Feminist intersectional activism in the Colombian Truth Commission: constructing counter-hegemonic narratives of the armed conflict in the Colombian Caribbean

Abstract

The article demonstrates the resistances and barriers of transitional justice to address historical intersecting inequalities and suggests avenues to advance transformative agendas in this framework through an examination of efforts to mainstream intersectionality at the Colombian Truth, Peaceful Coexistence and Non-Repetition Commission (CEV). On-going dialogues and collaboration with feminist activists working as CEV researchers in the Caribbean centrally inform this analysis. The article examines these activists’ understanding of intersectionality as a political project and their strategy of operationalising it as a ‘critical praxis’ to construct counter-hegemonic analyses of the armed conflict that centre the experience of historically marginalised sectors. The operationalisation of intersectionality as a critical praxis in this scenario provides insights for public policy and practice more broadly as it proposes guidelines to decolonise research and public engagement methodologies to produce intersectional knowledge of issues that affect differently situated populations and groups.