Special Event – Maternalism and Ethics of Care towards a Colombian Gynocracy

Maternalism and Ethics of Care towards a Colombian Gynocracy

This book analyzes the impact of women participation in Latin American politics, using Colombia as a case study. It draws upon theoretical frameworks such as Carol Gilligan’s Ethics of Care, Heide Goettner-Abendroth’s Maternalism, Genevieve Vaughan’s Gift Economy, and Vandana Shiva’s Ecofeminism, among others. The central hypothesis posits that women exhibit distinct political characteristics, particularly in their approach to addressing social violence, which are grounded in values such as maternal care.It interrogates whether women contribute in a distinctive manner to contemporary Colombian politics. Can women participation in government, informed by the ethics of care, maternalist principles, and the gift economy, offer a partial remedy to the social fragmentation and pervasive violence afflicting Colombia?To investigate the influence of maternal philosophy and the ethics of care on public policy and governmental responses to conflict, the political trajectories of nine Colombian women are examined: Their careers are scrutinized to determine whether a political model rooted in maternal ethics can generate innovative solutions to entrenched societal issues in Colombia, such as violence, inequality, and corruption.Ultimately, this study seeks to enrich the discourse on gender and politics by underscoring the transformative potential of leadership grounded in care, empathy, and community-centered values.

Angela Cuevas de Dolmetsch is a a lawyer and the international life honorary president of the International Federation of Women Lawyers FIDA. She has a Ph.D. from London University. Her thesis was on Maternalism in Colombian Politics. She is the director of a weekly TV program el Agora, and writes a column in the Cali news paper “El Pais. She has mentored the Nashira matriarchal eco-village in Palmira Colombia. She has published several books. “Etica del Cuidado y Maternalismo Hacia una Ginecocracia en Colombia?” (2024) “Of Governments and Guerrillas” (1988) “El Hombrecillo que se tragó a Dios y otros relatos (1999). She also has articles in several publications. The following books are forthcoming: "Nashira un Canto de Amor".