Local Planning of the Territory as a peace action from the gender dimension in Colombian peripheries

Abstract

This article presents the results of the Local Planning of Territory research project in the Magdalena Medio region of Colombia, giving an account of the empowerment of women as local actors in coordinated actions from below, aimed at building their urban environments.
In the Colombian armed conflict the economic, social and political interests are played around the land and through the control of the territory with the background of social inequality. The consequences of violence fall dramatically on women who within the logics of war are victims and responsible for survival actions while men are actors and combatants. Therefore the figure of women has been key in the rehabilitation and search of resources represented in peace strategies seeking to improve their living conditions, their home and their territorial environment from the local.
The research identifies different actions of local development presented in areas of urban and rural periphery historically characterized by the presence of the armed conflict in Colombia as models of construction of their communities, their neighborhoods their public spaces and their homes. Within these actions the leadership of women is a fundamental element to understand the importance of communities within the processes of transformation of territories from the circumstances related to land possession, economic productivity and the transformation of their environment (physical and those related to the improvement of their living conditions).
The actions identified as conclusions of the research are proposed as elements to be taken into account in the possibilities related to the intervention of the territory in zones and postconflict scenarios or as evident peace actions from the community initiatives.