Professional Documents
Culture Documents
https://www.cetri.be/Women-and-the-Struggle-for-Social?lang=fr
Policarpa Salavarrieta, heroine of the Colombian Independence Movement. Portrait by Jose Maria
Espinosa, 1855
A lo largo de la era colonial, el siglo XIX y el establecimiento de la era republicana, las mujeres
colombianas fueron relegadas a ser amas de casa en una sociedad dominada por hombres.
La educación para las mujeres se limitaba a los ricos y solo se les permitía estudiar hasta la
escuela secundaria en el monasterio bajo la educación católica romana . El 10 de diciembre
de 1934, el Congreso de Colombia presentó una ley para otorgar a las mujeres el derecho a
estudiar. La ley generó controversia, al igual que cualquier problema relacionado con los
derechos de las mujeres en ese momento.
Educational rights
Derechos educativos
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 while the conservative Germán Arciniegas opposed it, to allow women to receive higher
education schooling. 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, 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. 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.
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 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
Derechos de sufragio
Women's right to suffrage was granted by Colombian dictator 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.
El derecho de las mujeres al sufragio fue otorgado por el dictador colombiano Gustavo Rojas
Pinilla en 1954, pero tuvo su origen en la década de 1930 con la lucha de las mujeres para
adquirir la ciudadanía plena. En 1957, las mujeres votaron por primera vez en Colombia en un
plebiscito.
Policarpa Salavarrieta
Policarpa Salavarrieta (c. 26 January 1795 – 14 November 1817), 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. The Day of the Colombian
Woman is on "her" day. She is now considered a heroine of the independence of
Colombia.
Commemoration
Day of the Colombian Woman
Día de la mujer colombiana
On November 8, 1967, Law 44 was passed by the Congress of the Republic of Colombia and
signed by President Carlos Lleras Restrepo, which declared in its 2nd Article that November 14
would be the “Day of the Colombian Woman” in honour of the anniversary of the death of “Our
heroine, Policarpa Salavarrieta”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policarpa_Salavarrieta
Colombia has ratified all existing international treaties on human rights and women's rights,
and has made significant progress in the development of laws to promote gender equality and
women's human rights. Some examples are the Public Policy Guidelines for Gender Equity for
Women and the Comprehensive Plan for protocols for women to live a life free of violence
approved in 2012, and the Victims and Land Restitution Law, passed in 2011, with important
provisions on gender equality, as well as Law 1257 "By which the norms of awareness,
prevention and sanction of forms of violence and discrimination against women", of 2008 and
Law 1719 are adopted by which they are adopted Measures to obtain access to justice for
victims of sexual violence, especially sexual violence on the occasion of the armed conflict,
2014, among others.
https://colombia.unwomen.org/es/onu-mujeres-en-colombia/las-mujeres-en-colombia
of subordination and discrimination between the genders committing to the States and
that guarantee real equality between men and women. This equality must be achieved.
needs of women, taking into account the diversity of the situation of women, and giving power
and real participation to women in the political, economic, social spheres
Women have the right, on equal terms, to the enjoyment and protection of all
social system in which there are no gender-based power relations, to a free life
of violence - in the public and private sphere - to live without discrimination, to be valued
and educated without stereotypes of social and cultural behaviors and practices based on
concepts of inferiority and subordination between the sexes, to contribute to development and
In addition to these rights linked to equality and non-discrimination, due to their status
https://www.hchr.org.co/phocadownload/publicaciones/series_tematicas/Derechos_de_la_Mujer
.pdf
En la lucha de los derechos de la mujer nace una heroína, que por causas sociales de la
época, sería relegada al olvido, ella era Betsabé Espinal, una humilde campesina de tan
solo 24 años, que el 20 de febrero de 1920, aun en sus condiciones de inferioridad para la
época, logró armar la primera huelga sindicalista en la historia de Colombia y fue la
primera mujer colombiana capaz de reclamar sus derechos y un trato de igualdad
respecto a los hombres.
In the struggle for women's rights a heroine is born, who for social reasons of the time, would
be relegated to oblivion, she was Bathsheba Espinal, a humble peasant of only 24 years, who
on February 20, 1920, even in its inferiority conditions for the time, it managed to arm the first
union strike in the history of Colombia and was the first Colombian woman capable of claiming
her rights and equal treatment with respect to men.
http://revistaci.blogspot.com/2012/07/historia-de-los-derechos-humanos-de-la.html