"The whole state must work in function of this equality that scares so much," said Gustavo Petro during the signing of the sanction. | Photo: @FranciaMarquezM

Bogota, January 5 (RHC)-- The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, signed a presidential decree that creates the Ministry of Equality and Equity, in Istmina, Chocó, which will be led by the country's vice president Francia Márquez.

"From Istmina begins the Ministry of Equality and Equity.  Congratulations and I hope that in Chocó we can hold several meetings to advance public policy to reduce the inequality that separates the Chocó people," said the president.

The Colombian president highlighted the symbolism and reality of the new entity, and added that "to achieve equality between men and women, it is not only necessary to have a Ministry of Equality and Equity, practically the whole state must work towards this equality that scares us so much".

For her part, Vice President Francia Márquez pointed out that this ministry is "an important instrument to strengthen the policies we require in terms of transformation in the communities, so we welcome the institutional framework that for the first time is looking at the marginalized and excluded territories".

Emphasizing that since the campaign for the presidency of Colombia it was understood that inequality is one of the main problems of the country, the minister also pointed out that Colombia is one of the most unequal nations in the world, and in 2021 it was the most unequal in Latin America.

In view of this reality, Francia Márquez assured that her commitment is to change this reality.  "Let's go Colombia for change, for equality and for peace."  And she thanked the Congress of the Republic for having accompanied this proposal.

"We will work for this Ministry to be an institutionality for the nobodies, which will allow us to advance in equality towards Total Peace", she pointed out in a context where between 1959 and 2020, 15,760 victims of sexual violence have been registered, within the framework of the armed conflict.

According to the Observatory of Memory and Conflict of the National Historical Memory Commission (CNMH), 61.8 percent of the victims of sexual violence in the registry of the Observatory of Memory and Conflict (OMC) correspond to women.

"Together with the 30.8 percent of girls and adolescents, they account for 92.6 percent of the total number of violated persons," highlights the National Center for Historical Memory.