Wounds and monsters

Abstract

Gender-based violence and feminicide have been systematic throughout the Colombian armed conflict and continue to affect female bodies in the post-accord. Catharine MacKinnon argues that since violence is more tangible in times of war, visibilizing the violence of “peacetime” is an urgent matter. When violence remains in the private domain, she explains, it is very difficult for society to regard it as a violation of rights, regardless of what is done. Through artistic representations, music, marches, stitching, painting, and other cultural practices, Colombian women have made their vulnerability visible and have demanded justice. This chapter examines recent cultural production by Colombian women who address these issues, focusing on the documentary Mariposas violeta [Purple Butterflies] (2020) by Jineth Bedoya, Doris Salcedo’s art installations in the historical center of Bogotá (2016–2019), and Laura Restrepo’s novel Los divinos [The Divine Boys] (2020). My study centers on the conjunction of embodied narratives, trauma studies, and women’s human rights. It ponders the role of women artists in the Colombian post-accord and the importance of making visible those women who have been victims in order to generate a culture of human rights and social justice.