Women in conflict and post-conflict - PowerPoint Presentation

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Women in conflict and post-conflict situations

Frances Stewart

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Overview

Women are often

portrayed as victims of conflict;

and in

large part they are.But women are also agents, active participants in war.Yet they are frequently largely neglected once peace occurs:

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Women as victims

of war

Rape

is a weapon of

war, used more against women than men. 94% of displaced households in Sierra Leone subject to sexual assault;a quarter to half

women

in Rwanda’s genocide were raped.

Women abducted to be army ‘wives’.In countries like Angola, Mozambique. Kosova, widows accounted for as much as half adult female population at end of conflict.Many women resort to prostitution to support their families. Very high incidence of HIV/AIDs among female populations in conflict areas.

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Women as

participants

Women

often

active combatants – e.g. Algeria, El Salvador, Eritrea, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, South Africa, Sri Lanka. Survey of 55 countries found women active in 38.

One

tenth to one third of fighting forces;

Not only supportive services (cooks, messengers etc.) but also active fighting. Eg. in southeastern Nigeria, women donated money and food to support combatants and some fought. In

Kashmir

women helped:

separatists to escapefeeding combatants , providing shelters;as couriers carrying messages, arms and ammunition under their veils planted bombs,Motives differ from men. As well as shared ideological or grievance motives, women in Guatemala sought to escape from hierarchical family structures , roles and values

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Women in the formation of identities

Women

contribute

in major way to

the identities and views of the next generation – not always in a peaceful direction. For example, in Serbia, feminine ideals of patriotism were bolstered and the militarisation of masculinity promoted.In Kashmir, indoctrinated women (and sons) into support for armed movement.

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Women in the war economy

Take on

new roles during war, as men join the fighting, leaving jobs unfilled and losses in family

incomes

In the formal sector, women often take on roles previously held by men –marked in the two world wars in Europe. Take responsibility for family income, becoming head of household, take up farming responsibilities, and new roles in the informal sector. E.g. in Cambodia and Sudan women-headed households increased by one third.

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Women in post-conflict

situations

Despite active

role in war,

women too often neglected in the post-conflict situation:in peace negotiations; demobilisation programmes; and post-conflict reconstruction

.

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Peace negotiations (informal)

 Women

are

often very active in civil society, peace movements:

in Colombia, women were responsible for complex networks of pro-peace movements; in Northern Ireland, Burundi, Liberia, there were female coalitions across warring partners. The Mano River Women’s peace Network (MARWOPNET) brought together women from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone were important in peace-making, e.g. bringing the heads of state to the negotiating table in 2001.

Our

research in Nigeria shows that women played an active role developing coalitions across fighting groups in the

Aguleri and Umuleri conflicts in Southeastern Nigeria; conflicts within the Igbo community; and in Kaduna. 8Slide9

Yet frequently excluded from formal peace negotiations

in

2008, UNIFEM estimated that women account for less than 10% of members in formal peace negotiations and less than 2% of signatories to peace agreements.

A study

of the Congo, Sudan and Uganda concluded that recognizing and supporting the role of women was a minor afterthought. In Southeastern Nigeria, women were neither represented nor consulted in peace negotiations.

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Political settlements often do

improve role of women

Constitution

making following conflict offers new opportunities.

E.g. Rwanda constitution requires 30% minimum female representation in parliament, and in 2003, women accounted for 49% of seats. Steps to advance position of women also in Burundi, Mozambique, South Africa, Timor Leste.

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But economic recovery programmes neglect women

H

eavy

emphasis on macro-stabilisation and pro market reforms

–gender issues are ignored.DDR and employment schemes largely directed towards men. Economic infrastructure tends to come before social.

Women face problems in

formal sector employment – as men return from conflict;

Pre-conflict gender attitudes resume. In Eritrea, women who had been barefoot doctors, dentists, administrators, teachers during the conflict could often not take on these roles post-conflict. In other cases, women in did find employment – e.g. textiles in Cambodia; tourism in Guatemala.Often discrimination against women in post-conflict land settlement – e.g. Zimbabwe; El Salvador.

Farming assistance often bypasses women in extension, credit etc.

Training and retraining is biased towards men

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What is needed

Formal

recognition of what is needed in

peace-making

and political systems is well advanced with many UN resolutions. Better enforcement neededRecognition much less in relation to economic opportunities: assets ownership; employment; skills; formal sector medium sized credit. Need first recognition; then programmes.

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Women in deprived groups face worst situation

Treble

deprivation:

(

i) as members of a deprived group; (ii) through general gender-based societal inequalities; and (iii)particularly strong gender discrimination within the group. For example, in Guatemala female indigenous mean years of schooling is just 1.3 years compared with 4.6 for non-indigenous females and 5.5 for non-indigenous males. Such massive deprivation encourages support for resistance and rebellion, and also is likely to perpetuate deprivation via the next generation.

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Conclusion

It is necessary to improve the position of deprived groups generally as well as of women. This

is essential for sustaining peace.

Since women

are active in supporting conflicts, it is not enough to conclude that giving women a greater role, politically will lead to peace.It is also necessary to address the underlying grievances.

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