Report Short Version

Richel Joy de los Santos

Gendering Peacebuilding

CD 227!March 2014

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I. Reviewing Some Concepts Gender and Gender Roles Refers to the socially constructed

roles and responsibilities of women and men. [It] includes the expectations held about the characteristics, aptitudes and likely behaviors of both women and men. These roles and expectations are learned, changeable over time, and variable within and between cultures. - (CIDA, 1998)

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Report Short version - March 17, 2014

Reviewing Some Concepts Gender and Gender Roles Gender Equality

The equal enjoyment by women and men of socially-valued goods, opportunities, resources and rewards. !Does not mean that men and women become the same, but that their opportunities and life chances are equal.!

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Reviewing Some Concepts Gender and Gender Roles Gender Equality Gender Mainstreaming

a strategy to support the goal of gender equality. It has two general dimensions:!

- The integration of gender equality concerns into the analyses and formulation of all policies, programmes and projects; and !

- Initiatives to enable women as well as men to formulate and express their views and participate in decision-making across all development issues!

4 Thus Gender Mainstreaming in peace building initiatives involves a concern for increasing womens participation, but also goes further than that. this strategy looks at how to promote more equitable gender relations (political, economic and social) and the differential impact of intervention on women, men, boys and girls


Reviewing Some Concepts Gender and Gender Roles Gender Equality Gender Mainstreaming Feminism

An ideology that purports men and women are equal value and their equality should be recognized by all societies (Reardon, 1990). !

5 Feminism seek to challenge dynamic of domination at all levels, from the home to the military, and to demand a world based more on cooperation than on conquest (Bunch, 1987)

Using the Feminist Lens Feminist analysis looks at the world by gathering and

interpreting information through the eyes and experiences of women as subjects. It separates itself from a patriarchal world view and the constraints of male-dominated theoretical analyses (Young, 1992). !

In terms of womens peacebuilding, feminist analysis identifies womens specific concerns about peacebuilding, approaches peacebuilding from womens perspectives, welcomes pluralistic voices and diverse methods.

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Why look at Gender issues in Peacebuilding?

Structural Violence

Patriarchy - structures of exploitation that normalize socially constructed gender differences in ways that reproduce and legitimatize male domination!

Patriarchal Structural Violence - When structural violence happens to girls or women because of their gender

Understanding patriarchal structural violence means

locating and analyzing the socio-cultural, economic,

and political systems that perpetrate or condone

physical, sexual, and psychological violence

against women (Galtung, 1969)

7 Oppressions are normalised when they are presented as the way things are; then, one does not need to be curious about them, let alone try to change them, because they are typical or normal.

Women and War Through time and the

experiences of different women - as fighters, community leaders, social organizers, workers, famers, traders and welfare workers - has become more clear!

During post-war peace women have often suffered a backlash from government and society against their new-found freedoms - gendered peace

8 For many years womens roles in war and other types of violent conflict were quite invisible throughout the world. Accounts of war (through news reporting, government propaganda, novels, the cinema, etc,) tended to cast men as the doers and women as passive, innocent victims. +++ Women have utilised their particular roles to minimise the effects of violence, both by actively trying to end wars and acting as peacemakers. By contrast, some accounts of war highlight the roles of women in motivating men in their communities to fight. This is particularly so where wars concern national identities. As women in most societies have the active role in passing cultural identities to children, they have also been involved in supporting exclusive and aggressive ideologies about nationals. !In some instances, women have found that there were moments of liberation from the old social order even in the midst of conflict. As the need arose for women to fulfil the duties of men during their absences, so they had to shake off the restrictions of their cultures and live in a modified way. +++ This type of peace settlement might be called a gendered peace, where governments and/or warring parties establish new constitutions or pecs processes that overlook the needs of women,


Women and War In times of conflict women continue to

carry the burden of responsibility and care for their children, the elderly, and the infirm. They also take on a heavy burden of keeping social and political activities going when men are taken to fight in armies away from their homes.!

After the conflict, women rarely receive recognition for their contributions as providers and carers, let alone reward for their roles as social and political organisers.!

In post-war situations, where there are divisions based on ethnicity and/or religion, often the differences between women may reassert themselves again

9 ++ they usually receive much less support than male fighters in post conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation projects. ++ in addition, new divisions can occur based on womens social poitions, whether they still live with their husbands or are widowed, abandoned or divorced. Marital status is highly significant in situations where past gender relations have meant that women do not have equal legal rights, such as in land and property titles and access to credit

Gender and Conflict It is not sufficient to focus on

women alone. The ways in which men are socialised to become part of a male gender are also important.!

It is not just men who must be persuaded, but society as a whole. Social structures must become more flexible to support the changes required for true gender equity

10 ++ research that focuses on the construction of masculinity has also revealed cross-cultural tendencies some of which are highly pertinent for studies of conflict. Egotistical aggressive and dominant behaviours are common features of cultural definitions of masculinity, as is mens dominance over women at a general level.


Gender and Peacebuilding Womens peacebuilding is culturally and contextually

based and usually located at community and regional levels. Womens peacebuilding interests are likely to be shaped by local and regional concerns.!

Peacebuilding as both cultured and gender specific

11 ++ Meanings of peacebuilding from reviewed documents International bodies and governmental organizations typically view peacebuilding in terms of

post conflict reconstruction of societal infrastructures and action-based approaches to peacemaking and peacebuilding

Peacebuilding consists of an infrastructure within and between nations that offers alternatives to and removes causes of war. (Galtung, 1976)

++ How peacebuilding may be both gendered and culture specific a consensus around the image of peace being a process that is a long, long road. the group identified that there was the need to address basic needs. The participants

emphasized that building peace entails the satisfaction of basic needs such as the need for food, water, and shelter.

Another issue that related directly to context was the identification of communication skills as necessary to keep the process of peacebuilding moving.

The participants noted that peace as a process, is about men and women and how they relate to each other.

Womens approaches to peace building

Womens Spirit Beliefs and Grassroots Peacebuilding

Because spiritual beliefs of womens religious peacebuilding groups are a foundation for their actions, activities to promote forgiveness and reconciliation are often emphasized

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Reconciliation !

G r a s s r o o t s w o m e n s organizations, whether religious or secular, often emphasize reconciliation although their foci may differ.

Spiritual reconciliation, a change of heart, emphasizes atonement and forgiveness.

In contrast, secular reconciliation more often emphasizes justice, a key issue for women who seek gender just ice through the prosecution of perpetrators and t h e a c k n o w l e d g m e n t o f g o v e r n m e n t s w r o n g d o i n g because of rapes, sexual slavery, and other forms of violence against women.

Reconciliation includes bringing together former enemies to make peace, learning to coexist in peace, and defusing enemy imaging.

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Militarism !!

Militarism refers to processes through which individuals, groups, and social, economic, and political systems increasingly b e c o m e r e l i a n t u p o n , o r dominated by the military (Enloe, 1993).

G r a s s r o o t s w o m e n h a v e organized to ameliorate the effects of militarism such as domestic violence, violence against women, sex trafficking, a n d d e g r a d a t i o n o f t h e environment.

Further they act to bring attention to concerns such as the global proliferation of light arms, militarization of childrens toys and games , d i f f i cu l t i e s in reintegrating ex-combatants into their societiesparticularly child-soldiersand land demining

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Womens Participation in Decision-making !!

Focus in increasing womens numbers and strengthen their effective participation in decision-making bodies.

Though the simple presence of women in international, r e g i o n a l , o r n a t i o n a l decision-making bodies is not, however, likely to have a n i m p a c t w i t h o u t recognition of causes and p ro c e s s e s o f w o m e n s disempowerment and ways in which diverse women are oppressed. This knowledge must be followed by actions that facil itate womens empowerment.

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Stopping Violence in the Home !!

Analyzing ways in which violence occurs in their own homes and societies, and their countries perpetuation of violence on others and also a c t i v e l y e n g a g e i n peacebuilding.

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Coalition Building !!

One of the ways NGOs are most effective is through building coalitions, thus linking resources of States, the United Nations, and civil society

In coalition building, the process of building peace is emphasized more than are specific outcomes.

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Implication of understanding gender dimensions to our work

All initiatives should:! incorporate a gender analysis into the assessment of the situation! ensure that gender equality considerations are present at the level of results ! increase womens participation in conflict resolution at decision-making

levels;! promote women as actors and protagonists; and! provide, where feasible, sex-disaggregated data!

there is also a need for specific initiatives to strengthen womens capacity to participate in peacebuilidng initiatives in a meaningful fashion, to improve the capacity of organizations to deal with gender differences and inequalities and to reduce gender inequalities. This could involve initiatives and/or components that directly target women.

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Recommendations Avoiding a gendered peace, where a gendered peace is

a post-conflict situation in which peacebuilding policies address the needs of women less adequately than those of men, or which result in a deterioration in the situations of women!

Working with women as change agents in society ! Working with men as change agents in society to tackle

entrenched violent and aggressive behavior which is rooted in forms of masculinity.!

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II. Framework Intersectionality!Understanding that gender intersects with other identities and how these intersections contribute to unique experiences of oppression and privilege. ! Women do not experience discrimination in the same way

because they have different social, cultural, economic and political locations/positions and contexts!

If peace-builidng process is to be truly responsive, Iit must be committed to diligent examination of the starting conditions of the stakeholders!

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Framework Rights Based approach framework !

At the core of this framework are the promotion, protection and realization of human rights, which are also the elements that define state obligation. !The basic priniciple of the Rights Based approach is state obligation, meaning that states parties to human right treaties are legally bound to promote, protect and fulfil human rights while rights-holders are urged to claim their rights

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III. Case Study

By: Atty. Laisa Alamia

Womens Stories in the Crafting and Implementation of the Framework

Agreement on the Bangsamoro !

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III. Case Study

FAB Highlight for Women ! Recognition of the Bangsamoro identity! Recognition of the right of women to meaningful political

participation and protection from all form of violence.

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Case Study

Womens Experience !Women in the peace process eased tensions and facilitated the process. Women from different background and from opposing sides of the n e g o t i a t i o n s , w o r k e d together, collaborated, to ensure a stronger claim for womens human rights in the Bangsamoro, by:

1. Holding RTDs before and after each peace talk to c o o r d i n a t e s t r a t e g i e s , evaluate and plan ways forward.

2. Conducted s tudies and capacity building to help us strategize better on persisten issues such as getting Muslim men to appreciate womens conditions and perspectives

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Case Study

Womens Experience !Setting up other support mechanisms through allied organization working on the peace process

1. Mindanao Peoples Caucus an all women core team was formed as Civilan Protection Component (CPC) of the International Monitoring Team (IMT) following the Philippine-Bangsamoro peace process

CPC is mandated to look at the welfare of citizens in times of conflict.

2. Mindanao Commission on Women - also organized their own Mindanao women peace table, mobilizing from different sectors and organizations to discuss women and peace. Though not formally part of the nego table, they became part of that process by actively monitoring the process, talking about the role of women, raising issues concerning women and peac, and planning advocacy action.

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Case Study

Womens Experience !Grassroots women conducted popular education about womens rights and human rights and the different ways they can claim these rights

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Case Study

Womens Experience !Held consultation with various sectors on the Framework Agreement, the peace process, womens roles, issues and rights, and the like.

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Case Study

Womens Experience !Conducted constituency-building with the aim of g e t t i n g m o r e p e o p l e advocating for womens r i g h t s . Tr a i n i n g s w e r e conducted not only for women but also for men.

1. On drafting local laws, such as gender and devt codes and RH codes

2. Helped muslim religious leaders issue fatwahs support the exercise of womens rights to RH

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Case Study

Recommendations ! leveling-off on issues of women and

gender creating participatory and safe spaces

for women to speak out (e.g. RTDs, workshops, forums)

crafting a womens agenda, starting from small initiatives and building on these to address bigger challenges

organizing, coalescing (ethnic groups, setters, milti-fait) at all levels and different levels, broadening to form political groups, humanitarian g ro u p s ( f o r I D P s i t u a t i o n s ) , mediator/ conciliator/peacebuilding groups, interfaith/culture.ethnic group, etc)

conducting inter-faith/inter-ethnic/inter-culture dialogue

building capacity on VAW, gender, poor womens economic leadership, culture/relition, paying particular attention to potential women leaders

b u i l d i n g a n d e x p a n d i n g c o n s t i t u e n c y f o r w o m e n : awareness-raising on womens rights for both men and women

maximizing available technology networking with other womens

groups locally and internationally

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Case Study

Recommendations !

advocating for greater public

participation, policy review and reforms, constitutional changes

exploring the formation of T h i r - p a r t y / o u t s i d e monitoring (similar to the CPC, IMT, etc.)

learning effective ways or t a c t i c s t o d e a l i n g w i t h different government entities

tap into the dynamic roles of women; engage with/organize the wives of military officials

empower grassroots women with economic rights literacy, leadership skills

do advocacy on issues that affect everyone: food security, land issues, human rights for all, access to justice, the right of self determination, post-conflict reconstruction, normalization, healing, transitional justice

actively engage in the behavioral t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f m e n , f ro m everyday issues of caring and sharing in the household to bigger concepts of gender, peace and security; identify potential male allies for promoting and advancing gender equality

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Thank you!The End

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Report Short Version

Documents

concepts gender

gender issues

goal of gender equality

constructed gender differences

experiences of women

women galtung

responsibilities of

constructed roles