Category Archives: WOMEN’S EQUALITY

Peru: #NiUnaMenos: 50,000 protest violence against women in Lima

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from Peru Reports

At least 50,000 people marched in the #NiUnaMenos protest against violence and abuse of women in downtown Lima on Saturday. The rally dubbed “Not One Less” was organized after reports that 54 women have been murdered so far in 2016. The protest started on Saturday afternoon in downtown Lima’s Campo de Marte park and passed Plaza Bolognesi and Plaza San Martin before ending at the Palace of Justice.

peru
Miles se congregan ahora frente al Palacio de Justicia tras marcha “Ni Una Menos”. (Aarón Ormeño/ El Comercio)

President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and first lady Nancy Lange attended the event as well as actress Wendy Ramos, who has been an outspoken voice for the movement.

“We will march, we will break the silence,” said Ramos in a promotional video leading up to the event.

“We do not allow or want victims of violence,” second Vice President Mercedes Araoz told reporters. Araoz gave fiery rhetoric of standing up to ‘machismo’ in recent weeks. She said that she had been a victim of psychological abuse.

Under the slogan “if you touch one, you touch all,” the cry of songs and drums flowed down street after street, in a show of immense solidarity. Many daubed their faces with make-up bruises and bloody noses. Others donned pink and blew whistles. Children sat on shoulders waving “Ni Una Menos” flags.

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(click here for an article in Spanish about this event)

Question related to this article:

Protecting women and girls against violence, Is progress being made?

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There were processions of nurses and clergyman alongside men hooded in leggings pulling their beaten wives. Towering black crosses adorned with flags of other Latin American nations followed chants of “Respect.” Police and representatives from all political parties joined the march and throughout the country people gathered to demand harsher punishments for men who beat or murder women.

“It’s important we go today because inequality is terrible in Peru and too many girls I love are at risk,” one protester said.

“We will promote a culture of peace and tolerance, saying no to violence, no more violence against women and children,” event organizers and victims of domestic violence Arlette Contreras and Lady Guillen told reporters.

Interior Minister Carlos Basombrio told a group of protesters of his promises to “train police commissioners to have better protocols.”

Though brought together by a serious issue, celebration filled the air. Politicians took selfies and few failed to smile.

The fiercer chanters and placard wavers were blocked by police from entering Plaza Grau near the Palace of Justice. One large banner which read “No more sterilizations” hung from the railings outside the Palace of Justice. The songs faded at around 7 p.m. as the march dispersed. Signs were left up against walls and ribbons flickered from the railings.

Three women were murdered in Lima in the week leading up to the march. Two of the women were murdered by scorned lovers. The third, a 16-year-old minor, was forced to a hotel by a taxi driver, who died as he forced her to drink and raped her.

There were smaller marches in Peru’s other cities including Arequipa, Trujillo, Chimbote, Cusco, Juliaca, Tacna, Andahuaylas, Abancay and Ayacucho.

Latin America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Beirut Int’l Conference Highlights Women’s Participation in Peace, Security Initiatives

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from Women in China

An international conference on “prioritizing women, peace and security on the Arab agenda” called on Thursday for actions to ensure the participation of women in all aspects of peace and security initiatives across the Arab world.

Beirut

The conference was organized by the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World at Lebanese American University and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) from August 8 to 10 in Beirut.

According to a statement by the ESCWA, the conference concluded by launching the Beirut Call for Action and urged the Arab states, the UN, the League of Arab States, civil society, policymakers and practitioners to fulfill their commitments.

Participants called for “introducing a new paradigm that promotes a culture of peace, active protection of women from violence, as well as tackles issues of violent extremism, radical religious discourse and political repression,” the statement said.

The conference brought together more than 40 high level experts, academics and practitioners from the United Nations and 11 Arab countries to discuss women’s participation in regional peace and security initiatives.

(Click here for a version of this article in French)

Question for this article
Mideast, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Colombia Includes Gender Focus for a Stable, Lasting Peace

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article by Patricia Grogg for Inter Press Service News Agency (IPS)

The novel inclusion of a gender perspective in the peace talks that led to a historic ceasefire between the Colombian government and left-wing guerrillas is a landmark and an inspiration for efforts to solve other armed conflicts in the world, according to the director of U.N.-Women in Colombia, Belén Sanz.

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(Click on photo to enlarge and to read caption)

In statements to IPS, Sanz described as “innovative and pioneering” the incorporation of a gender subcommittee in the negotiations between the administration of President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which began in November 2012 in the Cuban capital and ended in late June with a definitive ceasefire.

She said the large proportion of women who spoke with the negotiating teams, in regional and national forums, and during visits by victims and gender experts to Havana showed the growing openness on both sides to the inclusion of gender proposals in the final accord and the mechanisms for its implementation.

The results of the work by the subcommittee, made up of representatives of both sides, were presented in Havana during a special ceremony on Jul. 23, exactly one month after the ceasefire was signed, putting an end to over a half century of armed conflict.

Taking part in the ceremony were U.N.-Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka; the U.N. Secretary General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura; and Sanz, whose office has worked closely with the subcommittee.

Other participants were María Paulina Riveros, the Colombian government’s delegate to the subcommittee, and Victoria Sandino, the FARC’s representative, along with the rest of the members of the subcommittee, the delegates to the peace talks, and representatives of the countries that served as guarantors to the peace process.

The results of the subcommittee´s work, presented on that occasion, include the incorporation of a gender perspective and the human rights of women in each section of the agreement, starting with guarantees for land access and tenure for women in rural areas.

Other points agreed on were women’s participation in decision-making to help ensure the implementation of a lasting, stable peace; prevention and protection measures for a life free of violence; guarantees of access to truth and justice and measures against impunity; and recognition of the specific and different ways the conflict affected women, often in a disproportionate manner.

“These are some examples that can be illustrative and inspiring for other peace processes around the world,” Sanz said from Bogotá, after her return to the Colombian capital.

In her view, “these strides forward represent milestones in the promotion of women’s rights and the transformation of gender inequality during the construction of and transition to peace, which could be exported to other places in the world and adapted to their particular conditions and contexts.”

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Question for this article

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

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The introduction of a gender focus also includes the search for ensuring conditions for people of different sexual orientations to have equal access to the benefits of living in a country free of armed conflict.

“For women and people with different sexual identities to be able to enjoy a country at peace is not only a basic human rights question: without their participation in the construction of peace and, as a result, without their enjoying the benefits of peace, peace and stability themselves are threatened,” said Sanz.

She cited a study commissioned in 2015 by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, 15 years after the approval of Security Council Resolution 1325, designed to promote the participation of women in peace processes.

The report showed that women’s participation increases by 20 percent the probability that a peace agreement will last at least 20 years, and by 35 percent the chance that it will last 15 years.

“So if women don’t participate in peace-building processes, not only as ‘beneficiaries’ but as drivers of change and political actors, it’s hard to talk about a stable, lasting peace,” said Sanz.

The U.N. study also shows the risks faced by women in the post-peace deal stages.

According to the report, women in areas affected by the conflict have fewer economic opportunities and suffer the emotional and physical scars of the conflict, without support or recognition – besides often facing routine violence in their homes and communities and shouldering the burden of unpaid care for children and the elderly and household tasks.

In a broader sense, “the structures of inequality remain in place and measures are needed to dismantle them, as well as a commitment by society as a whole,” said Sanz, who described a transition process like the one that Colombia is facing as “a key opportunity” to transform women’s status in society.

She said the continued work of the gender subcommittee is “crucial”, as well as that of women’s organisations, with the support of international aid, in order to incorporate provisions in the agreements to enable these situations of inequality to gradually be transformed, with a view to the period following the signing and implementation of the accords.

The inclusion of gender provisions in peace agreements “opens a window of opportunity for the transformation of existing structures of inequality and can also be an opportunity for other peace processes, during the signing of the agreements and the stage of implementation,” said the head of U.N.-Women.

According to estimates, women account for over 40 percent of the members of the FARC, whose exact numbers are not publicly known.

Overall, women represent slightly over half of the general population of 48 million. However, Colombia is one of the countries in Latin America with the lowest levels of female representation in politics.

In 2015, women represented only 14 percent of town councilors, 17 percent of the members of the lower house of Congress, 10 percent of mayors and nine percent of governors. These figures are still far below the parity that would do justice to the proportion of women in society, states a U.N.-Women report.

Latin America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

The Elders welcome new moves in Africa to end child marriage

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

Press release from The Elders

The Elders today welcomed recent moves by leaders in The Gambia, Tanzania and Uganda to end or curb child marriage, as part of the African Union’s continent-wide campaign to eradicate the harmful practice.

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In The Gambia, where almost a third of underage girls are married, President Yayha Jammeh has announced that anyone marrying a girl below 18 would be jailed for up to 20 years, with legislation due to by drawn up in the coming months. In Tanzania, meanwhile, parliament has declared that current child marriage laws are unconstitutional.

The Ugandan health ministry has also recently announced that it will provide more advice to girls and adolescents, and educate them on their sexual and reproductive health and rights, joining 10 other countries which have already adopted national strategies and action plans to end child marriage.

Kofi Annan, Chair of The Elders, said:

“It is encouraging to see more African leaders and legislators taking action to end the damaging and abusive practice of child marriage. This is an issue of rights, health, justice and protection that affects individual girls and women, their families and their wider community. Governments across the continent must now work hard to educate the wider population and eradicate this practice once and for all.”

The Elders have campaigned against child marriage since 2011, when they formed the global civil society alliance Girls Not Brides, now an independent organisation in its own right.

Mary Robinson added:

“As Elders, we are committed to promoting equality for women and girls and ending all forms of discrimination. Child marriage is cruel and harmful. It denies girls the chance of an education and economic independence. Their talents cannot then be tapped by communities which could benefit from their knowledge and resilience. These latest steps are welcome but much more still needs to be done to protect girls’ rights.”

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article)

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Africa, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Tunisia moves closer to achieving gender equality in politics

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from UN Women

Tunisia’s Parliament has approved an amendment ensuring that women have greater representation in local politics. This amendment, which applies to both municipal and regional elections, includes a proposal for “horizontal and vertical” gender parity in Article 49 of the electoral law.

Tunisia
Plenary session in the Assembly of Representatives of the People (ARP), with UN Women. Photo: ARP
(click on photo to enlarge)

Horizontal parity requires that municipal election lists across Tunisia have equal number of both men and women, while vertical parity requires that men and women alternate within each list. Both were adopted by the Assembly of Representatives of the People (ARP), the Tunisian parliament, on 15 June 2016. Out of 134 representatives, 127 agreed to the new measure.

“The adoption of the new electoral law on parity aligns with the democratic path that the country has chosen to take,” said Bochra Belhaj Hamida, a parliamentarian and member of the Commission of Women, Family, Children, Youth and Seniors. “For the first time, 73 women parliamentarians, from different parties, backgrounds and political ideologies, voted unanimously and conducted their own lobbying in favour of the horizontal and vertical parity.”

UN Women joined forces with the advocacy efforts led by civil society for horizontal parity in local elections. On the eve of the plenary session in Parliament for this draft law, a specific session was held in partnership with the International Development Centre for Local Innovative Governance. Women parliamentarians presented arguments and evidence in favour of the adoption of horizontal and vertical parity.

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Question for this article

Prospects for progress in women’s equality, what are the short and long term prospects?

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According to the Gender Gap Report 2015, Tunisia is ranked 69th in terms of political empowerment out of 145 countries. Enshrining horizontal and vertical parity in the electoral law increases women’s chances of being elected in the upcoming local elections planned in March 2017, and will allow for better representation in municipal and regional councils. It constitutes significant progress towards inclusive government, equal opportunities and gender equality.

“Besides being a first in our region, the adoption of horizontal and vertical parity in electoral law is a timely achievement because it will guarantee effective participation of women in the upcoming decentralization process in Tunisia,” said Leila Rhiwi, UN Women Maghreb Representative.

In line with its efforts to support women’s leadership and political participation, in March 2016 UN Women initiated a project with parliamentarians in Tunisia that involved advocacy sessions around the legislative agenda, capacity building, networking and support for the implementation of the women’s caucus. This initiative, conducted with Members of Parliament, aims to improve the representation of women in both local and national politics. To date, four sessions have been held.

These efforts are in line with UN Women’s “Step It Up” initiative. At the Global Leaders’ Meeting on 27 September 2015, Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid pledged to expand women’s ability to participate in politics and public affairs, saying: “Our experience in democratic transition recently is witness to the fact that women should be represented in all legislative bodies. Hence, we enhance women’s ability to participate in politics and in public affairs. This is a commitment.”

Mideast, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Peace in Colombia Is Impossible Without Us, Women Declare

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from Telesur TV

Colombian women, under the banner of “One Million Women for Peace,” are demanding a greater role in the peace talks between FARC insurgents and the government as negotiations wrap up.

Colombia women
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The group has been growing its ranks in an effort to promote the signing of the peace deal and prepare for post-conflict stability, sociologist and human rights activist Gloria Florez told Prensa Latina on Wednesday.

According to the activist, the newly-formed bloc aimes to create a community movement to provide popular backing for the talks, which began in 2012, and promote implementation of the deal.

The movement brings together farmers, artists, journalists, youth and political representatives of indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities. On Tuesday, women at the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues insisted they be included in peace processes around the world because “women are pushing the culture of peace and not the culture of war.”

The decades-long conflict in Colombia has killed about 300,000 people, while six million remain displaced from their homes and another 45,000 remain missing. The “One Million Women for Peace” campaign argues that women are essential in building alternatives once the militarization is negotiated, said a former cabinet member of the Bogota municipality.

Question for this article

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

The 40 articles in CPNN linked to this question make it clear that women indeed have a special role to play in the peace movement. See the following for an historical explanation of why this is true.

Latin America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

No Means No Kenya

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from Ujamaa

NO MEANS NO KENYA works to provide simple, high impact Self- Defense training to as many women and children as possible worldwide. We believe prevention is key in the global rape epidemic. For far too long the overwhelming focus has been on aftercare strategies – this needs to change. It is believed that Self Defense training can raise a woman or child’s chance of prevailing in a sexual assault by up to 85%.

umamaa

It is our vision to mainstream self defense and end the fallacies and myths surrounding a woman or child’s ability to stop an assault. Our rape prevention efforts have appeared in over 40 media outlets including CNN, Huffington Post, MSNBC, Current TV, Daily Kos and Fox Sports.

No Means No Worldwide is a comprehensive rape prevention organization for girls and boys. We are a school based program that uses the IMpower system of violence prevention training. We teach classes in 6 week cycles, three times per school year, with the number of students ranging from 7000-9000 per cycle.

We believe the best response to the epidemic of sexual assault is to provide our male and female students with an awareness of the causes and effects of sexual gender based violence and the skills to intervene or prevent it.

Our research shows that in high schools where girls have taken our classes the incidence of rape drops from 20% annually to under 10%. Over half the girls in the intervention groups report having used the IMpower skills to avert sexual assault in the year after the training. Rates of disclosure increased in the intervention groups, but not in controls.

Preliminary research on our new IMpower boys curriculum shows that male students gender-negative attitudes towards women and girls were transformed to a more positive and supportive set of beliefs and behaviors. At 6-month follow-up, 334 of 676 respondents (49.4%) had witnessed a girl or woman being verbally harassed and 259 of 334 (77.5% had successfully intervened to stop the harassment. Similarly, 313 of 676 (46.3%) had witnessed a male physically threatening a girl or woman and 228 of 676 (33.7%) had witnessed a sexual assault. In these situations, 228 of 313 boys (72.8%) and 167 of 228 (73.2%) who witnessed these events, had successfully intervened to protect the victim.

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article)

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Africa, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Bahrain Women Association conducted a workshop on peace for Sitra Alahleya Society – Women club

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

Bahrain Women Association

As part of the activities of ‘Women embracing peace’ project to promote culture of peace in the community, BWA organized a training workshop on the culture of peace entitled ‘Sustainable peace .. from inside out’ at ‘Sitra Alahleya Society’ – Women Club on Wednesday, September 17th. The workshop aimed to introduce the concept of culture of peace and inner peace, and to discuss how to practice peace and finally to present ways and mechanisms to promote peace.

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The workshop explained the concept of peace in family and ways and means of applying it, and peace in community which explained that the relations between human beings are based on ground of peace and that the difference between people should lead to integration and development not to conflict and disharmony. The workshop emphasized on the importance of inner peace to achieve any other peace on the external level, be it the family or community.

At the end of the workshop, participants expressed their desire to participate in more events organized by BWA in the field of peace and tolerance, to enhance their role and their ability in promoting positive change in their communities.

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Mideast, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

USA: University of Wisconsin receives UN chair for global work on gender, well-being and peace

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article by Ann Grauvogl, University of Wisconsin – Madison News

The University of Wisconsin—Madison has been awarded a UNESCO Chair on Gender, Well-being and a Culture of Peace, a first in the state of Wisconsin and a first for the university in any area. It creates a global platform for the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies and for the campuswide 4W (Women and Well-being in Wisconsin and the World) Initiative.

wisconsin
Araceli Alonso in Kenya, 2009. PHOTO COURTESY OF COLLEGE OF LETTERS & SCIENCE

“This recognition by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) affirms UW–Madison’s strength in addressing global issues,” says Chancellor Rebecca Blank. “The interdisciplinary ethic of our faculty, staff and students allows us to engage on complex issues from a host of perspectives. That’s a valuable asset to the UNESCO network around the world.”

UNESCO has designated more than 670 chairs worldwide to promote international cooperation and networking among universities. UW–Madison joins a network of 12 other chairs on gender around the world, connecting efforts of women in Europe, Latin America, Africa and the United States.

“The establishment of this chair is a testimony to the role that UW–Madison has played, locally and globally, to advance women in a broad array of fields, including human ecology, gender and women’s studies, nursing and education,” says Lori DiPrete Brown, director of the 4W Initiative and an associate director of the Global Health Institute (GHI). “The robust range of activities of 4W leaders from throughout campus was an important factor in determining the award.”

The Chair Selection Committee recognized UW–Madison’s plans to encourage innovation through technological databases, online portals, North-South collaboration and information sharing.

“The chair will be the first in North America to interrelate gender, well-being and culture of peace through researchers, practitioners and advocates for knowledge exchange and collaboration,” according to a statement from the committee.

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Question related to this article:

Does the UN advance equality for women?

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The chair will be housed in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies and is created in partnership with the Foundation for a Culture of Peace in Madrid, Spain. The activities of the chair will be integrated with the 4W Initiative and will include an annual summit, a broad range of field activities, and publications related to gender, well-being and a culture of peace.
Araceli Alonso, a senior lecturer in gender and women’s studies and 4W director for Gender, Clinical Practice and the Health Sciences, and Teresa Langle de Paz, co-director of Women’s Knowledge International at the Foundation for a Culture of Peace, will jointly hold the chair.

Alonso also founded the Health by Motorbike Project in Kenya and co-leads 4W’s project to end sex trafficking and exploitation. She has collaborated with other UNESCO chairs on gender and development and welcomes the chance for further collaboration locally, regionally, nationally and globally.

Langle de Paz is also an honorary fellow for the Women’s Research Center at the Gender and Women’s Studies Department.

“The UNESCO chair can take our work at UW–Madison a step further into a global arena fostering transnational cooperation between feminist scholars, gender issues professionals, institutions, networks, policy makers and organizations,” Alonso says. “We expect to create a global learning community and a platform of leaders committed to gender equality and equity, human flourishing and well-being, and a culture of peace that respects all human rights and promotes sustainable development, thinking not only on present generations but also in future ones.”

Karl Scholz, dean of the College of Letters & Science, is thrilled to house the chair in Gender and Women’s Studies.
“This will enhance our efforts to improve the health, education and well-being of women all over the world,” Scholz says. “With this recognition, we will be able to engage more students and scholars from across campus, which truly epitomizes the Wisconsin Idea.”

The designation gives UW–Madison a voice on these issues at an international level, says Soyeon Shim, dean of the School of Human Ecology (SoHE) and 4W lead dean.

“The UNESCO Chair gives the university the credibility and prestige on gender, well-being and a culture of peace, a topic that’s also important to the United Nations,” Shim says.

The chair provides both the opportunity and responsibility for UW–Madison faculty, staff and students to continue their work on issues of gender and well-being. Through research, service, leadership and collaboration with partners from around the world, they are improving access to health care in Kenya and Ethiopia, empowering women farmers in Ghana, collaborating with artisans in Mexico and Ecuador, and working to stop sex trafficking both locally and globally.

“We’re not just dreaming this thing, we’re doing it already,” Shim says.

North America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Education International and other Global Union Federation delegations begin their work at the 60th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from Education International

The full labour delegation present in New York, USA, is made up of an unprecedented 150 women union leaders from 34 countries. The Education International (EI) delegation to the 60th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW60) has joined the other Global Union Federations (GUFs) delegations for the first week of the Commission’s deliberations (March 14th-18th).

csw unionists
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The EI delegation got to work already on Sunday 13th, in conversation with Nora Fyles, Head of Secretariat of the UN Girl’s Education Initiative (UNGEI). Fyles gave a short presentation on ‘Policy Advocacy: UNGEI Speaking Out for Girls’ Education’, which was followed by a conversation with the EI delegates about their respective unions’ advocacy around girls’ education, and other gender and education issues.

Later in the day, EI delegates joined the full labour delegation for a briefing session, in which seasoned and new delegates alike were given information about the first week of CSW60, and the events planned by the GUFs, the ILO and key allies among the thousands of women’s rights organisations that are currently in New York for CSW60.

The CSW60 priority theme is Women’s Empowerment and its Link to Sustainable Development; and the review theme is The Elimination and Prevention of all Forms of Violence against Women and Girls (the Agreed Conclusions from CSW57). The priority theme is auspicious because CSW60 is the first major UN event to take place since the 2030 agenda for sustainable development was agreed, and the new sustainable development goals (SDGs) were adopted in September 2015. CSW60, therefore, presents a unique opportunity to bring the gender and education community for dialogue around the interlinkages between SDG 4 on education, and SDG 5 on gender equality.

On Wednesday March 16th, together with the Mission of Norway to the UN and UNGEI, EI will jointly host a side event entitled ‘Financing for Education: A Key to Empowering Women and Girls’. The EI President, Susan Hopgood, will speak on the panel, as will Ms Tone Skogen, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Norway, Ms Geeta Rao Gupta, Deputy Executive Director, UNICEF, Ms Meighan Stone, President, Malala Fund and Mr Justin van Fleet, Director, International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity. The event will be moderated by Mr Yannick Glemarec, Deputy Executive Director Policy & Programmes, UN Women, and introductory remarks will be offered by Ms Alice Albright, CEO, Global Partnership for Education.

Read the joint official GUF CSW60 statement, and keep up to date with what the labour delegates are up to here.

Follow the GUF delegation at the UNCSW on Twitter: https://twitter.com/unioncsw

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article)

(Click here for a French version of this article)

Question for this article

Does the UN advance equality for women?

The following article by Lyndal Rowlands in the Inter Press Service, suggests that the UN is not making much progress on its commitments for women’s equality:

2015 marks anniversaries for two significant commitments made to increasing women’s participation at peace tables.

Yet despite the Beijing Platform for Action and the Security Council Resolution 1325 both committing to increasing women’s participation in peace building 20 and 15 years ago, respectively, there has been very little progress to report.

The latest available statistics show that women made up only 9 per cent of negotiators at peace tables between 1992 and 2011. That the most recent data is from 2011 shows that more work is needed even in basic areas such as data collection and reporting of women’s participation in peace building.

IPS summarises here four reasons we should value women’s participation at the peace table more, based on discussions at the 59th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) over the past week.

Beijing Platform for Action Section E

Women and Armed Conflict Diagnosis

Strategic objective E.1. Increase the participation of women in conflict resolution at decision-making levels and protect women living in situations of armed and other conflicts or under foreign occupation. Actions to be taken.

Strategic objective E.2. Reduce excessive military expenditures and control the availability of armaments. Actions to be taken.

Strategic objective E.3. Promote non-violent forms of conflict resolution and reduce the incidence of human rights abuse in conflict situations. Actions to be taken.

Strategic objective E.4. Promote women’s contribution to fostering a culture of peace. Actions to be taken

Strategic objective E.5. Provide protection, assistance and training to refugee women, other displaced women in need of international protection and internally displaced women. Actions to be taken.

Strategic objective E.6. Provide assistance to the women of the colonies and non-self-governing territories. Actions to be taken.
Women Bring Commitment and Experience to the Peace Table
Often the first people invited to participate in formal peace negotiations are the people holding the guns and the last are women who have expertise in building lasting peace.

Zainab Bangura, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, told a CSW side event on Tuesday last week, “In the Central African Republic, the only community where they were not killing each other was a community where the Christian women said, ‘These Muslim women are our sisters.’

“Why? Because the women in the community said, ‘We have lived together for the last 100 years’,” Bangura said.

In the Phillipines, Irene Santiago was a member of the government panel that negotiated peace with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Santiago came to the table with years of experience working with Christian, Muslim and Indigenous women leaders for peace.

Speaking at a CSW side event at the International Peace Institute (IPI) on Thursday, Santiago said that she knew that her years of experience working with civil society for peace stood her in good stead to make a significant contribution to formal peace negotiations, which she did.

Speaking with IPS, Santiago said women’s voices not only have to be heard, but that they also have to be acted on.

“For women. It’s almost never always about themselves, it’s always about our children, our husbands but also about our communities,” Santiago told IPS.

In Africa, women have fought to be included in peacemaking, even when their contributions have not been recognised.

Bineta Diop, Special Envoy on Women Peace and Security to the African Union, says that mediators need to be held accountable when they only invite the people who hold guns to the peace table and ignore women’s contributions.

“I have been involved in many crises where women were knocking at the door and saying we want to be at the table,” Diop said.

Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury, known as the father of Security Council Resolution 1325, said that the determination of African women to be involved in peace negotiations should be seen as an inspiration by other countries.

Despite serious difficulties, war and conflict, African women have shown continued determination to hold their countries accountable, Chowdhury said.

Gender Equality in Peace Time Prevents Conflict
Also speaking at the IPI, Valerie Hudson, co-author of ‘Sex and World Peace’, said that her research has shown that the way women are treated within a country is one of the most accurate indicators of the quality of relations that country will have with other countries.

Diop agreed with Hudson, saying that countries that are likely to fall into conflict have higher levels of discrimination and inequality.

“Discrimination against women, especially the non-participation and non-inclusion of women in democracy is … one of the root causes of the conflict,” Diop said.

Ambassador Choudhury agreed with these sentiments, telling IPS, “I believe that no country can claim that their country is not in conflict if women’s rights are denied, if women’s equality is not ensured, if women’s participation at all participation levels is not there.

“I think that if we women are violated, if women’s equality of participation is not there we cannot say that we are at peace, we are in conflict with ourselves. This is a conflict which is happening within ourselves and within the countries. We don’t have to go into the traditional description of conflict, civil conflict or fighting with another country,” Chowdhury added.

Dr. Youssef Mahmoud, Senior Adviser at the International Peace Institute also speaking at the IPI event said, “A world where 51 per cent are ignored is a dangerous world for everyone. I can’t imagine why any men would be indifferent to this.”

Women Are Active In Civil Society
Several discussions at the CSW questioned why militaries were the primary actors in peace building, while non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society’s expertise was not called on.

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Santiago told IPS that civil society, especially women, have a lot to contribute to humanise, to concretise, and to make peace negotiations relevant to people’s lives.

Winnie Kodi from the Nuba mountains in Sudan told reporters on Monday that civil society was vital to helping indigenous communities like her own that have been affected by conflict. She said that the main way her people were able to have their voices heard was by working together with NGOs and civil society.

Chowdhury told IPS he is advocating for the U.N. and governments to hold more consultations with civil society, saying that the involvement of women and of civil society is very important.

Santiago also called for renewed focus on the important role of NGOs in the area of women, peace and security,

“Again I see that why are we focusing on the UN as the locus of change,” she said. “To me it is not, it is the means, it is an important audience, but it is not the locus of social change.

“Let us form the global civic networks that we need to bring about the local global and civil change that we need” Santiago said.

Women Challenge The Causes of Conflict
Challenging militarism and militarisation was another theme discussed during the first week of the CSW, particularly by civil society groups at the parallel NGO forum.

Choudhury told IPS that increased militarism and militarisation is slowing down efforts for equality. “Increasing militarism and militarisation has really been effecting women in a very negative way. This is something that women should stand up against, we should all stand up against,” Chowdhury said.

Militarisation is also affecting indigenous women and men. Maribeth Biano, from the Asian Indigenous Women’s Network, told reporters on Monday that Indigenous women are hugely affected by militarisation in Indigenous territories.

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