Paper short abstract:

This chapter focuses on the contributions of feminism(s) to humanitarian action, with an emphasis on the potential of humanitarian advocacy and social mobilization to rethink the role of affected populations. To illustrate this, Colombia is presented as a case study.

Paper long abstract:

Colombia is a case of overlapping and converging conditions: humanitarian crises originating from different causes, the persistence of armed conflict, and an elusive post conflict situation. Despite so, it is also a country with a significant tradition of social mobilization, activism, and resistance, with the potential of contributing with valuable insights, practices, and experiences to rethink humanitarian action as it has traditionally been conceived, especially from the perspective of feminism. The complexity of the Colombian humanitarian arena represents an opportunity to interrogate how feminist and humanitarian approaches can coexist, especially in relation to the role of crisis affected populations. Hence, one of the key elements of this research is the strategies and initiatives of Colombian affected women (and other populations) and feminist organizations amidst high-risk contexts and humanitarian crises, whereby I avoid replicating patterns of victimization, passiveness, lack of agency, or mistrust, which have long dominated humanitarian action. To the contrary, I seek to broaden the understanding of affected populations beyond the “aid recipients” framework, as I recognize that they employ different strategies to advocate, claim and negotiate their rights and needs within a humanitarian context. Lastly, I aim at understanding how humanitarian action can be done differently if feminist approaches are incorporated into the humanitarian realm. By doing so, notions around, power, ethics, hierarchies, and patterns of -patriarchal- dominance embedded in the humanitarian system can be challenged and interrogated.