Debora Barros Fince is a Waayu indigenous lawyer and human rights defender from Bahia Portete, Colombia. Her community was massacred by Colombian paramilitaries in 2004, leading the Wayuu to abandon their ancestral homeland. After the massacre she went on to create an organisation called Mujeres Tejiendo la Paz (Women Weaving Peace), which works with victims of sexual and domestic violence and aims to include Colombian women in peacebuilding and national reconciliation.

In the recent Colombian peace negotiations, women participated as gender advisors and experts, negotiators, and in delegations of women affected by conflict, making up one-third of peace table participants and over 60 per cent of victims and experts. Studies show that when women are included in peace processes there is a 35% increase in the probability of an agreement lasting at least 15 years.

This story was replicated from the UN Women website. The Daily Star is an official partner of UN Women’s Step It Up! Media Compact, an alliance of media organizations committed to playing an active role in advancing gender issues within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).