The exotic clothing of the first indigenous woman NCO in the Army

Credit: @PaolaHolguin (Twitter)

(CNN) -

Julieth Paola Pushaina Epiayú, born in the municipality of Barranca, Guajira, in northern Colombia, is the first indigenous woman non-commissioned officer in the ranks of the Colombian Army.

And his image with a blanket of the Wayúu ethnic group, adapted to the Army uniform, has caused a sensation on social networks.

The 25-year-old third corporal in the Army has done social work in her community since she became part of the institution.

"Today I feel very happy because I have the honor and happiness of bringing a little detail to my children in the community with my National Army, with the Juan José Rondón No. 2 Mechanized Cavalry Group and with my Integral Action Battalion", The officer said in an article published on the official page of the Colombian Military Forces in 2020.

The Department of La Guajira, in northern Colombia where the Wayúu indigenous community resides, is one of the poorest in the country.

Due to its desert geographic condition, in a large part of its territory there is a lack of water and access to basic public services.

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In this border area with Venezuela, the indigenous people live from their own work in the fields and raise animals for their subsistence.

And in that environment, the now Army noncommissioned officer, Julieth Paola Pushaina Epiayú, was born.

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In her community, the so-called "guajiras blankets" are the typical clothing of women in their daily lives.

That is why the clothing adapted to his status as a member of the Army has attracted so much attention.

Before the Army, the National Police and the Navy had incorporated indigenous people from all over the country, especially women, into their ranks.

And also with indigenous clothing in the uniform for some of them, respecting their roots and their culture.

Many of them, as in the National Navy, already hold leadership positions with command over the troops.

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All this occurs at a time when several scandals have also occurred due to alleged abuses by the public force against indigenous communities, such as the one that occurred in 2020 when a group of soldiers from the San Mateo battalion, in the department of Risaralda, were accused of raping a woman. indigenous girl.

Relations between the Army and indigenous communities have not been the best in recent years.

Recently, 8 soldiers were detained by indigenous communities in the department of Chocó who were patrolling in an area where there were clashes between illegal armed groups that caused the displacement of several families.

For this reason, the fact that an indigenous woman is the protagonist of the Army's actions in remote communities in social work, and wearing ethnic clothing, is a positive step towards the relaxation of relations between the parties.

Army of colombia