Gender and Conflict Chris Coulter, PhD
Men = War Men = Soldiers Women = Peace Women = Victims
Militarization and Masculinity
Maternal Thinking: Women as Mothers
Rape - a Weapon of War
When Women Fight “Their female accomplices were almost more terrifying, covered from head to foot in black, their veils bearing Islamic slogans, their waists wrapped with belts full of explosives” (BBC )
Black Diamond and her comrades may look like any bunch of street- wise girls with attitude but they have the military hardware to back up the look.” (BBC )
Lynndie England in the Abu Ghraib Prison (BBC )
Women’s and men’s roles often polarized in war and conflict
Women’s and men’s roles often politicized in war and conflict
War, Peace and Post-war
UN Security Council Resolution 1325
UNSCR 1325: Women, Peace and Security UNSCR 1820: address the issue of widespread sexual violence in conflict UNSCR 1888: mandate peacekeeping missions to protect women and children from sexual violence UNSCR 1889: monitoring and indicators UNSCR 1960: Especially focusing on the issue of sexual violence against women and children in armed conflict
§ 1. Urges Member States to ensure increased representation of women at all decision-making levels in national, regional and international institutions and mechanisms for the prevention, management, and resolution of conflict; § 8. Calls on all actors involved, when negotiating and implementing peace agreements, to adopt a gender perspective;
§ 10. Calls on all parties to armed conflict to take special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse, and all other forms of violence in situations of armed conflict; §13 Encourages all those involved in the planning for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration to consider the different needs of female and male ex-combatants and to take into account the needs of their dependants
§ 1. Urges Member States … § 8. Calls on all actors involved… §13 Encourages all those involved
Gender responsive DDR 1. Does she possess any type of weapon? Eligible for disarmament 2. Was the use of weapons an important part of her job? 3. Does she have any experiences of using weapons? / Did she undergo any weapons training Eligible for demobilisation 4. Did she perform essential support functions during the conflict? 5. Is she socially and financially dependent on a male ex- combatant? Eligible for Reintegration YES NO
Gender Responsive DDR Appropriate Service Delivery Gender Training Gender Specialists Gender Responsive Needs Assessment & Programme Design Gender Responsive M&E Gender Responsive Budget Donor Support Coordina- tion Mechanism with CSOs Commitment to UNSCR 1325
Thank you Tack شكرا