Colombia FARC woman, ivs with female rebels

(9 Aug 2001)

1. Various military parade with 600 guerrillas
2. Female commander giving orders
3. Various of parade
4. Various of guerrilla women drinking
5. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Female guerrilla commander "Here they get a boyfriend and they see that they can get along and then we have to ask the commander, we say 'Comrade, this and this is happening.' If they see that we both understand each other and that the relationship will last, then they hook us up."
6. Various women guerrillas socialising
7. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Guerrilla Susana Caribe "I saw the injustice that there was in this country, that there was no equality, which is why we took up arms. There is no equality in the political, economic and social spheres so we have to take up arms to see what kind of social transformation we can make."
8. Various female guerrillas training
9. Guerrilla getting hair cut
10. Various guerrillas picking up food

STORYLINE:

Some estimates say that women make up 40 per cent of Colombia's largest rebel group - the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

They fight in combat, live and work with their male counterparts and on the surface suffer no discrimination.

But female guerrillas admit it's not an easy life.

Once admitted to the FARC, women are given monthly injections of birth control drugs to stop them getting pregnant.

If they do get pregnant, they often give their children away to be cared for by their families far from the front lines.

Even relationships are monitored and female guerrillas say if they want to have a serious relationship with a man they must ask for their commander's permission.

While this might seem like life in a regular army, fighting with the FARC is a lifetime commitment.

The women say they're committed to social justice and will lay down their life for their cause.

But while women make up a substantial number of the FARC, there are still relatively few female high commanders.

They come from poor rural backgrounds where traditional roles force women into subordination.

A lack of education - many cannot read or write - prevents them from important decision-making.

Despite the rhetoric of comradeship and equality there's often no getting away from the age-old Latin American machismo which organises power relations in every area of society.

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