Some Día de la Mujer gifts I received from my students. Candy just for existing? Sure, I'll take it.
Thursday, March 8th, was International Women’s Day, a holiday celebrated both officially and unofficially in countries across the globe – although, oddly enough, I’ve noticed that it doesn’t seem to be particularly popular in the United States. Here in Colombia, it’s celebrated as a sort of combination of Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, with women receiving presents, flowers, candy, cards and constant wishes for a “Feliz día” (happy day).
I wrote about my personal feelings and impressions of Día de la Mujer on my own blog, so here I’m going to focus instead on some of the reflections it inspired on the state of women and women’s rights here in Colombia. Latin America, like basically every other region of the world, doesn’t necessarily have the best record on women’s rights. The combination of strict Catholicism in many places, machista culture and a strong adherence to traditional gender roles, particularly in rural areas, has created an environment that, until very recently, allowed limited options for women.
I’m not saying that all women in Colombia are housewives or cooks – and many of the ones that are do so by choice, rather than a lack thereof. There’s definitely a lot of space in Colombian culture for successful women, and despite the historic basis of machista culture (which is still alive and well, don’t worry), there does seem to be a healthy amount of respect for and appreciation of strong, accomplished women here. For example: When the former mayor of Bogotá was suspended in 2011, the president of Colombia chose a Harvard-educated female economist to serve as acting mayor until the end of the term. There are women serving in high levels of the government, powerful female lawyers and many female leaders of NGOs. As of last year, 13% of people in governing bodies were female – not anywhere close to 50%, of course, but sadly a much higher percentage than in many other nations.
However, this doesn’t mean everything is just peachy. The 2011 Global Gender Gap Report, which measures gender inequality in areas like salaries, work opportunities, education, health and other factors, ranked Colombia 80th out of 135 countries – a significant change from its 2010 position in 55th place, and the single biggest drop in Latin America. According to the report, this was based mostly on a huge decrease in women’s earned income, especially compared to men. A recent report by an investigative unit of the National Police found that, on average, a woman is assaulted every 38 minutes in Bogotá – and that barely 42% of women report cases of abuse to the authorities.
Whenever you hear anyone extolling the myriad virtues of Colombia, the beauty of Colombian women is always extremely high on the list (especially if the speaker is a straight dude). Far be it from me to dispute the accuracy of this description – Colombian women overall are seriously gorgeous, enough to make even a nail-biting gringa consider getting a manicure – but I think until the country focuses on promoting the accomplishments of its women, rather than their allure, there’s still a lot of progress to be made.
And I’m not the only one who thinks so. Women and men across the country held marches and demonstrations on Día de la Mujer to advocate for women’s rights and to raise awareness of the need for change. Hundreds of women marching in Medellín chanted “Take your rosaries out of our ovaries,” and a Bogotá-based lawyer told news organization Colombia Reports, “It is not the day of the woman, it is the day of women’s human rights.” The president of Colombia recently signed an agreement pledging to create publicity and awareness campaigns across the country to advance women’s rights – as with most political actions, it remains to be seen how successful this program will be.
It’s inspiring to see how people and organizations in Colombia are using March 8th as a platform to advance women’s rights campaigns, but it’s important to remember that one day is not enough. As a female traveler, I want to live in a world where I can feel just as safe as a man, no matter where I go – my physical and mental safety should not be affected by my gender. Even more so, I would love to someday feel that, no matter where I traveled, I could meet women who have had the same educational and professional opportunities that I’ve had the privilege to pursue. We’re far from perfect in terms of women’s rights in the States (hey, Rush Limbaugh!), but at least I’m legally allowed to drive myself to the grocery store.
So: one day down, 364 to go!
Natalie Southwick volunteers as an English teacher for WorldTeach in Bogotá, Colombia. For more on Natalie’s adventures in Colombia, check out her blog.
