Anamaria Trujillo

This project entails immersive ethnographic fieldwork on demobilized women from the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) for 12 months in Medellin, Colombia. I hypothesize that learning more about the experiences and social theories of reintegrated women can contribute to understanding their participation in war, the transformative impact of war on women and society, and the impacts of women’s post-conflict peacebuilding practices. My research is inspired on Colombian women’s overall participation in war-making and peacebuilding, such as the 2013 National Summit for Women and Peace (Cumbre, 2013) and the over 3,000 FARC female who demobilized in 2016. The overarching questions informing my research are: How have former FARC women worked to transform Colombian society during war and peace? What theories do they have about the causes of the Colombian conflict and what implicit and explicit theories and practices do they elaborate when making peace? In their daily lives, how do women negotiate their return from a time of “war” to a time of “peace”, and what social pressures do they face in this process? This research will contribute to literature on women as warriors, examine their potential to change gender norms, and analyze their contributions to war and peace.