Colombia Furthers Quarantine Measures by Enacting Gender Restrictions
More than 60,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Latin America. Source: Wikimedia.
Bogotá recently enacted social distancing restrictions based on gender. Men can leave their homes on odd-numbered days while women can do so on even-numbered days. The move follows similar restrictions in Panamá and Peru.
After people continued to defy previous restrictions, Bogotá Mayor Claudia López decided that separation by gender would be the easiest way for police to identify who should and who should not be outside their homes. López, Latin America’s first openly gay mayor, said those who identify as transgender can choose to adhere to the days for the group with which they identify. The health orders direct authorities to respect “diverse gender manifestations.”
López announced these new measures on April 8, after Colombian President Iván Duque extended Colombia’s national lockdown to April 27. Violators of the rule will face a fine of one million pesos ($250), equivalent to the average monthly salary for Colombians. Public service workers, healthcare providers, food suppliers and distributors, staffers in banks and supermarkets, and security personnel are exempt from these restrictions. The rules also allow dog walkers of any gender to be outside for a maximum of 20 minutes each day.
Colombia has 3,000 of Latin America’s 60,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, most of which are concentrated in the country’s capital. More than 7.4 million people live in Bogotá, a city that has consistently ranked as one of the most densely populated cities in the world.
During the first few days of the new restrictions, which began the week of April 13, police cited more than 700 violators—104 women and 610 men. Violators who fail to pay at least half their fines within five days face a potential court appearance.
Overall, Colombians favor the new measure, even if some question its effectiveness.
In Panamá, which enacted gender restrictions for 15 days at the beginning of April, the government has reported early success. While women were permitted to leave the house on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, men could circulate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and all were ordered to stay home on Sundays.
“Without doubt, the separation of men and women has reduced by 50 percent the number of people moving around the country,” confirmed Panamanian Vice President José Gabriel Carrizo.
Similar gender restrictions did not achieve the same results in Perú.
Women, who traditionally do most shopping for groceries and other supplies, overcrowded supermarkets on their designated days while streets seemed rather empty on “men’s days.”
Farid Matuk, among those who devised the regulation, acknowledged that Latin American machismo had undermined the effectiveness of their restriction’s intentions. Reflecting on the measure’s results, he admitted that it may have been better to give four days to women and two to men.
“In the patriarchal world in which we live, certain roles are assigned to women and unfortunately this is not the moment to challenge them,” he said.
Further problems arose among the LGBTQ+ community. Although police were instructed to respect gender identities, many people reported abuse and accused the measure of aggravating discrimination toward transgender, non-binary, and queer people. Since all who left their homes were required to carry their IDs, discrepancies between the gender listed on one’s ID and the gender with which one identified often resulted in misgendering and particular targeting by the police.
After facing intense backlash, Peruvian President Martín Vizcarra cancelled Perú’s restrictions on April 10, a mere eight days after their implementation on April 2.