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Colombia FAMILY LIFE
In the 1980s, there were continued signs of change in
the
traditional norms and patterns of family life, resulting
from the
high rate of rural-to-urban migration, the growth of urban
industrial centers, and accompanying socioeconomic
developments.
The decline of the patriarchal extended-family structure
was
apparent in urban society, as increased geographic and
social
mobility weakened kinship ties and extended greater
independence to
young people. Families at the bottom of the social ladder
were
adversely affected by geographic dislocation and were
increasingly
less cohesive. They continued to be characterized by a
large number
of consensual unions and mother-centered households.
Traditional elements of trust and mutual dependence
among
relatives, no matter how distant the relationship, were
still
strong. The already large circle of kin relationships was
extended
through the institution of
compadrazgo (see Glossary), a
complex form of ritual kinship. Ties with relatives and
compadres (godparents) continued to be important in
political and business activities and provided the
low-status
person with a wide circle of mutual assistance.
The nuclear family unit continued to be authoritarian,
patriarchal, and patrilineal. Legal reforms had extended
equal
civil and property rights to women, but tradition
dominated malefemale relations, and roles and responsibilities in
marriage were
still relatively clear-cut. In the lower class, in which
the father
was frequently not a permanent member of the household,
the mother
often assumed the role of chief authority and family head,
but in
all other cases the father unquestionably occupied this
position.
Within the household, the wife was considered the father's
deputy
and the chief administrator of domestic activities. Her
first duty
was to bear and raise children. She was also expected to
keep the
household running smoothly and efficiently. In her
relations with
her husband, she traditionally was supposed to be
deferential,
thinking of his wishes and needs before considering her
own.
Men of the upper and middle class had always been
paternal and
protective toward their dependents and tried to shelter
their wives
and children from undesirable outside influences. The
activities of
women were severely circumscribed because of the male
concern with
protecting the honor and virtue of the wife and unmarried
daughters. Women in the upper and middle classes
traditionally were
not permitted to do work outside the home except for
volunteer
work. The social life of women in the upper and middle
classes,
particularly of unmarried girls, was limited to the home,
the
school, the church, and well-chaperoned parties and
dances.
The lower-class or lower-middle-class woman was under
far fewer
restrictions than her upper-class counterpart. Formal
chaperonage
had always been impossible to maintain because of family
instability, economic need, and the frequent absence of
the husband
and father and because moral standards differed somewhat
from those
of the upper social levels. The lower-class woman usually
had to be
employed and contribute her salary to the family's
subsistence or
work in the fields beside her male relatives. Her economic
contribution gave her a degree of equality and, combined
with the
matrilocality of lower-class life, i.e., the fact that a
husband
tended to live with his wife's family, limited the
husband's and
father's control over her.
There were increasing exceptions in urban society to
the
traditional concept of a woman's role. Many women in the
upper
social levels were well educated, and some pursued careers
in such
fields as the arts, social welfare, and education.
Colombian women
were also considered among the most politically active in
Latin
America. Many of them held high elective or appointive
offices. At
the same time, women who engaged in these activities were
considered exceptional. Most upper-class and
upper-middle-class
women did not work after marriage but devoted themselves
to their
homes, families, and church groups.
The Roman Catholic Church was the single most important
force
affecting marriage and family life. Nearly all formal
marriages
took place within the church, and most other turning
points in the
life of the individual family member were marked by
religious
rites. The Concordat of 1887 with the Holy See was
replaced in 1973
by a new agreement, which opened the way for increased
acceptance
of civil marriages. After decades of debate, a divorce law
permitting the dissolution of civil marriages was passed
in the
mid-1970s. In the late 1980s, however, the debate over
divorce for
Catholic marriages continued unresolved.
Moreover, regardless of the increasing acceptability of
civil
weddings, most middle-class and upper-class families still
tried to
provide their children with the most elaborate church
wedding they
could afford. In the lower class, consensual union, in
which both
the religious and the civil marriage ceremonies are
foregone, was
common. In rural communities with traditional lower-class
standards, formal marriage was regarded as neither
important nor
essential. Despite the efforts of the church to encourage
legal
marriage within the lower class, people in this group
generally
regarded Catholic marriage as a heavy social and economic
burden.
At the same time, however, Catholic marriage was
recognized as the
ideal and the preferred legal, social, and sexual basis of
the
family. Although other kinds of union were more prevalent
within
the lower class, Catholic marriage often connoted superior
social
status and prestige. In contemplating religious marriage,
both men
and women might consider carefully the heavy costs
involved against
the prestige that would be gained.
Some Colombians, especially those in the middle class,
regarded
marriage as one of the best means of facilitating upward
social
mobility. At the same time, however, members of the upper
class
were generally reluctant to marry persons of lower social
position.
With the increasing independence of young people and the
declining
authority of the family, marriages between relatives had
become
less common, but intermarriage between families of similar
aristocratic background was a custom that few young people
chose to
disregard.
Data as of December 1988
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