Women's Day in Colombia: Not So Rosy

Students walk past flowers for sale on Jimenez Ave. near Los Andes University. 

Women's Day brought a flowering of flowers. On nearly every corner, vendors hawked roses, and the flower market in Palo Quemao was much larger and longer-lasting than usual.

Men carry buckets of
flowers in La Candelaria. 

But, despite the great number of colombianas carrying flowers today, not everything is coming up roses for Colombian girls and women. They earn less than men, do more unpaid work and suffer disproportionately from Colombia's armed conflict.

Colombian women also make up only about 10 % of the legislature and have only limited rights to abortion. A macho culture and Catholic rules against birth control use also contribute to high teen pregnancy rates, which make it more difficult for young women to finish school and get good jobs.

Even so, in 2006 Colombia was ranked one place above the U.S. in gender equality.

Flowers for sale on Plaza San Victorino. 

Young women, perhaps students at the elite Los Andes University, walk past a street vendor on Jimenez Ave.  

There's also a huge gap, as there is throughout Colombian society, between the small, educated class  of wealthy women and the rest of society, who end up with low-skilled work.  

A young woman carries a heart-shaped gift across Plaza San Victorino. 

A flower cart in Palo Quemao. 

Green litter left behind by Palo Quemao's flower market. 

Selling flowers on a streetcorner. 

Flower-sellers rest under a gas station sign near Palo Quemao. 

Related: The Millenium Goals and gender equality in Colombia.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours