Bogota, Colombia

Bogota was conquered by the Spanish in 1538 by Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada (Wallenfeldt, 2022). Eventually, the city's inhabitants started a revolt and successfully took back control of Bogota in 1811, though there was still conflict until 1819 when Simon Bolivar came to power (Wallenfeldt, 2022). In 1821, Bogota was deemed the capital of Gran Colombia (Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama) (Wallenfeldt, 2022). Later, it stayed as the capital of Colombia, as we know it today (Wallenfeldt, 2022). Political power struggles and violence were a prominent issue in Bogota all the way until 1958 (Wallenfeldt, 2022). Now, Bogota is a commercial hub, with a stock exchange and other commercial buildings throughout the city (Wallenfeldt, 2022).

Wallenfeldt's article is a great source to help one become acquainted with the city of Bogota, learning its history and about the city today. Once we know more about the city itself, we will be able to further look into the inequalities and view the city through gender.

A major problem that women face in Bogota and all over Colombia is sexual assault and the lack of justice that comes with it (Ørstavik, 2014). In most cases, when a woman is assaulted the blame is placed on her, for what she is wearing, how she was acting, etc. (Ørstavik, 2014). A study was conducted of married women in Colombia, and 37% had been abused by their husbands (Ørstavik, 2014). All throughout Bogota, women experience abuse and assault, and while many men may think that Bogota is a great place to live, focusing on the market or other factors, many women there live in fear of their husbands and strangers on the street.

This article is a great way to see how there is a difference in genders when it comes to how they live in Bogota, comparing how men go about their lives as usual, while numerous women live with the fear of being assaulted throughout the city.

Colombia has definitely improved in the aspect of gender equality recently, but there is still a long way to go (OECD, 2020). The Colombian government has put into place many policies directed towards improving gender equality, but more needs to be done (OECD, 2020). In Bogota, and all across Colombia, women are doing most of the housework, where women average 7.3hrs per day of housework, while men only average 3.1 (OECD, 2020). This strongly limits women's ability to work outside the home, as they have less free time to do so. Colombia has also put into place laws to attempt to curb violence against women, but there needs to be more enforcement (OECD, 2020). Colombia also needs to have more representation of women in politics to help contribute to the creation and enforcement of more of these laws (OECD, 2020).

This journal is a great way to learn more about the inequalities women face in Bogota, Colombia, why they exist, what has been done to reverse it, as well as what still needs to be done for men and women to experience the same Bogota, Colombia.