Process and Dynamics of Women’s Participation in Revolutionary Armed Combat in Colombia (1970-2015)  

Colombia has a history of armed conflict. However, it was only at the beginning of the negotiation processes for peace and the demobilization of guerilla groups, particularly those held in Havana in 2012, that national and international public opinion became aware of the large number of women fighting in the ranks of those organizations, upon discovering a delegation of women representing the FARC seated at the negotiation table. The delegation was then integrated in two sub-committees created in the context of the peace negotiations: the technical sub-committee for the end of the conflict and the gender sub-committee. 

At the crossroads of political and gender sociology, the aim of this research is to show how the dynamic of conflict and violence has created for women a new relationship to politics and society. Besides documentary research, the thesis is based on narratives of women involved in various peace movements. It is also based on testimonies of former female combatants from different guerilla groups, brought together in a collective engaged in a “speaking-up” process, becoming widespread in Colombian public space. Lastly, the thesis is based on interviews with those in charge of government demobilization and reinsertion programs.