Human security for women in cities: exploring urban public policies from a gender perspective

This reflection on the rights of women to the city and to the enjoyment of all their human rights in urban settings is based on the dimensions proposed by the human security approach, which establishes the minimum requirements in order for women to enjoy a renewed urban life and to overcome the limitations imposed by the city, understood as an environment that is not gender-neutral, that produces and reproduces inequities between men and women and the feminization of poverty, and that is reflected in gender-based violence. In this sense, this article of reflection, which presents the results of the research project: “Women’s right to the city: a look at the enjoyment and recognition of rights in the city of Cartagena de Indias”, takes some ideas proposed by the feminist movement and embodied in the Letters on the Right to the City, which are read from the proposed definition of women’s rights to the city and from the human security dimension, highlighting in both cases its inclusive nature, which is indivisible and necessary to overcome male-centered and patriarchal structures of security, democracy and citizenship.