Without Borders - Colombia

Colombia

 

Women of Madeline, Colombia 

LUIS ACOSTA/AFP/Getty Images

Colombian Maria Cuervo poses with an old picture of herself at her home in Bogota on March. Cuervo, 41, was burnt with acid on March 8, 2004. In Colombia such attacks are categorized as personal, equivalent to hitting someone, and the maximum penalty for them is four years of prison.

Juliana, a 20-year-old rebel fighter for the 36th Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, rests from a trek in the northwest Andes of Colombia, in Antioquia state.

Women Helping Women Make Peace in Colombia

Colombian women breastfeed their babies at San Vicente Foundation hospital on August 01, 2014 in Medellin, Antioquia department, Colombia. More than 100 mothers with their children, participated in the event called 'Big Lactation', (Gran Lactancia in Spanish) to encourage breastfeeding as a means to improve infants' health. AFP PHOTO/Raul ARBOLEDA

 

Colombia says more than 3,000 pregnant women have Zika virus

“Maria” is serving a two-year sentence for drug trafficking at Pedregal, the maximum security prison in Medellin, Colombia. Under Colombian law, her baby will be able to live with her in prison until he or she is three years old.

“Alejandra,” shares a one-room apartment with her sister and her sister’s baby in Medellin, Colombia. She has been living on her own for three years. She was born in a rural part of the country, but her family lost their farm to a paramilitary group and was forced to move to Medellin. She aspires to become a pediatrician.

Drug related crimes are a leading reason for which women are imprisoned. Many women, including "Flora," are forced to traffic drugs in order to provide for their children and families.  

 Many of the women receive long jail terms for minor drug offenses, or spend months in custody awaiting trial, while the drug dealers often remain free to conduct their business. These women continue to struggle for freedom and justice.