The multiple faces of insecurity : An analysis of security from the Chocoano women's perspective

Abstract: This thesis explores the complexity of the concept “security” in theory and practice. The traditional security concept is replaced by a human-centred security approach in order to analyse women's security,. The stories of Afro-Colombian and indigenous women from the poor and war-torn region Chocó in Colombia demonstrate that the insecurity of the Chocoano women is not only created by the armed conflict in Colombia, but that insecurity fundamentally has its roots in societal structures and systems as well. This thesis argues that the category “woman” is insufficient and that an intersectional approach is the only way to fully understand the Chocoano women’s security and insecurity. In the case of Chocó, the population's ways of relating to the ancestral territories is one example of how ethnicity and culture play a mayor role for their security. The concept human security will be embraced for its recognition of the intimate relation between human rights, development and individual security. Galtung's theory on violence will also be used in order to complete the picture of how the direct and indirect violence that Chocoano women suffer from is reinforced by unequal power relations.   Furthermore, women’s possibilities to act for security, mainly through nongovernmental organizations and the Church, are investigated. The peripheral positions of the Chocoano women in Colombia as well as within their own cultures are found to be barriers to women’s effective participation in security policy. It is also concluded that the relation between security and activism for human rights is rather complex and contradictory in Chocó. Finally, it is argued that there exist several parallel and competing discourses of security. The predominant discourse of security in Colombia ignores many of the dangers that women in Chocó are exposed to. The concept of security must be seriously challenged both in theory and in practice if women’s security is to be guaranteed in Colombia.