Tales of Machismo and Motherhood: Gendered Changes Across War and Peace

This chapter describes gender roles of survivors and ex-combatants before, during and after Colombia’s conflict. Rather than understanding ‘gender’ solely through the lens of sexual violence, it instead focuses on the everyday experiences of conflict and post-conflict lives, and how these are defined by structures of gender inequality. The chapter describes how conflict disrupted traditional gender relations, producing emancipatory experiences for women in both groups, as well as changes in models of masculinities. Such changes could be building blocks for post-conflict gender equality. Unfortunately, the chapter also identifies the continuities of structural gendered inequalities and traditional female roles in the post-agreement situation. It specifically zooms in on women’s participation in community structures during and after conflict, as well as their own organizational spaces. Such organizational processes could provide building blocks for active citizenship.