Woman with Gloria Steinem (2016–…): Season 1, Episode 2 - Colombia: The Women of FARC - full transcript
As Colombia nears the end of a fifty-year civil war, we meet current and former female FARC soldiers to find out how they will be reintegrated into society.
I've traveled the world
as a writer and an activist
for my entire life.
What we are talking about
is a revolution.
We are the women that
our parents warned us about.
[ Crowd cheers ]
And I can tell you
that by confronting the problems
once marginalized
as "women's issues,"
we can tackle
the greatest dangers
of the 21st century.
[ Woman shouting
in native language ]
Behind every major crisis,
there's an unseen factor
at play,
a story you've never been told.
The greatest indicator
of the world's stability,
wealth, and safety
is the status of women.
In Colombia,
50 years of bloody civil war
has torn that country apart,
costing billions of dollars and
hundreds of thousands of lives.
But in September 2015,
a historic accord was struck,
and the end may be in sight.
The key
to maintaining that peace
rests in the hands
of women on both sides,
including those sitting
at the negotiating table
and the thousands of female
fighters who are coming home.
[ Speaking Spanish ]
Speri:
So, we are in Bogotá,
and we are finally headed
to meet with a FARC.
Most Colombians feel
that it's completely crazy
to go into a FARC camp.
They've committed killings.
They've kidnapped people.
They're considered
a terrorist organization
by the Colombian government
and almost every other country
right now.
The FARC, or Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia,
began as a peasant uprising
against extreme poverty
and government repression
in 1964.
They're known
for their controversial tactics.
The State Department
has called the FARC
the most dangerous international
terrorist organization
based in the Western Hemisphere.
The FARC is responsible for
more than 60% of the cocaine
that's smuggled
into the United States.
Speri:
The FARC is also known
for their high numbers
of female soldiers,
and these women have played
a critical role
in both the conflict
and the ongoing peace process.
In July of 2015,
we were granted permission
to embed with a front-line unit
during a cease-fire.
Many cease-fires before
have collapsed,
so there's definitely still
a lot of tension.
Just turn off this light, can I?
Yeah.
Despite our clearance, we were
stopped by armed FARC soldiers
immediately after crossing
into their territory.
Wait, wait, wait.
Don't film here.
They're just telling us --
Don't do this.
At the time of our visit
in the summer of 2015,
this was still an active war,
and the FARC
wasn't taking any chances
of accidentally leaking
their secret camp locations
to the government.
The FARC don't want us to have
any cellphone with us at all
because any kind of signal
that comes out of the jungle
can be very dangerous
and give away their location.
That's how they actually end up
getting bombed often enough.
So, it took us
a really long time to get here.
We've been traveling
for basically three days.
In the 1990s,
the FARC controlled
almost 1/3 of the country.
But starting in 2000,
with nearly $10 billion
in aid from the U.S.,
the Colombian government has
been waging a brutal campaign
to fight the drug trade and
guerilla groups like the FARC.
President Clinton: Their purpose
is to reduce the drug trade
that aggravates
every problem Colombia faces
and exports chaos to the world,
including the United States.
Speri: The initiative,
called Plan Colombia,
has successfully weakened
the FARC.
As of 2015,
the FARC still claimed
around 8,000 active members.
Approximately 1/3 of them
are women.
The World Bank estimates
that nearly 30% of Colombians
live in poverty.
Women in Colombia often
find themselves doubly oppressed
by poverty
and by a sexist culture
that disempowers them.
That can make the FARC
an attractive option.
Antonia feels that here,
unlike in the city,
she is truly treated
as an equal.
In a country
where women are still held
to strict gender roles
and the Colombian Army does not
use them on the front lines,
here in the jungle,
Antonia is a field commander
and combat veteran.
Speri: We're here in a FARC camp
to see what everyday life is like
for women fighting one of the
world's longest ongoing wars.
The FARC
has a compelling message
for the young women
of Colombia --
fight for us,
and you can achieve equality,
both in your life
and throughout society.
And as we spend more time in
the camp, it really does appear
that men and women
share responsibilities,
from cooking and guard duty
to digging the trenches that
provide cover during air raids.
[ Laughter ]
[ Speaking Spanish ]
For many women in Colombia,
there is little room for
a life outside of motherhood.
By age 19,
1 in 5 women will have
already had her first child.
But the women of the FARC aren't
bound by the same expectations.
And when birth control fails,
these women are confronted
by another expectation.
Even though abortion
is not legal in Colombia
except in
the most extreme circumstances,
the FARC is widely accused
of routinely forcing women
to terminate their pregnancies.
The soldier's response
was not atypical.
For our entire stay in the camp,
we almost never heard
a complaint.
There's something about
the stories we're hearing
that just, like, doesn't really
make sense to me.
These people are so committed
to this idea,
but then
when they talk about it,
they sound like they're just
repeating the ideology
and giving you kind of, like,
the party line.
I feel like we're not
really getting the full picture.
[ Man speaking Spanish ]
Speri: When men and women
enlist in the FARC,
they understand it's for life.
To be part of the revolution,
you have to give up everything.
But that might not be the case
for much longer.
For the last several years,
the FARC and the government have
been in serious peace talks,
and in September of 2015,
there was a major breakthrough.
[ Applause ]
Tanja Nijmeijer is a FARC rebel
and the only woman to be
involved in the peace talks
from the very beginning.
[ Man speaking Spanish ]
As part of the agreement,
ex-FARC combatants
will not go to prison.
Now one of the biggest
challenges facing Colombia is,
how do you take thousands of
FARC fighters out of the jungle
and reintegrate them
into society?
It's an especially difficult
issue for the women of the FARC,
who spent years fighting
alongside men as equals.
While it's true
that there seems to be
a gender equality
in the FARC camps
that just doesn't exist
in Colombian society,
this is not the whole story.
We went to hear from a woman
who ran away from the FARC
and now lives in a government-
controlled safe house.
Women like
this former rebel soldier
spend one to three months
stabilizing in the safety
of the peace home
before beginning
the seven-year program
that readies them
to re-enter civil society.
Bouvier:
I think more and more,
we're seeing,
particularly with the FARC,
since you have such a large
proportion of women,
you need to think
about programming
that addresses the needs
of these ex-combatants.
Speri: Virginia Bouvier
is a senior advisor
at the United States
Institute for Peace.
Men who went to war
are seen as heroes.
They've played the role that men
play in Colombian society.
They've defended their honor.
They've defended their families.
Women, on the other hand,
they've picked up arms,
and that's not something
that women are allowed to do.
So I think there's
a certain distrust of a woman
who would pick up a gun,
who would dedicate her life
to something
outside of her family.
At a community meeting
sponsored by the government
agency for reintegration,
we meet a former rebel who is
working to strengthen ties
between the mobilized soldiers
and the local community.
She asks
that we conceal her identity.
It's exactly this kind
of inclusion of women
that will ultimately help
sustain peace in Colombia.
Bouvier:
What we've seen is that
when women have been involved
in the peace process
and have had engagement
with the ideas
and helped to shape
the solutions,
the accords are more likely
to hold.
Speri: Later, we followed
a former rebel to a nearby salon
where we hear what everyday
women, like her hairdresser,
think about reintegration.
Bouvier: Women hold tremendous sway
in the family, in the community,
in their churches,
in organizations.
Women have the power
to help form attitudes,
and I think that
the attitudinal transformation
that needs to happen in Colombia
is going to be critical
to whether peace lasts or not.
Speri: For peace to hold,
it's vital that FARC combatants
are successfully reintegrated
into Colombian society.
It's rather shocking to know
that between 30% and 50%
of peace accords don't work,
and countries
revert back to war.
The stakes for FARC women
reentering civil society
are quite high.
I met an ex-FARC commander who
demobilized several years back,
and she said,
"There's such stigma attached
to being an ex-combatant.
The jobs that I can get
are practically nil.
I can't support myself.
I'm not sure what to do."
She didn't say, "I'm thinking
of going back to the jungle,"
but, you know,
you wonder at what point,
if people can't survive,
they would be willing
to pick up a gun again.
Speri: Claudia returned from the
FARC more than three years ago
and is still struggling
to adjust to life back home.
Even though
she's halfway through
the government-sponsored
rehabilitation program,
her job prospects
are severely limited,
and she lives in one of
the most dangerous neighborhoods
in the city.
[ Both laugh ]
Steinem:
We won't know for years
if the agreement
being considered today
will be the one
that ends this war for good.
But what is clear is that
as long as the needs of women
go unmet
and their voices
aren't part of the solution,
lasting peace
will always be out of reach.
To support gender equality
in Colombia,
as a writer and an activist
for my entire life.
What we are talking about
is a revolution.
We are the women that
our parents warned us about.
[ Crowd cheers ]
And I can tell you
that by confronting the problems
once marginalized
as "women's issues,"
we can tackle
the greatest dangers
of the 21st century.
[ Woman shouting
in native language ]
Behind every major crisis,
there's an unseen factor
at play,
a story you've never been told.
The greatest indicator
of the world's stability,
wealth, and safety
is the status of women.
In Colombia,
50 years of bloody civil war
has torn that country apart,
costing billions of dollars and
hundreds of thousands of lives.
But in September 2015,
a historic accord was struck,
and the end may be in sight.
The key
to maintaining that peace
rests in the hands
of women on both sides,
including those sitting
at the negotiating table
and the thousands of female
fighters who are coming home.
[ Speaking Spanish ]
Speri:
So, we are in Bogotá,
and we are finally headed
to meet with a FARC.
Most Colombians feel
that it's completely crazy
to go into a FARC camp.
They've committed killings.
They've kidnapped people.
They're considered
a terrorist organization
by the Colombian government
and almost every other country
right now.
The FARC, or Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia,
began as a peasant uprising
against extreme poverty
and government repression
in 1964.
They're known
for their controversial tactics.
The State Department
has called the FARC
the most dangerous international
terrorist organization
based in the Western Hemisphere.
The FARC is responsible for
more than 60% of the cocaine
that's smuggled
into the United States.
Speri:
The FARC is also known
for their high numbers
of female soldiers,
and these women have played
a critical role
in both the conflict
and the ongoing peace process.
In July of 2015,
we were granted permission
to embed with a front-line unit
during a cease-fire.
Many cease-fires before
have collapsed,
so there's definitely still
a lot of tension.
Just turn off this light, can I?
Yeah.
Despite our clearance, we were
stopped by armed FARC soldiers
immediately after crossing
into their territory.
Wait, wait, wait.
Don't film here.
They're just telling us --
Don't do this.
At the time of our visit
in the summer of 2015,
this was still an active war,
and the FARC
wasn't taking any chances
of accidentally leaking
their secret camp locations
to the government.
The FARC don't want us to have
any cellphone with us at all
because any kind of signal
that comes out of the jungle
can be very dangerous
and give away their location.
That's how they actually end up
getting bombed often enough.
So, it took us
a really long time to get here.
We've been traveling
for basically three days.
In the 1990s,
the FARC controlled
almost 1/3 of the country.
But starting in 2000,
with nearly $10 billion
in aid from the U.S.,
the Colombian government has
been waging a brutal campaign
to fight the drug trade and
guerilla groups like the FARC.
President Clinton: Their purpose
is to reduce the drug trade
that aggravates
every problem Colombia faces
and exports chaos to the world,
including the United States.
Speri: The initiative,
called Plan Colombia,
has successfully weakened
the FARC.
As of 2015,
the FARC still claimed
around 8,000 active members.
Approximately 1/3 of them
are women.
The World Bank estimates
that nearly 30% of Colombians
live in poverty.
Women in Colombia often
find themselves doubly oppressed
by poverty
and by a sexist culture
that disempowers them.
That can make the FARC
an attractive option.
Antonia feels that here,
unlike in the city,
she is truly treated
as an equal.
In a country
where women are still held
to strict gender roles
and the Colombian Army does not
use them on the front lines,
here in the jungle,
Antonia is a field commander
and combat veteran.
Speri: We're here in a FARC camp
to see what everyday life is like
for women fighting one of the
world's longest ongoing wars.
The FARC
has a compelling message
for the young women
of Colombia --
fight for us,
and you can achieve equality,
both in your life
and throughout society.
And as we spend more time in
the camp, it really does appear
that men and women
share responsibilities,
from cooking and guard duty
to digging the trenches that
provide cover during air raids.
[ Laughter ]
[ Speaking Spanish ]
For many women in Colombia,
there is little room for
a life outside of motherhood.
By age 19,
1 in 5 women will have
already had her first child.
But the women of the FARC aren't
bound by the same expectations.
And when birth control fails,
these women are confronted
by another expectation.
Even though abortion
is not legal in Colombia
except in
the most extreme circumstances,
the FARC is widely accused
of routinely forcing women
to terminate their pregnancies.
The soldier's response
was not atypical.
For our entire stay in the camp,
we almost never heard
a complaint.
There's something about
the stories we're hearing
that just, like, doesn't really
make sense to me.
These people are so committed
to this idea,
but then
when they talk about it,
they sound like they're just
repeating the ideology
and giving you kind of, like,
the party line.
I feel like we're not
really getting the full picture.
[ Man speaking Spanish ]
Speri: When men and women
enlist in the FARC,
they understand it's for life.
To be part of the revolution,
you have to give up everything.
But that might not be the case
for much longer.
For the last several years,
the FARC and the government have
been in serious peace talks,
and in September of 2015,
there was a major breakthrough.
[ Applause ]
Tanja Nijmeijer is a FARC rebel
and the only woman to be
involved in the peace talks
from the very beginning.
[ Man speaking Spanish ]
As part of the agreement,
ex-FARC combatants
will not go to prison.
Now one of the biggest
challenges facing Colombia is,
how do you take thousands of
FARC fighters out of the jungle
and reintegrate them
into society?
It's an especially difficult
issue for the women of the FARC,
who spent years fighting
alongside men as equals.
While it's true
that there seems to be
a gender equality
in the FARC camps
that just doesn't exist
in Colombian society,
this is not the whole story.
We went to hear from a woman
who ran away from the FARC
and now lives in a government-
controlled safe house.
Women like
this former rebel soldier
spend one to three months
stabilizing in the safety
of the peace home
before beginning
the seven-year program
that readies them
to re-enter civil society.
Bouvier:
I think more and more,
we're seeing,
particularly with the FARC,
since you have such a large
proportion of women,
you need to think
about programming
that addresses the needs
of these ex-combatants.
Speri: Virginia Bouvier
is a senior advisor
at the United States
Institute for Peace.
Men who went to war
are seen as heroes.
They've played the role that men
play in Colombian society.
They've defended their honor.
They've defended their families.
Women, on the other hand,
they've picked up arms,
and that's not something
that women are allowed to do.
So I think there's
a certain distrust of a woman
who would pick up a gun,
who would dedicate her life
to something
outside of her family.
At a community meeting
sponsored by the government
agency for reintegration,
we meet a former rebel who is
working to strengthen ties
between the mobilized soldiers
and the local community.
She asks
that we conceal her identity.
It's exactly this kind
of inclusion of women
that will ultimately help
sustain peace in Colombia.
Bouvier:
What we've seen is that
when women have been involved
in the peace process
and have had engagement
with the ideas
and helped to shape
the solutions,
the accords are more likely
to hold.
Speri: Later, we followed
a former rebel to a nearby salon
where we hear what everyday
women, like her hairdresser,
think about reintegration.
Bouvier: Women hold tremendous sway
in the family, in the community,
in their churches,
in organizations.
Women have the power
to help form attitudes,
and I think that
the attitudinal transformation
that needs to happen in Colombia
is going to be critical
to whether peace lasts or not.
Speri: For peace to hold,
it's vital that FARC combatants
are successfully reintegrated
into Colombian society.
It's rather shocking to know
that between 30% and 50%
of peace accords don't work,
and countries
revert back to war.
The stakes for FARC women
reentering civil society
are quite high.
I met an ex-FARC commander who
demobilized several years back,
and she said,
"There's such stigma attached
to being an ex-combatant.
The jobs that I can get
are practically nil.
I can't support myself.
I'm not sure what to do."
She didn't say, "I'm thinking
of going back to the jungle,"
but, you know,
you wonder at what point,
if people can't survive,
they would be willing
to pick up a gun again.
Speri: Claudia returned from the
FARC more than three years ago
and is still struggling
to adjust to life back home.
Even though
she's halfway through
the government-sponsored
rehabilitation program,
her job prospects
are severely limited,
and she lives in one of
the most dangerous neighborhoods
in the city.
[ Both laugh ]
Steinem:
We won't know for years
if the agreement
being considered today
will be the one
that ends this war for good.
But what is clear is that
as long as the needs of women
go unmet
and their voices
aren't part of the solution,
lasting peace
will always be out of reach.
To support gender equality
in Colombia,