MADRE Statements

Women Spinning Life: A Place for My Home

Posted on: Thursday, October 13, 2011

Keywords: Colombia, Latin America, Women's Human Rights

c.LIMPAL We just received an update from our sister organization LIMPAL in Colombia, and we want to share the news with you. LIMPAL is a community-based women’s organization working to promote social justice for women who have been displaced by Colombia’s armed conflict.

For the past six months, the women of LIMPAL have been working hard on their project, “Women spinning life: a place for my home." The project empowers displaced women who live in Villavicencio, an area about 70 miles southeast of Bogotá, by holding trainings on political participation and raising awareness of the policies that affect them.

In addition, the project recognizes and raises awareness of the ways in which political displacement specifically affects women. For public policy to be effective, it is essential that women’s voices be heard and incorporated. Usedis Garnica, a locally displaced woman involved in the project, exemplifies this by saying “participating in the project has been the most important opportunity to be better and to know my rights as a woman.”