New research by Dr Alejandra Zuluaga Duque from the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society shows that the gender commitments in Colombia’s 2016 Peace Agreement have not translated into real change for the nation’s female coca growers.
Dr Zuluaga Duque’s research draws on 25 interviews with individuals involved in implementing the Peace Agreement and with coca growers, most of whom are women.
“Stakeholders often regard coca cultivation as men’s work, while women are positioned in supporting or domestic roles. Yet the women interviewed described active participation across all stages of coca production.’
“These accounts challenge male-centred definitions of the coca economy and reveal how such assumptions continue to limit women’s recognition and economic autonomy within peacebuilding processes in Colombia.”
The research also highlights the real-life consequences of this gendered approach.
“By prioritising men as the main recipients of support and overlooking women’s labour, the National Comprehensive Program for the Substitution of Illicit Crops (PNIS) has reduced women’s economic autonomy and reinforced household dependency,” Dr Zuluaga Duque explains.
“Our findings show that prevailing gendered assumptions continue to shape how both policy and research are conducted,” she says.
“This can generate new forms of insecurity and mistrust in rural communities, undermining the long-term goals of the peace process.”
