Abstract

MEERTENS, Donny. Between Dispossession and Restitution: Reflections on Gender, Justice and Return in the Colombian Caribbean Coast. Rev. colomb. antropol. [online]. 2016, vol.52, n.2, pp.45-71. ISSN 0486-6525.  https://doi.org/10.22380/2539472X39.

This article explores, through a gender lens focused on women and land, the multiple discourses on justice at stake in the contexts of both violent land dispossession and land restitution in Colombia. Land dispossession is more than a material affair and its multiple dimensions (social, symbolic), all with a gender mark, are also present in the restitution process. Research carried out in Colombia's Caribbean region suggests that the legal model of land restitution, focused on the material aspects, has only limited success in terms of justice as it does not sufficiently address the subjective experiences of the women who return to the countryside as formal landowners. This is due to the difficult reconstruction of the social and symbolic dimensions of restitution in “postviolent” territories, in terms of the restoration of dignity, sense of belonging, and social entitlement.

Keywords : gender; dispossession; restitution; justice; return.

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