Kvinnorättsförsvarare i Colombia : – starka aktörer eller offer?

Sammanfattning: Colombia has been characterized by an internal armed conflict since the 1960s where several violations of the human rights have followed. Threats and violence against human rights defenders is one example and this is directed toward both men and women in an attempt to deter these brave individuals from continuing their work. This thesis focuses on the commitment of women’s human rights defenders in Colombia. Numerous international human rights organizations and institutions claim that women are a particularly vulnerable group, which is why I choose to focus on this group. Starting from different feminist theories and with regard to intersectional perspectives, I want to find out: What motivates women in Colombia to defend women’s human rights? Do they pursue any specifically important issues? How do they handle the obstacles they face in their work? These questions are posed in order to find out how these women’s human rights defenders work with human rights in relation to the obstacles that they face. I want to find out what strategies they use to handle the obstacles that they are faced with. The material of the thesis mostly consists of semi-structured interviews with women from domestic women’s human rights organizations in the capital of Colombia, Bogotá. The results show that women’s human rights defenders incentive is individual and cannot be too generalized. According to the common components in the women’s answers they are motivated by the need to fight injustices, mainly social- and political injustices in relation to being a woman and violations within the armed conflict. They are empowered to continue their work through each other, through the processes and the determination to not give up. There are many specifically important issues, for example land rights, gender-based violence and rights of the ethnic minorities. Some of these rights are even said to be today’s biggest challenge for the country. The women’s human right defenders handle the obstacles to their work through not giving up until the injustices are fought and through giving each other hope. They refuse to let the perpetrators win.