The Colombian Army has received its first female contingent for military service after 20 years of accepting only men. Paula Espinel was assigned to the Presidential Guard Battalion and this Friday was her first day as a soldier in Bogotá. In the morning, before the military welcoming ceremony, everyone got up early to take a pregnancy test. Paula says they were summoned almost at dawn and after the exams they were taken by bus to the barracks near Casa de Nariño. It will be 82 of the 1,296 women who joined the army this weekend.
“No necklaces, no makeup and always cold water,” the 20-year-old lists some of the rules she plans to follow from this Friday. Interest in joining the Colombian army has been “massive” among women, according to the institution, because of the opportunities it offers, such as financial rewards, physical training and military education. Nayeli Pinto quit her job as a shoemaker to join the ranks. She says her classmates told her she was “crazy” when she told them she was going into military service, and that her mother isn’t very happy in her family: “There isn’t a single soldier in my house. My parents believed that they would be saved with three female daughters, but I always liked that,” says Nayeli. Before applying to the army, he tried the police seven times. “I never passed,” she recalls disappointed but says that she is happy now: “It’s a dream. Finally what I wanted “, she assures, together with her boyfriend and family, who say goodbye with a sadness that they cannot hide.
The commander of the first women’s contingent, Paula Andrea Villamil, during the Chelo Camacho reception ceremony
Army recruitment director Colonel Alexander Rojas has described the women’s response to his call as “successful”. “It was planned to take about 1,200 by quota, but happily the overall goal for the year was met on the first day and many were postponed for the three remaining calls,” he told El Tiempo. For example in Montería there were 30 places and 300 people came.
The 82 who will be in the Presidential Guard will share the same bedroom. A long space occupied by several rows of cabins, like those of the men, will be their abode for a year. On the beds they found the camouflage uniform that they have to wear from now on. Combat boots on the floor. But none of them will go into battle. The tasks of women in the army are mainly administrative in nature. Although some like Nayeli would love to go into battle. “I like guns,” he says, smiling.
Although quotas for the selection of women into officer training schools have been set and specific training programs created for women in recent years, their role in the army remains limited. They represent barely 10% of the armed forces.
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Military service recruits during the Chelo Camacho reception ceremony
They all claim to be here because they want to be. The one-year military service is voluntary. In December 2022, the army announced it would open positions for women after 20 years of accepting only men. In January more than 5,000 came and this month the first female contingent entered, young people between 18 and 23 years old.
“We all have to look out for each other,” Greisy Tenjo says when speaking about the minority they are within the battalion. When she applied to join the army, a position in what she was studying, occupational medicine, awaited her, but when she was selected she changed her plans and moved to Bogotá from La Esmeralda in Norte de Santander. “A guy called me to ask if I was determined, I said, ‘Do it!’ “It’s not easy being away from my family, but it was my wish to be here,” says the 18-year-old.
Aged Tenjo, in her quarters in the Chelo Camacho Presidential Guard Infantry Battalion
The Army has said it has resumed the inclusion of women after 20 years to “empower” their role within the institution, which has a scant 1,212 officers and 973 non-commissioned officers. Those who entered this Friday will be designated for administrative work, attention at military health facilities, security work in the cantons and environmental protection, the institution said.
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