As established in the Colombian Constitution of 1991, women in Colombia have the right to bodily integrity and autonomy; to vote (see also: Elections in Colombia); to hold public office; to work; to fair wages or equal pay; to own property; to receive an education; to serve in the military in certain duties, but are excluded from combat arms units; to enter into legal contracts; and to have marital, parental and religious rights.

Liberal congressman Jorge Eliécer Gaitán defended the decree Number 1972 of 1933 to allow women to receive higher education schooling, while the conservative Germán Arciniegas opposed it.

The state-owned National University of Colombia was the first higher education institution to allow female students.

The law's main objective was to allow women to administer their properties and not their husbands, male relatives or tutors, as had been the case.

[7] Family life has changed dramatically during the last decades: in the 1970s, 68,8% of births were inside marriage;[7] and divorce was legalized only in 1991.

[11] Article 42 of the Constitution of Colombia provides that "Family relations are based on the equality of rights and duties of the couple and on the mutual respect of all its members.

[13] Up until that point, women who had abortions in this largely Catholic nation faced sentences ranging from 16 to 54 months in prison.

A 2006 court decision that also allowed doctors to refuse to perform abortions based on personal beliefs stated that this was previously only permitted in cases of rape, if the mother's health was in danger, or if the fetus had an untreatable malformation.