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). Family life has changed dramatically during the last decades: in the 1970s, 68,8% of births were inside marriage; ==Issues==