International Women’s Day (IWD), marked annually on 8th March is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. It is one of the most important days of the year to celebrate women’s achievements, whilst also educating and raising awareness for women’s equality and calling for positive change. This day is recognised differently across the globe, with protests being used to call for change in some countries whilst others focus on its celebratory aspects.
International Women’s Day began as a labour movement and evolved into an annual event recognised by the United Nations. Its origins began in 1908, when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter working hours, better pay, and voting rights. Just a year later in 1909, the first iteration of IWD, “Women’s Day”, was held there. The idea of a day dedicated to women’s rights around the world was then floated at the International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen in 1910 by Clara Zetkin, a German advocate for women’s rights, with a version of her idea coming to fruition a year later with International Women’s Day being celebrated in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. It wasn’t until some years later in 1975 that the United Nations began celebrating the day to recognise the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women and girls. The 8th March was chosen as the date of International Women’s Day in recognition of a wartime strike in Russia in 1917 when women demanding “bread and peace” forced the tsar to abdicate, and the provisional government granted women the right to vote.
For IWD 2023, the global campaign theme is “Embrace Equity”. According to the IWD community who choose the themes each year, “We can all challenge gender stereotypes, call out discrimination, draw attention to bias, and seek out inclusion. Collective activism is what drives change. From grassroots action to wide-scale momentum, we can all embrace equity. And to truly embrace equity, means to deeply believe, value, and seek out difference as a necessary and positive element of life. To embrace equity means to understand the journey required to achieve women’s equality.”
Women in Colombia have faced many struggles simply because of their gender. Historically, Colombia operated under a patriarchal society, where many women were forced to stay at home without access to education or work. Only those with money had access to education and even then, there were still limitations. However, by the 1930s, laws were passed entitling women to higher education and attitudes toward women’s achievements in academia began to change for the better. Women were also granted full citizenship at this time however, full suffrage wasn’t granted to women in Colombia until 1957, the second-last Latin American country to do so.
Access to higher education resulted in women joining the legal profession, some of whom take on cases and causes which can endanger the lives of both them and their families.
The Luis Carlos Pérez Collective Lawyers Corporation (CCALCP) is a prime example of this. The all-female group of lawyers represents and provides advice to indigenous communities and small-scale farmers, all of whom have been affected by conflict in the country. The group’s work covers a wide range of legal areas including environmental rights, notably fighting to stop mining companies from extracting resources which has a damaging effect on the local area, as well as representing displaced peoples and victims of crime committed by or on behalf of the State. This work is extremely dangerous, with the team receiving threats and false accusations of criminal activity simply for doing their jobs.
In addition to CCALP, there are other collectives with female lawyers who are risking their lives in the pursuit of justice in Colombia. The ‘José Alvear Restrepo’ Lawyers’ Collective (CAJAR) is a non-governmental organisation with a mixed male and female team of lawyers and human rights defenders. The team works on high-profile human rights cases in the country as well as collaborating regionally and internationally with Inter-American Commission for Human Rights (IACHR) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), respectively. Members of the CAJAR have previously been granted extra security due to threats made against them and their families. Just last year, one of CAJAR’s lawyers, Yessika Hoyos Morales, received threats and her home was invaded due to a case she was working on. Despite this, she continues to work in pursuit of justice.
Andrea Torres Bautista, lawyer and deputy director of the Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation (FNEB) was the victim of kidnapping, violence and theft of sensitive information in relation to cases of forced disappearance and sexual violence by the 20th Brigade of the Army. The stolen information included the testimonies of victims and witnesses and the incident occurred after the FNEB submitted a report to the Truth Commission (CEV) created under the Peace Accord.
It is not only lawyers themselves who are targeted and suffer, the children of some female lawyers in the Equipo Juridico Pueblos (EJP) were also subjected to continued surveillance and threat.
Another female lawyer trailblazer is Dora Saldarriaga, who leads the first Legal Commission for Women’s Equity in a Municipal Council in Colombia. Originally from Santa Helena, a rural area of the city of Medellin, Colombia, her first foray into activism involved exposing problems that exist in the countryside including issues relating to inequality. Later, as a professor at La Universidad Autónoma Latinoamericana, she encountered further issues involving gender inequality and feminism. The knowledge and experience gained through this led her to be invited to join the women’s political movement, ‘Estamos Listas’ (‘We are Ready’), a group that transformed politics in the area and, ultimately, led to Dora being elected councilwoman, a position that enabled her to establish the Legal Commission mentioned above.
In another positive move for equality in Colombia, in 2022 the country elected its first female Afro-Colombian descendent as vice-president. Francia Marquez, a single mother and environmental activist who has received threats due to her activism, also took up the position of Minister of Equality within the newly created Ministry, with its emphasis being the equality of women in Colombia. However, despite this step forward for women and minorities, there are those who are against such progress, with Ms. Marquez surviving an attempt on her life as recently as January this year.
The work that women like the ones mentioned above do is so important, however much like their male counterparts, female lawyers in Colombia can face danger simply for doing their job. Moreso, the fact that they are female can often add an extra layer of bias and risk, with consequences including sexual violence and defamation of their work as lawyers due to their gender with some believing a woman’s place is in the home. Here at the Colombian Caravana, we recognise the dangers facing lawyers and human rights defenders in the country and actively work to protect and support them so that they can continue their vital work in the region.
What can you do?
International Women’s Day is a global call to action to actively call out gender bias, discrimination and stereotyping whenever you come across it. It is up to everyone to help drive change and by calling out such behaviour, we can ensure that the norm shifts towards a more inclusive world for everyone.
For those who wish to support the Caravana’s work with at-risk lawyers in Colombia, membership to our organisation is only £30 per year. To become a member please email colombian.caravana@googlemail.com with the subject “Membership Application”. Can’t become a member right now but would still like to donate? We are very grateful for donations of any size no matter how small. Please click here to visit our donation page. Please remember to add gift aid so your donation goes even further!
The work we do is vital but can only be achieved through the support and generous contributions of our members and donors. The Caravana isn’t an expensive charity to run as we rely mostly on the support of volunteers, but we do need essential funds to achieve our aims. We welcome support from both individuals and businesses. Without lawyers and legal professionals (of all genders), there can be no justice, and no one should fear for their safety simply for doing their job.