Topic: 2024-Gender Equality in Rural Areas
Country: Colombia
Delegate Name: Lillian Navin
Gender equality is a pressing issue, especially in rural communities. Women in rural areas have less access to education, and health care, and fewer opportunities to hold leadership positions and create change for other women. In Colombia, specifically, 25% of the population resides in rural areas making this an important issue. Women in these areas significantly contribute to the economy and their communities. Colombia realizes the critical need to improve policies to support women in these communities to gain better access to leadership roles, resources, and land rights.
Colombia recognizes that gender equality is necessary for a strong rural economy. To address this, the government has made significant policies to ensure equality and improve women’s lives, which would serve as a foundation for this committee. It is important to provide rural women access to land credit and vocational training. Equally important is to increase the equality of representation of women in decision-making processes and leadership positions, which requires increased repression of women at all levels. Additionally, healthcare gaps must be bridged by expanding telemedicine and mobile health services in underserved rural communities.
Colombia has shown commitment to advancing women’s equality through policies that could serve as a model for other countries. The Quota Laws (Law 581 of 2000 and Law 1475 of 2011) require minimum representation of women in leadership, making sure their voices are part of decision-making. As a part of the Colombian National Development Plan, Colombia has focused on increasing vocational training, educational scholarships, and subsidizing child care for women in rural communities. These policies advance the rights and recognition of rural women. Law 731-2002 also empowers women by improving access to land ownership, resources, and credit. Similarly, this law focuses on education and vocational training to improve women’s lives in rural areas. By implementing similar policies on a global scale the gender gaps in rural regions will decrease.
Furthermore, Colombia also brings attention to the regional and international politics that are in line with its national politics. The Montevideo Strategy for Gender Equality, adopted in 2016, provides a framework for addressing rural gender inequality in Latin America, placing great importance on incorporating a gender perspective into policies and incorporating women into decision-making in rural areas. Likewise, Colombia still acknowledges the Beijing Platform for Action of 1995 which recognized the important roles women play in rural areas. The constant upholding of such frameworks by Colombia underlines its commitment to global corporations.
Colombia is committed to achieving gender equality in rural areas. Through national, regional, and global policies Colombia has shown that empowering rural women is essential for sustainable development. By working together member states can create solutions by increasing access to land, education, healthcare, and leadership for women who live in rural areas.
Citations
FAO. Legislation to Guarantee the Rights of Rural Women in Latin America and the Caribbean. https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/08ee7fbf-ef5b-4242-9c69-59a662eafcc3/content
IFAD. Women’s Land Rights in Colombia, 2024 https://www.cifor-icraf.org/publications/pdf_files/Books/Socio-legal-review-Colombia.pdf
“New Policies Promise Greater Equality for Colombia’s Rural Women – Rights + Resources – Supporting Forest Tenure, Policy, and Market Reforms.” Rights + Resources – Supporting Forest Tenure, Policy, and Market Reforms – Supporting Forest Tenure, Policy, and Market Reforms, 9 June 2015, https://rightsandresources.org/blog/new-policies-promise-greater-equality-for-colombias-rural-women/.
Ross, Jen. “Growing Rural Women’s Land Ownership across Colombia’s Countryside.” UN Women Data Hub, 24 July 2024, https://data.unwomen.org/features/growing-rural-womens-land-ownership-across-colombias-countryside.
