United States 

Institute of Pe a c e

Women in Wa r

and Pe a c e

G ra s s roots Pe a c e b u i l d i n g

Donna Ramsey Mars h a l l
Peaceworks No. 34. First published August 2000.

The views expressed in this report are those of the author alone.

They do not necessarily reflect views of the United States Institute of Peace.

UN I T E D ST A T E S IN S T I T U T E O F PE A C E

1200 17th Street NW, Suite 200

Washington, DC 20036-3011

Phone: 202-457-1700

Fax: 202-429-6063

E-mail: usip_requests@usip.org

Web: www.usip.org
C o n t e n t s

S u m m a r y 5

1. Introduction: Women in War and Peace 7

2. Women in Conflict: Colombia, Israel and Palestine,

and Somalia 11

3. Actions to Empower Women’s Movements 16

4. Women in Peace: South Africa, Latin America,

and Northern Ireland 20

5. Conclusions 27

N o t e s 28

About the Au t h o r 29

About the Institute 30

S u m m a r y

While mu ch of the work of con f l i ct re s o luti on focuses on the govern m en t

or public level , the re s o luti on of con tem pora ry con f l i ct is very mu ch a

h o l i s tic process that is simu l t a n eo u s ly con du cted at the priva te , gra s s roo t s

l evel . Ma ny of the ef forts under way to sustain pe ace in co u n tries and regi ons be s et by or

em er ging from vi o l ent con f l i ct are undert a ken by gra s s roots or ga n i z a ti ons form ed by

those whose lives are most direct ly and sign i f i c a n t ly affected by the con f l i ct . A su b s t a n ti a l

proporti on of these or ga n i z a ti ons are form ed and staffed by wom en . These non governm ental or ga n i z a ti ons (NGOs) are playing an incre a s i n gly active role in dispute re s o luti on

and po s tcon f l i ct recon s tru cti on and pe acebu i l d i n g.

The Un i ted States In s ti tute of Pe ace strive s ,t h ro u gh re s e a rch , edu c a ti on , and tra i n i n g,

to understand this role of n on govern m ental en ti ties in bri n ging abo ut a stable pe ace in

con f l i ct - torn soc i eti e s . Tow a rd that en d , on Septem ber 14, 1 9 9 9 , the In s ti tute’s Re s e a rch

and Studies Program conven ed a seminar en ti t l ed “ Pers pectives on Gra s s roots Pe acebu i l d i n g : The Roles of Wom en in War and Pe ace ,”wh i ch drew toget h er more than sixty

repre s en t a tives of the policy com mu n i ty, ac adem i a , and non govern m ental or ga n i z a ti on s .

This report draws on pre s en t a ti ons and com m ents made at the seminar and spec i f i c a lly

examines the role of wom en in ad d ressing the issues of con f l i ct re s o luti on and pe acebu i l d i n g.

Ch a pter 1 introdu ces the theoretical deb a te and provi des an overvi ew of the major issues and sch ools of t h o u gh t . It points out that, in analyses of war and pe ace , the cru c i a l

role of wom en ,e s pec i a lly at the gra s s roots level , is of ten overl oo ked or dismissed in favor

of “policy el i te s” and “h i gh - po l i c y ”m a t ters . While the con d i ti ons of war and pe ace affect

wom en and men differen t ly, these differen ces are not of ten taken into account in the cons tru cti on of pe ace agreem en t s , in po s tcon f l i ct recon s tru cti on ef fort s , or even in the condu ct of d ay - to - d ay govern a n ce .However, wom en a rei nvo lved in ef forts to end vi o l en t

con f l i ct and are of ten the glue that holds cru m bling com mu n i ties toget h er under the

s tress of con f l i ct . In times of con f l i ct , ord i n a ry wom en , far from solely being vi cti m s ,

s om etimes em er ge as leaders in the ef fort to re s tore pe ace and amel i ora te the tra gic con s equ en ces of w a r.

Ch a pter 2 examines the ach i evem ents of wom en working to end vi o l ent con f l i ct in

t h eir com mu n i ti e s . One of the important met h ods for doing so is thro u gh the cre a ti on of

c ro s s - com mu n i ty all i a n ces or net work s . For instance , in Som a l i a , wom en’s groups made

rem a rk a ble progress in improving the plight of i n tern a lly displaced pers on s , edu c a ti n g

yo uth caught in the twi l i ght zone of w a r, and en su ring som ething as basic as po t a ble water.It is intere s ting to note that the su ccess of this wom en’s all i a n ce hinged in large measu re on the abi l i ty of Somali wom en to overl ook the clan affiliati on of the other wom en

with wh om they were work i n g. 5
In the seminar deb a te ,h owever, it was also clear that the rel eva n ce of c ro s s - com mu n i ty

a ll i a n ces is con text depen den t . Su ch all i a n ces som etimes are inef fectual because they ign ore asym m etrical power rel a ti on s h i p s , and they con f ront the same ob s t acles be s et ti n g

a ny cro s s - com mu n i ty all i a n ce .

Ch a pter 3 discusses implem en t a ti on of and su pport for these wom en’s pe ace movem en t s . Progress has been made since the early 1990s, but it is on ly within the latter half of

the dec ade that the intern a ti onal com mu n i ty has begun to recogn i ze the su b s t a n tial contri buti ons of wom en to ef forts of pe acebuilding and con f l i ct re s o luti on . Th ere are a nu mber of acti ons to be taken by third party actors , wh et h er non govern m ental or ga n i z a ti on s ,

the U. S . govern m en t , or the intern a ti onal com mu n i ty in gen eral and the Un i ted Na ti on s

in parti c u l a r,to su pport the pe ace and con f l i ct re s o luti on work of i n d i genous wom en’s

and gra s s roots or ga n i z a ti on s . Ch i ef a m ong these acti ons are financial su pport , advoc ac y

and aw a reness ra i s i n g, and skills tra i n i n g.

Ch a pter 4 deals with app l i c a ti on ,s pec i f i c a lly the con tri buti on of wom en to po s tcon f l i ct

recon c i l i a ti on and recon s tru cti on ef fort s . In po s tcon f l i ct situ a ti on s , the role of wom en can

be qu i te import a n t .The seminar high l i gh ted the role that wom en have played around the

world — from interpers onal recon c i l i a ti on in So uth Af ri c a ,to the mobi l i z a ti on of m o t hers united by com m on losses in Latin Am eri c a , to the pe acem a kers of Nort h ern Irel a n d .

In this last case, by demanding a place at the nego ti a ting tabl e ,the Nort h ern Irel a n d

Wom en’s Coa l i ti on managed to con tri bute in no small way to the dra f ting of the pathbreaking Good Fri d ay Agreem ent by insisting upon the inclu s i on of m e a su res that not

on ly ad d re s s ed the causes of the con f l i ct but also its con s equ en ce s ,i n cluding those de a l i n g

with human ri gh t s , equ a l i ty, and provi s i ons for vi cti m s .

The em phasis placed here on wom en’s gra s s roots movem ents and their roles in the

m ending process is not inten ded to el eva te these groups above other movem en t s . Th e

goal is to draw atten ti on to an import a n t , yet of ten negl ected ,a s pect of the con f l i ct re s o luti on process and to make su re that the crucial role of wom en in war- torn soc i eties is not

overl oo ked or dismissed .Wom en , with their fundamental con cern for su b s i s ten ce and

su rvival issu e s ,a re essen tial actors and leaders in gra s s roots movem en t s ,e s pec i a lly in

times of c ivil stri fe . Wom en’s parti c i p a ti on in the quest for pe ace aids capac i ty building in

s oc i eties thre a ten ed by vi o l ent con f l i ct . By thus prep a ring for pe ace and del egi timizing vio l en ce ,s oc i eties become more resistant to arm ed con f l i ct and re s i l i ent in the face of ch a ll en ge s .

6 Summary
O n e

I n t roduction: Women in War and Pe a c e

P i t falls of Conceptualizing Women and Pe a c e

Any discussion seeking to examine the rel a ti onship of wom en to pe ace must take care to

avoid the nu m erous pitf a lls assoc i a ted with su ch analys e s . Ch i ef a m ong su ch pitf a lls is the

ten dency to essen ti a l i ze and univers a l i ze wom en , to assume that “ wom en” m ay be tre a ted

and discussed as a unitary, h om ogen eous category and that overa rching gen era l i z a ti on s

m ay be ex ten ded to app ly to all wom en , every wh ere .

1 Su ch essen tializing assumes the experi en ce of wom en every wh ere to be similar, rega rdless of o t h er factors su ch as race , cl a s s ,

or sex u a l i ty, wh ereas iden ti ty and ex peri en ce are actu a lly a com p l ex com bi n a ti on of t h e s e

and other factors . In deed , roles and opportu n i ties for wom en va ry wi dely bet ween and

within the con text of d i f ferent soc i eties and are at times more depen dent upon other

forms of d i f feren ce , su ch as an indivi du a l ’s race or cl a s s . Th erefore ,we may not assu m e

that what holds true for one group of wom en wi ll nece s s a ri ly hold for another.

In the discussion of wom en and pe ace , a nu m ber of a s su m pti ons must be qu e s ti on ed .

For instance ,t h ere is the danger of equ a ting wom en with pe ace ,a s suming that wom en are

n ece s s a ri ly pac i f i s t . In actu a l i ty, wom en also assume roles in waging and su pporting war,

and are not alw ays the vi cti m s . Th erefore , we may qu e s ti on the idea that pe ace would nece s s a ri ly re sult if m en were rep l aced by wom en as leaders . It might even have the oppo s i te

ef fect , as wom en who aspire to po s i ti ons of l e adership of ten su cceed by dissoc i a ting thems elves from more “fem i n i n e”qu a l i ties and adopting more “m a s c u l i n e” a t ti tu de s .

2War and

pe ace are not male/female issu e s ; ra t h er, it is the underlying social and po l i tical ra ti on a l i zing of vi o l en ce as an accept a ble tool that must be ch a ll en ged and overcom e . We mu s t

t h erefore not assume the vi cti m i z a ti on of wom en in gen era l . In d ivi duals to a large ex ten t

ch oose the roles they are wi lling to play — both men and wom en are vi ctims in war, but it

is the different roles they assume that must be bro u ght into our analys e s .

Assessing the Truths and Myths of

Women in War and Pe a c e

Ch eryl Ben a rd , a scholar who has long thought abo ut , re s e a rch ed , and wri t ten on the issues rel a ted to gen der and con f l i ct as director of re s e a rch at an Au s trian think tank and as

a con sultant to the Au s trian govern m ent and va rious U. S . - b a s ed re s e a rch or ga n i z a ti on s ,

provi des the theoretical con text for the en suing discussion . Ben a rd examines the state of

the deb a te su rrounding wom en and vi o l ent con f l i ct and del i n e a tes the major issues of i nterest to both sch o l a rs and on - t h e - ground practi ti on ers .

Ac ademics and re s e a rch ers have been deb a ting the rel a tive influ en ce of gen der on vi ol en ce for dec ade s , and a re su l ting set of propo s i ti ons is ref l ected in the litera tu re and in the

p u blic deb a te . Some assert that wom en are more pe aceful and men are more vi o l en t : bi ol ogi c a lly, m en tend tow a rd hiera rchy, com peti ti on , and risk taking; wom en tend tow a rd

ega l i t a ri a n i s m , coopera ti on and nu rtu ri n g, and risk avers i on . Ot h ers insist that gen der is a 7
s oc i a lly con s tru cted con cept defining the accept a ble roles and beh avi or of m en and

wom en ; these roles and beh avi ors are rei n forced thro u gh edu c a ti on and soc i a l i z a ti on .

While it may be true that male/masculine and fem a l e / feminine ch a racteri s tics are the result of both bi o l ogical a n d s ocial factors , the rel a tive influ en ce of bi o l ogical determ i n i s m

and soc i a l i z a ti on is a significant point of deb a te . Ma ny participants in this deb a te assert

that incre a s ed parti c i p a ti on by wom en in the public realm would ch a n ge the ch a racter of

that re a l m ;h owever, the natu re of the ch a n ge is itsel f a deb a ted poi n t .

The interpret a ti ons of and con clu s i ons drawn from these assu m pti ons are intri c a tely

l i n ked to the po l i tical agenda of the propon ents of e ach of the major pers pectives on the issu e . For ex a m p l e , Ben a rd maintains that the assu m pti on “ wom en are more pe acef u l ,m en

a re more vi o l en t”l e ads liberals and feminists to con clu de that wom en should therefore be

given a gre a ter role in the public sph ere to increase the pe ace and stabi l i ty of s oc i ety. Con s erva tives and anti fem i n i s t s , on the other hand,con clu de from this assu m pti on that wom en are

n ece s s a ri ly bet ter uti l i zed in the home and in caregiver roles most su i ted to their pe aceful natu re . This deb a te revo lves on the uti l i ty of w a r: i f war is a probl em ,p ut ting more pac i f i c

wom en in leadership roles would dampen the re s ort to war; i f war is a soluti on ,h aving more

p acific wom en in leadership roles would hamper the su ccessful con du ct of w a r.The middl e

po s i ti on is a more ra ti onal con s i dera ti on of a l tern a tives towar.

A su b s et of i s sues within this deb a te revo lves around the rel a ti onship of wom en wi t h

war and pe ace . Ben a rd high l i ghts three key poi n t s :

◗ The con d i ti ons of war and pea ce affect wom en differently than they do men .More men

than wom en die as a direct con s equ en ce of a rm ed con f l i ct ; wom en tend to be vi ctims of

w a rtime ra pe s ,become ref u gee s , and su f fer displacem ent and depriva ti on .Men are more

i nvo lved than are wom en in the dec i s i on to go to war; h owever,wom en play a nu m ber of

roles in war- torn soc i eti e s ,i n cluding roles that su pport and sustain the war ef fort .

◗ Such differen ces are not gen era lly taken into account in the con s tru c ti on of pea ce

a greem en t s ,in po s tconflict recon s tru c ti on ef fort s ,in the distri buti on of hu m a n i t a ri a n

a i d ,or even in the con duct of d ay - to - d ay govern a n ce .In Ben a rd ’s ex a m p l e ,hu m a n i t a rian rel i ef opera ti ons of ten fail to meet the needs of those who con s ti tute the majori ty of

ref u gee s ,n a m ely,wom en and ch i l d ren . Rel i ef or ga n i z a ti ons are relu ctant to ch a ll en ge the

host soc i ety ’s trad i ti on s , and therefore may wi t ti n gly or unwi t ti n gly rei n force stru ctu ra l

i n equ a l i ties that re sult in male ref u gees receiving disproporti on a te amounts of food ,m edical aid, and edu c a ti onal ben efits provi ded by those or ga n i z a ti on s .Su ch disadva n t a ges su ffered by wom en may re sult from del i bera te exclu s i on orthe unconscious opera ti on of

s tru ctu ral vi o l en ce ,or may be the by - produ ct of dec i s i on - m a kers’i gn ora n ce of wom en’s

p a rticular needs and intere s t s .

◗ While wom en are assoc i a ted with pea ce ,the rel a ti onship of wom en with pea ce is not

a lw ays a ben eficial on e .What is “pe ace”for men may not nece s s a ri ly con s ti tute “pe ace”

for wom en .The def i n i ti on of pe ace as “not war”i gn ores the high levels of dom e s tic and

s oc i etal vi o l en ce su f fered by wom en even in times not ch a racteri zed by vi o l ent po l i ti c a l

con f l i ct or in the peri od immed i a tely fo ll owing a con f l i ct .Convers ely,wom en may ben ef i t

f rom con f l i ct : while men are at the front or otherwise absen t , wom en assume roles nor8 Women in War and Peace
m a lly re s erved for men , su ch as main provi der,h e ad of h o u s eh o l d , and other po s i ti ons of

l e adership and aut h ori ty.The retu rn of pe ace of ten spells the end of su ch opportu n i ti e s

for wom en and the re - i n s ti tuti on of a patri a rch a l ,h i era rchical repre s s i on .F i n a lly,as J.An n

Ti ck n er points out in a recent In tern a tional Studies Revi ewa rti cl e ,the assoc i a ti on of

wom en with pe ace has long been used to keep wom en out of the realm of i n tern a ti on a l

po l i tics and nati onal sec u ri ty,rei n forcing the gen der stereo type of wom en as passive not

active ,vi ctims not agen t s , and em o ti onal not ra ti on a l .

3

Cl e a rly, wom en , as mem bers of a soc i ety, stand to lose as mu ch as men from the re s ort to

vi o l en ce . However, wom en are not of ten at the cen ter of the dec i s i on to go to war, n or are

t h eir pers pectives and legi ti m a te con cerns of ten integra ted at the official level . The qu e sti on to be answered ,t h en , is what differen ce wi ll the inclu s i on of wom en and the incorpora ti on of the feminine pers pective make in the realm of con f l i ct managem en t ; what is the

va lu e - ad ded of wom en’s parti c i p a ti on ?

“ B r i n ging Women In”

Because male thinking dominates society, we lack the necessary endurance for negotiations and too easily resort to force of arms. It is therefore necessary to include women

proportionately to their share in the population in matters of international security.

—Austrian Minister for Federal Sciences Caspar Einem

Ein neuer Staat befreiter Buerger

If we accept that the inclu s i on of wom en and the feminine pers pective in the discussion

and practi ce of i n tern a ti onal affairs is a ben eficial ch a n ge ,h ow do we red ress these inequ a l i ties and manage su ch incorpora ti on? The deb a te here revo lves around the qu e s ti on

of wh et h er it is su f f i c i ent merely to “add wom en and sti r,”wh i ch entails simply inclu d i n g

gre a ter nu m bers of wom en in the dec i s i on-making proce s s , or wh et h er we must “ch a n ge

the rec i pe ,”wh i ch would requ i re the redef i n i ti on of what con s ti tutes po l i tics and the identi f i c a ti on of a l tern a tive arenas and met h ods of con du cting po l i ti c s . However, as Ben a rd

s tre s s e s ,s ome propon ents maintain that the two approaches are intri c a tely intert wi n ed :

su ccess and true ch a n ge depend upon both incre a s ed parti c i p a ti on of wom en in the dec is i on-making process and fem i n i z a ti on , or the incorpora ti on of what have been con s i dered “fem i n i n e” principles su ch as com promise and coopera ti on .

Ben a rd high l i ghts three main areas rel a ted to con f l i ct in wh i ch gre a ter parti c i p a ti on by

wom en makes significant con tri buti on s :

◗ Conflict preven ti on : The ten dency to focus on how wom en are affected by war ign ore s

the role that wom en play in helping to prevent the outbreak of vi o l ent po l i tical con f l i ct .If

we accept the assu m pti on that wom en are more pe ace - ori en ted and incl i n ed tow a rd

gre a ter com mu n i c a ti on and coopera ti on ,i n c re a s ed parti c i p a ti on of wom en in the po l i tical realm should have po s i tive ,pe aceful ef fect s . Con com i t a n t ly, as gre a ter levels of pe ace

a re ach i eved , opportu n i ties for wom en should ex p a n d .

◗ Pea ce nego ti a ti ons or conflict med i a ti on : Wom en’s intere s t s , ri gh t s , and specific pri ori ti e s

a re ra rely given even to ken atten ti on du ring formal pe ace nego ti a ti on s ; the absen ce of

Women in War and Peace 9
wom en at the nego ti a ting table en su res that the status quo vi s - à - vis wom en wi ll con ti nu e .

The on ly way to en su re that wom en’s voi ces are heard by the men around the table is to

give wom en their earn ed places at that tabl e .

◗ Po s tconflict recon s tru c ti on :At issue here is the role of wom en in the po s t a greem en t

ph a s e ,s pec i f i c a lly in the areas of recon s tru cti on and econ omic devel opm en t .Wom en’s

con tri buti ons to the econ omy,as well as their roles in re s o u rce distri buti on and as econ omic and social agen t s , must be given due wei gh t .

On the more theoretical side ,t h ere are def i n i ti onal ob s t acles to the incorpora ti on of

wom en’s thinking and pers pectives on the issues of w a r, pe ace , and sec u ri ty. Defining sec u ri ty in militari s tic terms serves to exclu de wom en’s pers pectives and con cern s . Recen t

ch a n ges in the role of the military to inclu de po s t w a rf a re rebuilding and pe acebu i l d i n g

s eem to argue that an ex p a n ded con cepti on is gaining recogn i ti on .

4

However, the trad i ti on a l ,n a rrow militari s tic def i n i ti on of s ec u ri ty has implicati ons for

wom en on two level s .F i rs t , as war has of ten been ju s ti f i ed as nece s s a ry to pro tect a nati on’s “ wom en and ch i l d ren ,” wom en have been cast as the obj ect of n a ti onal sec u ri ty.According to Ti ck n er, wh en “def i n ed as those wh om the state and its men are pro tecti n g,

wom en have had little con trol over the con d i ti ons of t h eir pro tecti on .”5 Secon d , this def in i ti on , while excluding wom en as po l i tical actors ,s i mu l t a n eo u s ly ign ores a major source

of i n s ec u ri ty for wom en ,n a m ely stru ctu ral vi o l en ce :

6 “the con s tru cti on of s ec u ri ty in mili t a ry terms — unders tood as direct vi o l en ce — of ten masks the sys temic insec u ri ty of i nd i rect or s tru ctu ral vi ol en ce. . . . S tru ctu ral vi o l en ce espec i a lly affects the lives of wom en

and other su bord i n a ted gro u p s . Wh en we ign ore this fact we ign ore the sec u ri ty of t h e

m a j ori ty of the planet’s occ u p a n t s .”7

Feminist altern a tives to trad i ti onal def i n i ti ons of s ec u ri ty, on the other hand, would assume the interrel a tedness of a ll forms of vi o l en ce — stru ctu ral vi o l en ce , dom e s tic vi ol en ce , etc . Th erefore , a more com preh en s ive def i n i ti on of s ec u ri ty — human sec u ri ty —

must be con s i dered and should inclu de su ch threats to sec u ri ty as poverty, envi ron m en t a l

degrad a ti on , and unequal access to sources of power, be they po l i ti c a l , econ om i c , or soc i a l .

Ul ti m a tely, it is argued that incorpora ting wom en and “fem i n i n e”ch a racteri s tics or

principles into the po l i tical proce s s , as well as redefining what is po l i ti c a l , wi ll at least make

po l i tics more ref l ective of the soc i ety with wh i ch it deals and less bi a s ed tow a rd the pers pectives and beh avi ors of on ly one segm en t . The re su l ting ben efit of wom en’s em powerm ent is the po ten tial redu cti on of vi o l ent con f l i ct and the wi ll i n gness to ex p l ore other,

m ore pe aceful means of con f l i ct preventi on ,m a n a gem en t , and set t l em en t . As stated in the

Beijing Decl a ra ti on ,“Wom en’s em powerm ent and their full parti c i p a ti on on the basis of

equ a l i ty in all sph eres of s oc i ety, i n cluding parti c i p a ti on in the dec i s i on-making proce s s

and access to power, a re fundamental for the ach i evem ent of equ a l i ty, devel opm ent and

pe ace .”8 In deed , it has been shown that wh ere gen der equ a l i ty is va lu ed and taken serio u s ly, com promise as a means of re s o lving con f l i ct also receives gre a ter con s i dera ti on .

9

1 0 Women in War and Peace
Two

Women in Conflict: Colombia, Israel and

Palestine, and Somalia

The dominant image of wom en as vi ctims of war and the rh etoric ju s ti f ying war

to pro tect the com mu n i ty ’s “ wom en and ch i l d ren” e ach work to ob s c u re the ri ch

mu l ti tu de of roles that wom en play in situ a ti ons of a rm ed con f l i ct as well as to

down p l ay the real damage war wreaks on wom en’s everyd ay live s . Recognizing the comp l ex i ty of wom en’s ex peri en ce in arm ed con f l i ct and the nu m erous ways in wh i ch everyd ay wom en re s pond to the ch a ll en ges of w a r, it is hel pful to ex p l ore the ach i evem ents of

wom en in the pursuit of pe ace , with em phasis on their roles in con f l i ct situ a ti on s .

S pec i f i c a lly, we examine the ways in wh i ch wom en are parti c u l a rly affected by and

i nvo lved in the va rious facets of vi o l ent con f l i ct and a soc i ety ’s re s ponse to that con f l i ct ,

n a m ely, the impact of vi o l ent con f l i ct on the afflicted soc i eti e s , in soc i a l , econ om i c ,a n d

po l i tical term s ; the ef fective re s ponses to con f l i ct undert a ken by wom en within the soc iety; the ch i ef i m ped i m ents that stand in the way of su ccessful ef forts to miti ga te vi o l en ce

or its ef fect s ; and recom m en d a ti ons for third party con tri buti on s , su ch as by NGOs, t h e

U. S . govern m en t , and the intern a ti onal com mu n i ty at large .

Societal Impact of Violent Conflict

Pro tracted con f l i ct rava ges soc i ety and its su pportive sys tem s .In modern warfa re ,c ivi l i a n s

a re caught in the cro s s f i re and inva ri a bly su f fer the majori ty of w a r ’s ef fect s ,m a i n ly bec a u s e

in civil warf a re situ a ti on s , the en ti re soc i ety is the arena of a rm ed con f l i ct , and disti n cti on s

bet ween combatant and non combatant are blu rred .An d , in modern tech n o l ogical warf a re ,

the soc i etal infra s tru ctu re is itsel f a target .

10 Ref u gees and intern a lly displaced pers ons are a

com m on re sult of vi o l en t , pro tracted con f l i ct . For ex a m p l e ,Ma ria Cri s tina Ca b a ll ero,a

Co l om bian journ a l i s t ,s t a tes that an avera ge of t wo families is displaced every hour in

Co l om bi a . In 1998 alon e , an esti m a ted 350,000 Co l om bians fled their homes in a de s pera te

a t tem pt to escape the figh ti n g. In this way, w a rf a re sys tem a ti c a lly sep a ra tes males from the

f a m i ly units while exerting a terrific to ll on the househ o l d .In fact , 30 percent of Co l om bi a’s

d i s p l aced households are led by wom en . Di s a bl ed and tra u m a ti zed households find it parti c u l a rly difficult to ree s t a blish “n orm a l c y.”In the Pa l e s tinian case, ref u gee camps have become insti tuti on a l i zed , perm a n ent set t l em en t s ,i n s te ad of the tem pora ry ref u ge they are

meant to be .An en ti re gen era ti on of Pa l e s tinians has known on ly the ref u gee camps; i n

most cases they are true out s i ders ,l acking the ben efits and ri ghts of c i ti zenship and of ten

su f fering the re s en tm ent and animosity of t h eir relu ctant hosts.

The instabi l i ty, i n s ec u ri ty, and infra s tru ctu ral damage re su l ting from pro l on ged conf l i ct undermine the econ omy of a f f l i cted co u n tri e s . The Somali econ omy has been deva st a ted by the pro tracted civil war ra ging there ; famine and loss of h omes are com m on .

Co l om bia is locked in a vicious cycle of econ omic hardship and con f l i ct .L ack of eco- 1 1
n omic opportu n i ti e s ,h i gh inflati on , and el eva ted levels of u n em p l oym ent drive the poor

to hire them s elves out to the on ly groups hiring — the guerri llas and drug lord s . Con f l i ct ,

and an uncertain econ omic futu re , also scares aw ay inve s tors and prom pts those with means

and mon ey to flee the co u n try, re su l ting in the twin maladies of brain drain and capital

f l i gh t ,whose nega tive ef fects linger long after the end of active figh ti n g. Con d i ti ons of

gre a ter econ omic stress furt h er limit the ex ten s i on and ex p a n s i on of opportu n i ties for

wom en sep a ra ted from the establ i s h ed infra s tru ctu re ,c re a ting a furt h er split of wom en into

the privi l eged and the ostrac i zed . Su ch a cyclical situ a ti on ex acerb a tes con f l i ct bet ween those

who are plu gged in to the sys tem (the “ i n - gro u p”) and those who are not (the “o ut - gro u p” ) .

Perhaps even more significant is the devel opm ent of a cultu re of vi o l en ce and the

bre a k down or dem ora l i z a ti on of c ivil soc i ety within pop u l a ti ons su f fering lon g - term and

i n tense levels of con f l i ct .According to Hibaaq Osman, a Wa s h i n g ton - b a s ed Somali res e a rch er and activi s t , the citi zen ry becomes dem ora l i zed ,l ack of trust is perva s ive , and ulti m a tely vi o l en ce becomes a way of l i fe . The de s tru cti on of the nati onal edu c a ti on a l

s ys tem and the disru pti on of s t a ble familial stru ctu res leaves the next gen era ti on of l e adership unprep a red for their ro l e s . Even more cri tical is the ef fect of su s t a i n ed con f l i ct on

f ra gile dem oc ra tic insti tuti ons and the threat of con f l i ct spill over and regi onal de s t a bi l i z ati on . The ef fects of su ch spill over are most vivi dly dem on s tra ted in the Balkans and su b -

Sa h a ran Af ri c a .

E ffe c t i ve Responses: Wh at A re Women Doing? 

Far from solely being the vi ctims of the deva s t a ti on wre a ked by war, wom en in affected

s oc i eties are assuming leadership roles and actively ad d ressing the con s equ en ces and

causes of pro tracted , vi o l ent con f l i ct . Th ey are devel oping mechanisms to all evi a te the su ffering of t h eir families, t h eir nei gh bors , and their soc i eti e s .Wom en are working on all level s ,f rom local to nati on a l , and in some cases even intern a ti on a l , to increase po l i ti c a l

p a rti c i p a ti on and ad d ress the needs of t h eir con f l i ct - torn com mu n i ti e s . Wom en’s res ponses take nu m erous form s ,i n cluding gra s s roots or ga n i z i n g, c ro s s - com mu n i ty coa l iti on bu i l d i n g, and stepping forw a rd as role models and interm ed i a ri e s .

G iven wom en’s rel a tive lack of pre s en ce in the formal po l i tical realm of m a ny con f l i ct -

torn nati on s , gra s s roots ef forts are of ten one of the main out l ets of wom en’s pe ace activi s m .It has been asserted that con f l i ct can on ly be tru ly re s o lved thro u gh a gra s s roo t s ,

bo t tom-up approach .The people whose everyd ay lives are affected by con f l i ct and the

mutual animosity and con f l i cting goals that drive it must be the ones who dec i de “en o u gh

is en o u gh”and re s o lve to put an end to the figh ti n g.An ancill a ry bel i ef is that pe ace cannot be impo s ed from above ; it is the com m on people who be s tow legi ti m acy on the aut h ori ties waging war, and it is the com m on people who must wi t h d raw their su pport for

con ti nu ed vi o l en ce .O f f i c i a l - l evel ,“track on e”pe ace talks of ten fail because they undere s tim a te the natu re of the con f l i ct as well as the depth of the cri s i s . Si m ona Sharon i , a sch o l a r

of Is raeli ori gin now living in the Un i ted State s , has wri t ten ex ten s ively on gen der and

Mi d dle East po l i tics and con tends that track one nego ti a ti ons also assume sym m etri c a l

power rel a ti on s h i p s , wh i ch ra rely exist in any real con f l i ct situ a ti on ;i nva ri a bly one side is

s tron ger or bet ter re s o u rced than the other ( s ) , giving the “top dog”little incen tive to compromise in formal talks. Formal pe ace nego ti a ti ons are also insu f f i c i en t ly repre s en t a tive ,

1 2 Women in Conflict
ra rely including del ega tes repre s en ting the particular interests of wom en and other margi n a l i zed groups at the nego ti a ting tabl e .

1 1

It is prec i s ely those wom en who are exclu ded from formal ef forts at con f l i ct re s o luti on

who are at the foref ront of gra s s roo t s - l evel or ga n i z a ti ons tackling the probl ems caused by

pro l on ged vi o l ent con f l i ct .As V. S p i ke Peters on and Anne Si s s on Ru nyan state ,“ [ b ] o t h

wom en’s activism in non govern m ental or ga n i z a ti ons and their trad i ti onal roles in su s t a i ning families and com mu n i ties uniqu ely po s i ti on them to mobi l i ze people at the gra s s - roo t s

l evel and to devise altern a tive net works for food , cl o t h i n g, s h el ter, and health servi ce s .”1 2

◗ Osman tells us abo ut a pro l i fera ti on of wom en’s non govern m ental or ga n i z a ti ons in

Somalia ad d ressing the issues of m i gra ti on and displacem en t , as well as cre a ti n g

avenues for pe ace . The brunt of that civil war has fall en on wom en who are lef t

behind to deal with the con s equ en ces of w a r. Realizing that they are now the caregivers , wom en , en er gi zed and given strength thro u gh the recogn i ti on of t h eir shared

ex peri en ce ,h ave mobi l i zed and taken the initi a tive to begin re s toring de s troyed

s ch oo l s ,e s t a blishing clean water source s , and opening an interclan dialogue on

pe ace . These wom en understand that to su rvive they must work toget h er, that pe ace

does not come unless everyone re s pects others . Tow a rd that en d , Somali wom en

en ga ged in su ch gra s s roots ef forts have met in va rious venues since 1993 to discuss a

s h a red lon g - term vi s i on for Somali soc i ety, i n cluding the issues of i n terclan commu n i c a ti on and the establ i s h m ent of a nati onal con s ti tuti on .

◗ Ca b a ll ero gives examples from Co l om bi a , wh ere gra s s roots or ga n i z a ti ons led by

wom en are pro te s ting and or ganizing for a pe aceful re s o luti on to the co u n try ’s fo u rdec ade - l ong civil war. In d i genous wom en have come toget h er to speak out aga i n s t

the vi o l en ce that is taking su ch a to ll in their com mu n i ti e s ,c a u ght in the cro s s f i re of

battles bet ween Ma rxist guerri ll a s , ri gh t - wing para m i l i t a ry death squ ad s ,d rug tra ff i ckers , and the Co l om bian govern m en t . The Co l om bia Human Ri ghts Net work is

h o s ting a tour of s everal U. S .c i ties under the title “Civilians under Fire in Co l om bi a :

The Crisis of In d i genous Com mu n i ti e s ,” fe a tu ring as spe a ker a prom i n ent wom a n

l e ader of the indigenous com mu n i ti e s .

◗ In the Mi d dle East, S h a roni speaks of wom en who have joi n ed toget h er in wom en’s

coopera tives to provi de servi ces su ch as day care cen ters and wom en - run re s t a ura n t s , as well as other cri tical social servi ces that are of ten the first vi ctims of t h e

d ivers i on of funding wh en social spending is cut and the nati onal cof fers are em pti ed to su pport the war ef fort . Im m ed i a tely fo ll owing the eru pti on of the Pa l e s ti n i a n

In ti f ada in Decem ber 1987, groups of m a i n ly Jewish wom en in Jeru s a l em , Tel Aviv,

and el s ewh ere in Is rael began dem on s tra ting against Is raeli occ u p a ti on of the We s t

Bank and Gaza. E ach Fri d ay, these “Wom en in Bl ack” s tood on the busiest inters ecti on of t h eir re s pective cities at the hei ght of the lu n ch - time rush hour, d re s s ed in

the bl ack of m o u rning and carrying signs that re ad “S top the Occ u p a ti on ,”1 3 oppo sing the oppre s s i on of Pa l e s ti n i a n s , and drawing atten ti on to the “con comitant mora l

corru pti on of Is raeli soc i ety.”1 4 Th ere are also a nu m ber of wom en - l ed cro s s - commu n i ty ef forts under way to cre a te opportu n i ties for cultu ral exch a n ge and gra s sroo t s - l evel con f l i ct re s o luti on : The Bri d ge : Jewish and Arab Wom en for Pe ace in the

Women in Conflict 1 3
Mi d dle East; Nisan Young Wom en Le aders (devel oping leadership po ten tial amon g

Jewish and Arab Is raeli young wom en ) ; The Jeru s a l em Link (wh i ch con n ects two

wom en’s or ga n i z a ti on s , the Pa l e s tinian or ga n i z a ti on The Jeru s a l em Cen ter for

Wom en and the Is raeli group Bat Shalom ) ; and Denver- b a s ed Building Bri d ges for

Pe ace (bri n ging toget h er Jewish and Arab Is raeli young wom en along with Denvera rea high sch oo l ers for training in leadership and con f l i ct re s o luti on ) .

1 5

However, the fra gile ef forts under way in con f l i ct - torn areas need su pport from other intern a ti onal and non govern m ental or ga n i z a ti ons to stren g t h en advoc acy for human ri gh t s ,

wom en’s ri gh t s , dem oc rac y, equ i t a ble econ omic devel opm en t , con f l i ct re s o luti on and recon c i l i a ti on , and po s tcon f l i ct recon s tru cti on .

An o t h er important way that wom en are or ganizing for pe ace is in the con s tru cti on of

c ro s s - com mu n i ty all i a n ces (for ex a m p l e , devel oping stra tegic partn erships and net work s

with wom en on the “o t h er side”of the con f l i ct divi de ) . This gra s s roots approach to conf l i ct re s o luti on , of ten ex pre s s ed by the popular image of “ wom en building bri d ge s ,” wh i l e

c rucial to the pe ace ef forts in many con f l i ct are a s , has both strong su pporters and veh em ent oppon en t s . The rel eva n ce of c ro s s - com mu n i ty all i a n ces to re s o lving con f l i cts is often situ a ti on spec i f i c . For ex a m p l e , in Som a l i a , Osman con tends that the su ccess of

wom en’s groups in ad d ressing issues su ch as internal displacem ent and migra ti on , provi ding clean water, and edu c a ting the ch i l d ren depen ded in large measu re on the abi l i ty of

Somali wom en to overl ook the clan affiliati on of the other wom en with wh om they were

work i n g. In recogn i ti on of the nece s s i ty of working toget h er on a com m on cause,s eventeen NGOs, con s ti tuted and led mainly by Somali wom en , form ed an umbrella or ga n i z ati on to coord i n a te their ef forts at pe acebu i l d i n g, to talk abo ut the needs of t h ei r

com mu n i ti e s ,to exch a n ge inform a ti on , and to establish a dialogue of pe ace . However,

these cro s s - com mu n i ty all i a n ces were not limited to wom en - to - wom en exch a n ge s ;t h e

wom en re a l i zed that they must cre a te stra tegic all i a n ces with other sectors of s oc i ety as

well , su ch as rel i gious leaders , the business com mu n i ty, and the military, to talk abo ut and

m a ke progress in practical matters of everyd ay su rviva l .

Th ere are ,h owever, probl ems assoc i a ted with wom en’s cro s s - com mu n i ty all i a n ces that

l e ad some to take a more cautious stance tow a rd su ch ef forts and to qu e s ti on their ben ef i t s .

S h a roni cri ti c i zes wom en’s cro s s - com mu n i ty all i a n ce s ,con cluding that advoc a tes of su ch all i a n ces tend to ign ore asym m etrical power rel a ti on s h i p s , wh i ch are likely pre s ent in the conf l i ct itsel f and thus ref l ected in most cro s s - com mu n i ty rel a ti on s . The on lyway to su s t a i n

c ro s s - com mu n i ty all i a n ces is for both (or all) sides to have a cl e a rly formu l a ted po l i tical pers pective and a shared vi s i on for po s tcon f l i ct soc i ety, a ra ri ty in any con f l i ct - torn soc i ety.

Fu rt h erm ore , the fact that many intern a ti onal aid pack a ges for wom en’s initi a tive s

h i n ge on the requ i rem ent that the wom en be en ga ged in or devel op cro s s - com mu n i ty all i a n ces cre a tes furt h er com p l i c a ti on s . Some see the idea of c ro s s - com mu n i ty all i a n ces as a

We s tern model .S h a roni maintains that wom en en ga ged in pe ace work within their commu n i ties are suspicious of o ut s i ders telling them that they must cre a te all i a n ces bec a u s e

(a) many of t h em are alre ady en ga ged in all i a n ce - bu i l d i n g ;(b) it is dangerous for som e

wom en to admit that they are invo lved in su ch activi ty, wh i ch may be seen as “tra i toro u s” ;

and (c) it may be prem a tu re to cre a te all i a n ces or do cro s s - com mu n i ty work , as su ch efforts requ i re a great deal of gro u n dwork to be su cce s s f u l .

1 4 Women in Conflict
However, it is not on ly within groups that wom en ad d ress the issues of war and pe ace .

Th ere are a nu m ber of examples of i n d ivi dual wom en , of ten from prom i n ent families,

who risk their pers onal safety to adva n ce the cause of pe ace , wh et h er acting as role model s

for other wom en activists or as interm ed i a ries bet ween con f l i cting parti e s . Perhaps som e

of the most striking instances of i n d ivi dual wom en taking public stands against vi o l en t

con f l i ct — of wom en in the foref ront of pe ace movem en t s — a re found in civil war–torn

Co l om bi a . Ca b a ll ero of fers the fo ll owing ex a m p l e s :Ana Teresa Bern a l ,h e ad of Redep a z

(The Na ti onal Net work In i ti a tive Against the War and for Pe ace ) , an umbrella or ga n i z ati on that coord i n a ted the first nati onal vo te for pe ace , wh i ch bro u ght 10 mill i on Co l ombians to the po ll s ,c a ll ed on the forces in con f l i ct to halt the cycle of reven ge .G l ori a

Cu a rt a s , as mayor of the city of Ap a rt adó in one of the most con f l i ct - torn regi ons of

Co l om bi a , was a very vocal cri tic of the Co l om bian govern m en t’s handling of the con f l i ct

and accepted the ch a ll en ge to act as a bri d ge bet ween forces in con f l i ct . She is now working for UNESCO, prom o ting an intern a ti onal assoc i a ti on of wom en working tow a rd

pe ace call ed Ca rtogra phy of Hope . Sen a tor Pied ad Córdob a , pre s i dent of the Sen a te Human Ri ghts Com m i s s i on of Co l om bi a , is working to improve the human ri ghts situ a ti on

bet ween all facti ons and helping to win the release of k i d n a pped citi zen s . Her ef forts and

prom i n en ce re su l ted in her abdu cti on on May 21, 1 9 9 9 , in Medellín by guerri lla leader

Ca rlos Ca s t a ñ o, who wi s h ed to use her as co u ri er for a message of pe ace .

Impediments to Wo m e n ’s Org a n i z i n g

Wom en’s or ganizing is affected by a va ri ety of f actors ,i n cluding cultu ral con s tra i n t s , econ omic hard s h i p s ,l ack of edu c a ti onal opportu n i ti e s , and on - t h e - ground po l i tical re a l i ti e s .

The ph rase “ wh ere you stand depends on wh ere you sit”is appropri a te in this case, as the

opportu n i ties for and con s traints on wom en’s or ganizing for pe ace va ry wi dely from the

con text of the We s tern world to the so-call ed Th i rd Worl d .This secti on points to some of

the more tangi ble ob s t acles faced by wom en or ganizing for pe ace .

Wom en’s or ganizing in con f l i ct areas is of ten com p l i c a ted by a nu m ber of i m ped i m en t s .

For many of these wom en ,p a rti c u l a rly in devel oping co u n tri e s ,l ack of edu c a ti on ,on bo t h

the formal and informal level s , prevents them from en ga ging in con s tru ctive devel opm en t .

An inabi l i ty to speak Engl i s h ,the language of m a ny intern a ti onal aid groups and NGOs, a s

well as a lack of ex peri en ce and tra i n i n g, f u rt h er handicaps the attem pt to net work and est a blish intern a ti onal con t act s . A lack of re s o u rces limits wom en’s abi l i ty to or ga n i ze and network ;t h ey are of ten re s tri cted from or are unable to travel out s i de their own co u n try to

advertise their cause. In f ra s tru ctu ral damage caused by the con f l i ct , su ch as the de s tru cti on

of tra n s port a ti on ro utes and com mu n i c a ti ons sys tem s , con tri butes to this inabi l i ty as well .

For som e , as Hibaaq Osman points out ,t h eir regi on’s lack of s tra tegic import a n ce for the

West limits the ava i l a bi l i ty of aid funds for po s tcon f l i ct recon s tru cti on and devel opm en t . In

ad d i ti on , de s p i te the fact that wom en and ch i l d ren con s ti tute the vast majori ty ofref u gee s

and non combatants affected by the con f l i ct , wom en con ti nue to be exclu ded from the po l i tical process and from dec i s i on making abo ut con f l i ct re s o luti on and recon s tru cti on .

Wom en remain margi n a l i zed , and some argue that the main don or co u n tries do not see

wom en’s or ga n i z a ti ons as important pri ori ti e s .F i n a lly, i n d i genous or ga n i z a ti ons in many of

the areas in con f l i ct ,while increasing in nu m bers ,l ack ex peri en ce ,s oph i s ti c a ti on ,s tren g t h ,

and funding.

Women in Conflict 1 5
Th re e

Actions to Empower Wo m e n ’s Move m e n t s

Am b a s s ador Nancy Ru bi n , the U. S . repre s en t a tive to the Un i ted Na ti on s

Com m i s s i on on Human Ri ghts in Gen eva ,s peaks to the roles of va ri o u s

actors , and spec i f i c a lly the intern a ti onal com mu n i ty, in recognizing and

em powering wom en’s movem ents ac ross the gl obe . Th o u gh mu ch progress has been

m ade in the 1990s by the U. S . govern m en t ,N G O s , and the UN sys tem ,t h ere are a nu mber of su gge s ted areas for improved re s pon s iveness by con cern ed actors . In deed , it is on ly

within the latter half of this dec ade that the intern a ti onal com mu n i ty has begun to recogn i ze the su b s t a n tial con tri buti ons of wom en to ef forts in pe acebuilding and con f l i ct

re s o luti on . As late as the 1993 World Con feren ce on Human Ri gh t s , the intern a ti on a l

com mu n i ty, bom b a rded daily with accounts of s ys tem a tic ra pe and sexual tortu re used

as tools of war in the civil war rava ging Yu go s l avi a , con s i dered wom en solely as vi ctims of

a rm ed con f l i ct , as bys t a n ders to and casu a l ties of a men’s dra m a .

However, the Fo u rth World Con feren ce on Wom en , h eld in Beijing in 1995, m a rked a

shift in this thinking wh en the intern a ti onal com mu n i ty began to discuss the role of

wom en in cre a ting and sustaining a “c u l tu re of pe ace .”While sti ll recognizing the con ti nu ed need to ad d ress sexual crimes and other vi o l a ti ons of wom en’s human ri gh t s ,t h e

Fo u rth World Con feren ce on Wom en also put forw a rd the idea that wom en’s invo lvem ent is a nece s s i ty in the preven ti on and re s o luti on of con f l i cts as well as the prom o ti on

of pe ace and sec u ri ty.

Tod ay, Ru bin note s ,t h ere is a pro l i fera ti on of wom en’s or ga n i z a ti on s , not on ly loc a l

gra s s roots movem en t s , but also nati onal and intern a ti onal or ga n i z a ti ons that are well orga n i zed and inclu s ive of a wi de ra n ge of wom en’s interests and need s . The gl obal wom en’s

m ovem ent has made mu ch progress in linking issues of devel opm en t ,the envi ron m en t ,

and human ri ghts with standards of p a rti c i p a ti on , tra n s p a ren c y, and acco u n t a bi l i ty in dec i s i on making. However, its role in con f l i ct re s o luti on and pe acebuilding is not as far adva n ced .

Th ere is mu ch that NGOs, the U. S . govern m en t , and the Un i ted Na ti ons may do to enco u ra ge and assist wom en’s movem ents and or ga n i z a ti ons in devel oping their role in conf l i ct re s o luti on and po s tcon f l i ct recon s tru cti on and pe acebuilding activi ti e s .

N o n g overnmental Org a n i z ations A c t i o n

NGOs mu s t :

◗ build partn erships and co ll a bora te with other NGOs

◗ en co u ra ge sectoral ex pertise and funding

◗ recogn i ze the need for high - tech skills and equ i pm en t

1 6 ◗ l obby for po l i tical invo lvem en t
U. S. Government A c t i o n

The U. S . govern m ent has con tri buted to recognizing and en co u ra ging wom en’s invo lvem ent thro u gh programs of the Agency for In tern a ti onal Devel opm ent and the U. S . In form a ti on Agen c y, su ch as su pporting the Rwandan Wom en’s In i ti a tive and con tri buting to

the Bosnian Wom en’s In i ti a tive (thro u gh funding con tri buti ons to the UN Hi gh Comm i s s i on er for Ref u gee s ) , Ru bin says . The key to these programs is the em phasis on integra ting wom en into the po l i tical and econ omic lives of t h eir com mu n i ti e s , en co u ra gi n g

wom en to seek and hold ri ghts they have never before en j oyed .

In d ivi dual wom en within the U. S . govern m ent have also been instru m ental in prom o ting wom en’s human ri ghts and incre a s ed wom en’s invo lvem ent in po l i tical and econ om i c

m a t ters .F i rst Lady Hi ll a ry Cl i n ton , Sec ret a ry of S t a te Madel eine Al bri gh t , and Th ere s a

Loa r, d i rector of the Pre s i den t’s In tera gency Council on Wom en and the U. S .S t a te Dep a rtm en t’s Special Coord i n a tor for In tern a ti onal Wom en’s Issu e s ,a re ex a m p l e s . Toget h er

t h ey have introdu ced Vital Voi ces for Dem oc rac y, a program that en co u ra ges wom en’s

p a rti c i p a ti on in dem oc ra ti z a ti on , wh i ch had its ori gins in ef forts initi a ted by Am b a s s ador

Sw a n ee Hunt while serving as U. S . envoy to Au s tri a . Th ey have also fo s tered partn ers h i p s

a m ong govern m en t ,n on govern m ental or ga n i z a ti on s , and the priva te sector to su pport

the full parti c i p a ti on of wom en in the econ om i c ,s oc i a l , and po l i tical progress of t h ei r

co u n tri e s .

United Nations A c t i o n

The Un i ted Na ti ons has made con s i dera ble progress on wom en’s ri ghts and invo lvem en t .

Ru bin con ten d s ,h owever, that the Un i ted Na ti ons must go furt h er than simply en co u ra ging nati ons to integra te wom en into dec i s i on making and pe acem a k i n g, and must itsel f

act as an example by en ga ging wom en more fully in its own pe acemaking ef fort s . Su gge sti ons for acti ons by the Sec u ri ty Council to improve wom en’s pro tecti on in arm ed con f l i ct

and en su re wom en’s invo lvem ent in prom o ting pe ace ,i m p l em en ting pe ace agreem en t s ,

and re s o lving con f l i cts inclu de the fo ll owi n g :

◗ Ca ll on all parties to arm ed con f l i ct to pro tect wom en and gi rls from sexual vi ol en ce .

◗ Ca ll for the establ i s h m ent of reporting sys tems for sexual abu s e s ; provi de re s o u rce s

for mon i toring and en forcing mech a n i s m s .

◗ Ur ge pe ace keeping opera ti ons to focus on gen der- b a s ed vi o l en ce and wom en’s

human ri gh t s .

◗ S tren g t h en the legal pro tecti on of wom en and gi rl s ; u r ge com p l i a n ce with intern ati onal hu m a n i t a rian and human ri ghts standard s .

◗ Ca ll upon mem ber states to establish measu res to ad d ress non com p l i a n ce .

◗ S tren g t h en early warning sys tem s .

◗ Ca ll for the inclu s i on of pe acebuilding el em ents in the con s o l i d a ti on of pe ace agreem ents and in the mandates of pe ace keeping opera ti on s .

Actions to Empower Women’s Movements 1 7
However, it is important to note that progress and the su ccessful implem en t a ti on of a ll

these su gge s ti ons requ i res po l i tical wi ll and advoc acy by wom en’s gra s s roots or ga n i z ati on s . The focus of a t ten ti on must also inclu de stra tegies to prevent social unraveling by

ad d ressing the root causes of con f l i ct to militate against the outbreak of m ore vi o l ent conf l i ct . Ru bin maintains that nothing is more fundamental to pe ace than the full re a l i z a ti on

of the Un iversal Decl a ra ti on of Human Ri gh t s ;war can be avoi ded on ly thro u gh the re a ff i rm a ti on of f u n d a m ental human ri gh t s , the establ i s h m ent of con d i ti ons for ju s ti ce ,a n d

the prom o ti on of s ocial progress and su s t a i n a ble devel opm en t .

Th o u gh progress is slow, the intern a ti onal com mu n i ty is beginning to recogn i ze the

i m port a n ce of wom en and gra s s roots or ga n i z a ti ons in pe acebuilding and con f l i ct re s o luti on . The Un i ted Na ti ons is taking steps to guara n tee the status of wom en and en force

wom en’s human ri gh t s ,t h ro u gh , for ex a m p l e , the ef forts of the UN Special Ra pporteu rs

on Vi o l en ce Against Wom en ,the incorpora ti on of ra pe as a war crime by the In tern ati onal Criminal Tri bu n a l s , and the work of the World Food Program and UNICEF. Th e

w ay forw a rd is perhaps best high l i gh ted by the UN Com m i s s i on on the Status of Wom en ,

wh i ch in 1998 re ach ed con s en sus on en co u ra ging wom en to app ly for judicial and pro s ec utorial po s i ti ons on intern a ti onal bod i e s ; recom m ending that more wom en be appoi n ted as special repre s en t a tives in con f l i ct re s o luti on ; i n c reasing the parti c i p a ti on of

wom en in pe ace keeping opera ti on s ; and training intern a ti onal pe ace keeping forces on

human ri ghts and gen der sen s i tivi ty.

R e c o m m e n d ations for Th i rd Party Contributions

As con f l i ct progre s s e s , a divi s i on devel ops bet ween men and wom en within a com mu n i ty:

m en become preocc u p i ed with military or stra tegic issues while wom en are of ten left to

deal with the issues of su b s i s ten ce and day - to - d ay su rviva l . Pe acebuilding requ i res a foc u s

on su b s i s ten ce issu e s , wh ere wom en in con f l i ct zones have , of n ece s s i ty, acqu i red a parti cular ex perti s e .S h i f ting re s o u rces from stra tegic to su b s i s ten ce con cerns shifts the foc u s

f rom figh ting the war to building the pe ace , wh ere the con tri buti ons of wom en are parti cu l a rly notabl e . Pa rticipants noted that wom en’s indigenous pe ace ef forts may be gre a t ly

en h a n ced by the su pport and assistance of t h i rd party actors .

It is important to ack n owl ed ge that every con f l i ct situ a ti on pre s ents a unique com bi n ati on of probl ems and com p l i c a ting factors . The invo lvem ent of t h i rd party actors , wh i l e

of ten undert a ken with the best of i n ten ti ons and with the aim of h elping to all evi a te the

con s equ en ces of con f l i ct ,m ay also serve to perpetu a te or ex acerb a te the con f l i ct . On the

o t h er hand, the su ccess of m a ny indigenous pe ace ef forts may be su b s t a n ti a lly adva n ced

by the inform ed interven ti ons of o ut s i ders . This su pport may take many form s ,i n clu d i n g

advoc ac y, f u n d i n g, or tra i n i n g. Pa n elists and participants put forw a rd many examples of

recom m en ded third party con tri buti on s . For instance , as the recon s tru cti on of c ivil soc iety is crucial to any tra n s form a ti on from con f l i ct to pe ace , Osman stresses that su pport

for insti tuti on bu i l d i n g, n et work devel opm en t ,l e adership devel opm en t , and incre a s ed invo lvem ent by wom en must be en co u ra ged . Fu rt h erm ore , the po l i ti c a l , econ om i c , and social roles of wom en must be recogn i zed and en co u ra ged thro u gh the provi s i on of

m a terial su pport for wom en’s initi a tive s .

1 8 Actions to Empower Women’s Movements
Nongovernmental Organizations Support 

NGOs could step up their advoc acy campaigns for wom en’s pe acebuilding en terpri s e s .

Osman ad ded that they could help to establish dialogue among va rious wom en’s gro u p s ,

or ga n i ze discussion forums for men and wom en to plan for a su s t a i n a ble pe ace , and provi de pe ace edu c a ti on for ch i l d ren and yo ut h . Ad d i ti on a lly, i n tern a ti onal NGOs could assist by providing training and guidance for indigenous or ga n i z a ti on s .

U. S. Government Support

Activists su ggest specific roles or con tri buti ons of the U. S . govern m en t ,N G O s , and the intern a ti onal com mu n i ty that would help to prom o te and su pport wom en’s activism in

zones of con f l i ct . For instance ,s ome participants su gge s ted that the U. S . govern m en t

could con ti nue to prom o te wom en’s po l i tical activism and econ omic su ccess thro u gh

su ch programs as the Vital Voi ces of Dem oc racy initi a tive . The U. S . govern m ent co u l d

also provi de funding for wom en’s initi a tives thro u gh the Agency for In tern a ti onal Developm en t ,p a rti c u l a rly initi a tives that su pport insti tuti on building and prom o te net work

form a ti on .

International Community Support

The intern a ti onal com mu n i ty could not on ly of fer su pport for internal reform s , but also

assist this process by cre a ting work s h ops to share ex pertise on human ri gh t s , dem oc rac y,

and the ex ten s i on of c redit to wom en . Pa n elists su gge s ted that the intern a ti onal com mun i ty could also provi de guidance on advancing pe ace processes by sharing lessons learn ed

f rom the su ccesses or failu res of previous pe ace proce s s e s . Th ro u gh all of t h i s , it is important to keep in mind that the goal is to en a ble wom en to build their own sel f - su f f i c i en c y

and capac i ty for recon s tru cti on , not just to provi de hando ut s .

Actions to Empower Women’s Movements 1 9
Fo u r

Women in Peace: South Africa, Lat i n

America, and Northern Ire l a n d

While discussing the con tri buti ons of t h i rd party actors to the em powerm ent and pro tecti on of wom en in con f l i ct zon e s , it is impera tive that we

keep in mind the fact that these wom en are them s elves taking the initi ative to rebuild their shattered soc i eties and improve their own qu a l i ty of l i fe in the po s tcon f l i ct peri od . Th ey are taking the nece s s a ry steps to deal with the phys i c a l ,

p s ych o l ogi c a l , and po l i tical con s equ en ces of pro tracted vi o l ent con f l i ct .

Vi o l ent con f l i ct deva s t a tes physical infra s tru ctu re , but pro tracted con f l i ct also cre a te s

c u l tu res of vi o l en ce and leaves en du ring legacies of h a tred ,a n i m o s i ty, and co ll ective distru s t .This cultu re of vi o l en ce and distrust of ten poses a significant barri er to the re s o luti on of the con f l i ct , preven ting con s tru ctive dialogue and the re s tora ti on of pe ace wi t h

ju s ti ce . Formal nego ti a ti ons for pe ace at the level of h i gh po l i tics of ten discount or even

i gn ore these legac i e s , wh i ch are difficult to ad d ress and overcom e , and focus inste ad on

the re s tora ti on of po l i tical order and the impo s i ti on of a pe ace that is “not war.”The pe ace

that is “not war,”h owever, does not red ress the unequal power rel a ti onships that are of ten

the cause of vi o l ent con f l i ct ,n or does it con s ti tute a true pe ace for many margi n a l i zed

groups that are su bj ected to dom e s ti c ,s oc i a l , or stru ctu ral vi o l en ce even in times of “n o t

w a r.” True pe ace cannot be impo s ed from above , but must be bu i l t , nu rtu red , and su st a i n ed from the bo t tom up. Mu ch of this difficult work of building pe ace is carri ed out at

the com mu n i ty level by gra s s roots or ga n i z a ti ons and wom en’s or ga n i z a ti on s , or ga n i z ati ons that repre s ent those very sectors of s oc i ety that are gen era lly exclu ded from parti c ip a ti on at the formal nego ti a ting tabl e .

The examples discussed here provi de insights into three very different approaches to

pe acebuilding in com mu n i ties that are em er ging from long peri ods of pro tracted con f l i ct .

The story of So uth Af rica ex p l ores the attem pt to break the cycles of vi o l en ce thro u gh the

process of for giveness and interpers onal recon c i l i a ti on (that is, recon c i l i a ti on ach i eved at

the indivi dual level ) . The example of L a tin Am erica examines the stru ggle of pe ace movem en t s , su ch as the Mo t h ers of the Plaza de Mayo, to tra n s i ti on from human ri ghts prote s tersto po s tcon f l i ct pe acebu i l ders .F i n a lly, the ex peri en ce of the Nort h ern Irel a n d

Wom en’s Coa l i ti on of fers a ra re opportu n i ty to eva lu a te the su ccess of wom en in ga i n i n g

a place at the formal nego ti a ti on s , in finding an “of f i c i a l ”voi ce in the recon s tru cti on and

recon c i l i a ti on proce s s .

South Africa: Interpersonal Reconciliat i o n

So uth Af ri c a’s Truth and Recon c i l i a ti on Com m i s s i on was establ i s h ed , with the assu m pti on that full discl o su re would help to re s tore pe ace and ju s ti ce , to inve s ti ga te atroc i ti e s

2 0 com m i t ted by both sides of that co u n try ’s stru ggle over the racist policy of a p a rt h ei d .
However, far from ach i eving the goal of “n a ti onal healing,”Pumla Gobodo - Mad i k i zel a

tells us, the discl o su res that em er ged served to wi den the gulf bet ween truth and recon c i l ia ti on .G obodo - Mad i k i zel a , a form er mem ber of the com m i s s i on’s Human Ri ghts Vi o l ati ons Com m i t tee and a re s e a rch er on issues of rem orse and interpers onal recon c i l i a ti on ,

of fers insights into pe acebuilding from her ex peri en ce and intervi ews with both vi cti m s

and perpetra tors of a p a rt h ei d - era atroc i ti e s . She rel a tes that at the nati onal and publ i c

l evel , recon c i l i a ti on became more and more elu s ive as the truth abo ut apart h eid brut a l i ty

became known . But at the indivi dual level , the Truth and Recon c i l i a ti on Com m i s s i on

s erved as a means to bring abo ut a very different and very important ach i evem en t ,

n a m ely, i n terpers onal recon c i l i a ti on bet ween indivi dual vi ctims and perpetra tors . Su ch

i n terpers onal en co u n ters bet ween vi ctims and perpetra tors of fer important lessons on

h ow to build pe ace in po s tcon f l i ct com mu n i ti e s ;t h ey high l i ght the import a n ce of genu i n e

a po l ogy and the ack n owl ed gm ent of wron gdoing in the process of for giveness and

ach i eving pe ace .

De s p i te an ef fort on beh a l f of the or ga n i zers of the Truth and Recon c i l i a ti on Com m i ss i on to inclu de adequ a te gen der repre s en t a ti on among com m i s s i on ers ,

16 wom en’s rel ati onship with the Truth and Recon c i l i a ti on Com m i s s i on has not been wi t h o ut

com p l i c a ti on .As stated in the Final Report of the Com m i s s i on , the Cen tre for App l i ed Legal Studies (CALS) at the Un ivers i ty of Wi t w a ters rand conven ed a seminar en ti t l ed “G ender and the Truth and Recon c i l i a ti on Com m i s s i on ,” wh i ch re su l ted in a su bm i s s i on to the

com m i s s i on that “d i s c u s s ed ways in wh i ch the Com m i s s i on might be missing some of t h e

truth thro u gh a lack of s en s i tivi ty to gen der issu e s .” 17 Th ere was a gen eral con cern amon g

c ri tics that wom en were not coming forw a rd to parti c i p a te in the Truth and Recon c i l i ati on proce s s . The com m i s s i on su b s equ en t ly agreed to a proposal calling for spec i a l

wom en’s heari n gs ,wh i ch were held in Ca pe Town , Du rb a n , and Jo h a n n e s bu r g. Th e s e

wom en - on ly heari n gs were arra n ged not on ly to en co u ra ge wom en to come forw a rd , but

also to en co u ra ge them to tell their own stori e s , to speak abo ut abuses they them s elve s

h ad su f fered . Pri or to the convening of these special heari n gs ,CALS had noted that “ wh i l e

the overwh elming majori ty of wom en spo ke as rel a tives and depen dents of those (mainly

males) who had direct ly su f fered human ri ghts vi o l a ti on s , most of the men spo ke as direct

vi cti m s .”18 However, at the special heari n gs most of those who te s ti f i ed spo ke as direct

vi cti m s , rel a ting not on ly the psych o l ogi c a l , em o ti on a l , and financial pain of losing a loved

on e , but also facts abo ut their own ra pe , tortu re , and severe ill tre a tm en t . These heari n gs

bro u ght to light the parti c u l a rly gen dered ways in wh i ch wom en ex peri en ced hu m a n

ri ghts vi o l a ti ons and furt h ered the process by wh i ch the “com m i s s i on ers disti n g u i s h ed

less and less bet ween what were ori gi n a lly perceived as ‘pri m a ry ’ and ‘s econ d a ry ’ vi cti m s .”1 9

G iven the of ten gen der- bi a s ed natu re of official pe acebuilding bod i e s , wh et h er nego ti ati ons or truth com m i s s i on s , it is not su rprising that wom en of ten search out unof f i c i a l

m echanisms for con f l i ct re s o luti on and pe acebu i l d i n g. For instance ,a n o t h er sign i f i c a n t

con tri buti on of the Truth and Recon c i l i a ti on process occ u rred more along the margins of

the formal amnesty proceed i n gs and invo lved the face - to - f ace meeti n gs of vi ctims and

perpetra tors .G obodo - Mad i k i zel a’s re s e a rch has foc u s ed on the role of rem orse and forgiveness in interpers onal recon c i l i a ti on .Case studies of wom en who of fered for giveness to

Women in Peace 2 1
perpetra tors of s erious atroc i ties thro u gh the Truth and Recon c i l i a ti on Com m i s s i on

process of fer insights into the stru ggle of a nati on to break the cycles of vi o l ent con f l i ct

and rebuild social co h e s i on while esch ewing ven ge a n ce in the aftermath of pro l on ged

con f l i ct .According to Gobodo - Mad i k i zel a , at the core of this process of for giveness and

i n terpers onal recon c i l i a ti on is the con cept of h u m a n i ty,the com m on bond that links vi ctim and perpetra tor. It is the abi l i ty to em p a t h i ze with others that all ows vi ctims to for give

perpetra tors . The perpetra tor ’s of fering of a genuine ex pre s s i on of rem orse is a “rehu m a ni z a ti on”of the perpetra tor.Apo l ogy, s h owing genuine rem orse and asking for given e s s , is a

w ay of u n doing the harm and repre s ents the po ten tial for bri n ging abo ut healing. The rem ors eful perpetra tor repre s ents a tu rning of the tabl e s : n ow the vi ctim has the power, t h e

power to for give or not. Gra n ting for giveness places the vi ctim at a high er moral level ,a ll owing the vi ctim to remain “d i f feren t”f rom the perpetra tor: by for givi n g, the vi ctim give s

the perpetra tor the “s econd ch a n ce” that the perpetra tor never all owed the vi cti m .

Both perpetra tor and vi ctim are ch a n ged by this proce s s . The act of rem orse and apo logy re s tores to the perpetra tor an important part of being human and marks the perpetra tor ’s “rehu m a n i z a ti on .”It all ows the vi ctim to unbu rden hers el f of the hatred and anger

that she has carri ed for ye a rs ,f reeing her to start the process of for giveness and healing.

The vi cti m ,t h ro u gh this proce s s , is also “rehu m a n i zed .”The rem orse and apo l ogy expre s s ed by the perpetra tor serves as a re a f f i rm a ti on of the vi cti m’s hu m a n i ty; it is the

recogn i ti on of the vi ctim as a human being and the re s tora ti on of the vi cti m’s dign i ty.

G obodo - Mad i k i zela state s :

Apology and remorse are part of the experience of personalizing acts of violence committed in the past, as opposed to rationalizing, justifying, and projecting them outwards.

More importantly, remorse is recognizing the pain, and hence the humanity, of the

other. Not recognizing the other’s humanity is often at the center of atrocities. Holding

on to the denial that harm was done on another is failure to affirm the other’s humanity, and a critical impediment to peacebuilding.

L atin America: Peace Pro t e s t e rs to Pe a c e b u i l d e rs

The story of the wom en of L a tin Am erica dem on s tra tes that for giveness and recon c i l i ati on are of ten con d i ti onal on the ex peri en ces of the parties invo lved and that it is som etimes difficult to make a su ccessful tra n s i ti on from being a prote s ter for pe ace to a bu i l d er

of pe ace . The wom en of L a tin Am erica who or ga n i zed the groups of rel a tives of the “d i sa ppe a red ” were mobi l i zed as mothers ,u n i ted by their com m on ex peri en ce of l o s s .As Jenn i fer Sch i rm er, a Ha rva rd anthropo l ogist who has been stu dying Latin Am erica for over

f i f teen ye a rs , tells us, t h ey were motiva ted not by some lof ty or broad ideo l ogy, but by the

de s i re to discover the fate of the child or husband who had “d i s a ppe a red ” du ring the ru l e

of the repre s s ive military j u n t a. As a re su l t ,m o t h ers’ groups began to be or ga n i zed in the

va rious co u n tries ex peri encing the highest ra te of “d i s a ppe a ra n ce s” ;t h ere are now more

than twen ty - one su ch groups in el even co u n tri e s , wh i ch speaks to the tra n s n a ti onal natu re of the tactic of “d i s a ppe a ra n ce .”

The dec i s i on to or ga n i ze as m ot h ers was a stra tegic calculati on , de s i gn ed to ex p l oit the

dominant Catholic imagery of the “good mother,”wh i ch the wom en su bverted , po l i ti2 2 Women in Peace
c i zed , and tu rn ed against the repre s s ive state . Utilizing the ideo l ogy of m o t h erh ood also

provi ded the opportu n i ty to cre a te all i a n ces that cut ac ross cl a s s , et h n i c , and rel i gi o u s

l i n e s . Ad d i ti on a lly, pro te s ting as mothers defending their families open ed a po l i ti c a l

“s p ace”for wom en to ex tend their trad i ti on a l , priva te sph ere roles into the po l i tical re a l m

and initi a lly of fered them a measu re of pro tecti on from state repre s s i on . In this way, t h e

wom en uti l i zed the cultu ral re s pect for mothers as a form of defense and their non po l i tical iden ti ty as a sort of c a m o u f l a ge for their activi ti e s .

The “m o t h eri s t”m ovem ents were , in many cases, the first to ch a ll en ge the repre s s ive

a ut h ori t a rian regi m e s . The regimes them s elves unwi t ti n gly en a bl ed the mobi l i z a ti on of

this powerful oppo s i ti on thro u gh the use of repre s s ive tactics that invaded and vi o l a ted

the sancti ty of the family, the trad i ti onal terri tory of wom en ,t hus po l i ticizing the priva te

s ph ere and legi timizing wom en’s en try into the public aren a . The wom en’s public def i a n ce

of the regimes and their dem on s tra ti on s , ch a n t s , and hu n ger stri kes also revers ed the ima ge of wom en as passive vi ctims of w a r. Wom en re s pon ded to state vi o l en ce and the “d i sa ppe a ra n ce”of t h eir ch i l d ren not with the ex pected passivi ty and meekness that thei r

c u l tu re and their govern m ent dem a n ded , but with outra ge and a singl e - m i n ded purpo s e

that took the military regimes by su rpri s e . Th ey invaded the streets and plazas, repre s en t ative of the po l i tical realm and a male pre s erve ,t h ereby po l i ticizing and publicizing thei r

“priva te”gri ef . Th ey open ly ch a ll en ged the regi m e s , conver ging on the most vi s i ble and

s ym bolic public place s , def ying the ban on public ga t h eri n gs and claiming a space for

t h em s elves and their demands for ju s ti ce . These acti on s , open ly taken and def i a n t , con s tituted a striking co u n terpoint to the silen ce ,s ec rec y, and com p l i a n ce dem a n ded by the

regi m e s .

The mothers esch ewed vi o l en ce and aggre s s i on in their met h od s , preferring to use civi l

d i s obed i en ce ,n onvi o l ent pro te s t , and appeals for full discl o su re of the facts as thei r

we a pon s . The mothers uti l i zed sym bols drawn from the cel ebra ti ons of l i fe , su ch as flowers ,c a n dl e s , and ph o togra phs of t h eir ch i l d ren and hu s b a n d s , in their pro tests as em bl em s

of pe ace and ju s ti ce and as rem i n ders of the hu m a n i ty of those who have “d i s a ppe a red .”

All of the mothers’ t actics and stra tegies are aimed at cre a ting a space in the co ll ective

m em ory for their “d i s a ppe a red ” rel a tives ;t h ey refuse to all ow them to be for go t ten or to

remain label ed as “su bvers ive s”or “terrori s t s .”

The movem en t s’ ef fects reverbera ted thro u gh every level — indivi du a l ,s oc i et a l , and intern a ti onal — tra n s forming the wom en’s percepti ons of t h em s elves as po l i tical agen t s ,

aiding the redem oc ra ti z a ti on proce s s , and intern a ti onalizing the issue of human ri gh t s

a buses in Latin Am eri c a .O n ce they became po l i ti c i zed ,h owever, these wom en also lost

s ome of the pro tecti on afforded by their maternal status and became them s elves the target

for repre s s i on :m em bers of m o t h ers’ groups have been kidnapped , tortu red , ra ped ,“d i sa ppe a red ,” and assassinated . Th eir pe aceful pro te s t s ,m et with su ch fury by the po l i ce and

m i l i t a ry, on ly served to high l i ght the brut a l i ty and vi o l en ce of the regi m e s . The vicious repre s s i on aimed at the mothers is also a te s ti m ony to the power of t h eir pre s en ce ,t h ei r

m e s s a ge , and their appe a l . Th ey tu rn ed their very “powerl e s s n e s s”i n to a tool to demys ti f y

the powerf u l . Wh en the regimes “c ro s s ed the line” ( by attacking wom en and their su pporters in the Chu rch ) ,t h ey underm i n ed their own power base and this con tri buted to

t h eir even tual co llapse and the tra n s i ti on back to civilian rule (however flawed ) .

Women in Peace 2 3
It is, h owever, an unfortu n a te com m en t a ry on the strength of trad i ti on that the very

groups that first def i ed the j u n t a s and ra i s ed the banners of pro te s t ,t hus opening the way

for other forms of oppo s i ti on ,should be ecl i p s ed by trad i ti onal po l i tics on ce the military

regimes have been rep l aced by civilian govern m en t s .The fact that these groups of wom en

were instru m ental in bri n ging abo ut a ch a n ge in the repre s s ive sys tem seems to be overl oo ked by the po l i tical parties that have now rei n s t a ll ed them s elves in the seats of power.

The recon s ti tuted po l i tical parti e s ,i n tere s ted in regaining their lost power and plac a ting a

s ti ll powerful military, of fered bl a n ket amnesties for military and po l i ce pers on n el , exonera ting them for crimes against hu m a n i ty com m i t ted du ring the military ’s rei gn of terror.

The Mo t h ers of the Plaza de Mayo, l i ke other gro u p s ,a re sti ll demanding to know the details of t h eir loved on e s’ f a te ;t h ey repre s ent this con ti nuing demand for pe ace wi t h ju s ti ce

and their lack of s a ti s f acti on by the ex pre s s i on Apa ri ción Con Vi d a or Bring Th em Back

Al ive .

It is one of the ironies of the legacy of repre s s i on that the military should take wom en

m ore seri o u s ly than does the civilian govern m en t . The space open ed for wom en’s hu m a n

ri ghts pro test under oppre s s ive military regi m e s , a peri od in wh i ch trad i ti onal po l i ti c a l

p a rties were out l awed or cowed into su bm i s s i on , has ef fectively been cl o s ed with the tra ns i ti on to dem oc ra tic rule and the ree s t a bl i s h ed dom i n a n ce of po l i tical parties and trade

u n i on s . Redem oc ra ti z a ti on has bro u ght the po l i tical rem a r gi n a l i z a ti on of wom en and the

re - i n s ti tuti on of trad i ti onal gen der ro l e s . For the majori ty of these wom en ,h owever, su ch

m a r gi n a l i z a ti on does not con s ti tute defe a t , and they con ti nue to pro test for the vi n d i c ati on of the “d i s a ppe a red ” and the bri n ging to ju s ti ce of the perpetra tors of the vi o l ent repre s s i on that ch a racteri zed their lives for so many ye a rs . Forthem ,t h ere can be no pe ace

wi t h o ut ju s ti ce .

Northern Ireland: Demanding a Place at the Ta b l e

While the wom en of L a tin Am erica stru ggle to find a place in the po l i tical arena after the

re s tora ti on of dem oc rac y, the wom en of Nort h ern Ireland banded toget h er to form an official po l i tical party and won two seats in el ecti ons for places at the nego ti a ting tabl e . Th e

Nort h ern Ireland Wom en’s Coa l i ti on (NIWC) provi des an all too ra re opportu n i ty to examine the role of wom en in formal nego ti a ti ons for pe ace . As Ka te Fe a ron , po l i tical advi s er to the gro u p, tells us, the Nort h ern Ireland Wom en’s Coa l i ti on was born out of t h e

de s i re to en su re that wom en’s interests were rem em bered in the discussion of the futu re

s tru ctu re of Nort h ern Irish soc i ety. N I WC was con s ti tuted by a group of wom en ,m a i n ly

f rom the NGO sector, f rom wom en’s groups working at the com mu n i ty level ;t h ey came

toget h er to serve at the publ i c , el ected level , determining who would be at the table for

n ego ti a ti on s .

The process of forming su ch a coa l i ti on was not easy, h owever. As with any cro s s - commu n i ty coa l i ti on , t h ere was the probl em of formu l a ting a cl e a rly arti c u l a ted po l i tical pers pective that would en compass the needs and interests of a very diverse group of wom en .

The ori ginal fo u n ders of N I WC were very conscious of the differen ces among their nu mber: d i f feren ces of rel i gi on (Catholic and Pro te s t a n t ) , class (middl e - class and work i n g -

cl a s s ) , and ideo l ogy (con s erva tive and libera l ) . Th ey determ i n ed that the three core

c ro s s - c ut ting principles that their or ga n i z a ti on would em brace were the principles of hu2 4 Women in Peace
man ri gh t s , equ a l i ty, and inclu s i on ; these or ganizing principles were referred to wh en ever

d i s a greem ents needed to be set t l ed , and they hel ped to steer the movem ent and sustain it

in its po l i tical devel opm en t .

For the wom en , the shift from working out s i de the po l i tical process to working wi t h i n

it po s ed difficulties that ch a ll en ged their re s o u rcefulness and re s o lve . Most of the wom en

who joi n ed NIWC had worked for a nu m ber of ye a rs at the com mu n i ty level , but many

h ad difficulty ad ju s ting to the life of formal po l i ti c s . Th ey discovered that there was a gre a t

deal of d i s c repancy in the amount of power they were able to wi eld within each re a l m .

Th ey also found that their con s ti tuti on as a po l i tical party caused probl ems in their abi l i ty

to ga rn er funding: h aving given up their status as ch a ri ty or com mu n i ty or ga n i z a ti on s ,

t h ey had to ex p l ore altern a te opti ons for fund ra i s i n g. However, the gro u p’s su ccess in getting two of its mem bers — Monica Mc Wi lliams and Pe a rl Sa ga r — el ected to the pe ace talks

h el ped to ease their financial woe s , as the govern m ent was now obl i ga ted to assist in funding the del ega tes and, t hu s ,t h eir or ga n i z a ti on .

The wom en of the Nort h ern Ireland Wom en’s Coa l i ti on re a l i zed , as many wom en

po l i ticians do, that to su cceed in the realm of formal po l i tics they had to become som ewhat like the sys tem , to ad just just a bit to fit the sys tem . But ,t h ey insist, the sys tem has

also had to ad just in order to accom m od a te their parti c i p a ti on .Am ong the aims of N I WC

a re to increase aw a reness of wom en’s po l i tical parti c i p a ti on and to ch a n ge the cultu re of

po l i ti c s , to do po l i tics in a different way. In the con text of the Good Fri d ay Agreem en t , doing things differen t ly inclu ded proposing and su pporting measu res that ad d re s s ed not

on ly the causes of the con f l i ct but also its con s equ en ce s . That is what the group su cceeded

in inserting into the Good Fri d ay Agreem en t : human ri gh t s , equ a l i ty, provi s i ons for vi cti m s , and the Civic Foru m .

Some of the su ccess of N I WC in get ting its proposals inserted into the Good Fri d ay

Agreem ent hinged on one of its most important ch a racteri s ti c s , a ch a racteri s tic that is

com m on ly assoc i a ted with the “fem i n i n e” pers pective : the abi l i ty and wi ll i n gness to coopera te and com prom i s e .N I WC did not en ter into the talks defending one fixed po s i ti on ,

but they tri ed inste ad to determine wh ere com m on a l i ties ex i s ted among the facti ons and

wh ere com promises could be made .Its probl em - s o lving approach differen ti a ted it from

the other parties that had ve s ted interest in maintaining their ori ginal po s i ti on s . In deed ,

the parties are sti ll stru ggling to implem ent the agreem en t , as the deb a te over the decomm i s s i oning issue illu s tra tes the lack of trust felt by both side s .

Th ro u gh o ut the long process of n ego ti a ti ons leading up to the Good Fri d ay Agreem en t , the parties to the con f l i ct were su pported in the en de avor by ex ternal agen t s ,p a rti cu l a rly the U. S . govern m en t , the Irish govern m en t , and the Eu ropean Un i on . However,

wh en the agreem ent was sign ed ,m a ny of the ex ternal actors wi t h d rew a bi t , making it difficult for the two sides to su cce s s f u lly implem ent the provi s i ons of the agreem ent bec a u s e

the severe distrust ch a racterizing the rel a ti onship rem a i n s . Fe a ron urges that su pport offered by out s i de parties to groups in con f l i ct be con ti nu ed in the po s t - a greem ent phase to

en su re that the agreem en t’s implem en t a ti on is su cce s s f u lly com p l eted .But su ch su pport

must be provi ded in su ch a way as to en co u ra ge the parti e s’ s el f - su f f i c i ency and disco u ra ge the parties from becoming depen dent on the out s i de agen t .In the case of Nort h ern

Irel a n d , mu ch implem en t a ti on is occ u rring on the gra s s roots level , while very little

Women in Peace 2 5
progress is being made at the level of h i gh po l i ti c s . Im p l em en t a ti on is sporad i c , and negoti a ti ons bet ween the parties on va rious provi s i ons con ti nu e .

As Fe a ron points out , a nu m ber of su gge s ti ons may be put forw a rd to help improve the

s i tu a ti on in Nort h ern Irel a n d ,e s pec i a lly as con cerns the wom en of Nort h ern Irel a n d . For

i n s t a n ce ,i n tern a ti onal trade del ega ti ons intere s ted in doing business in Nort h ern Irel a n d

should inclu de more wom en , human ri ghts advi s ors , and com mu n i ty activi s t s . Su ch del ega ti ons could also visit local com mu n i ty or wom en’s groups in the area in wh i ch there is

to be inve s tm ent to solicit input and assess the impact of t h eir propo s ed inve s tm en t s .

NGOs could help to devel op sch ool curricula in the areas of human ri ghts and pe ace educ a ti on . NGOs could also be instru m ental in devel oping sem i n a rs and exch a n ges of good

practi ce s , bri n ging pre s su re to bear on formal po l i tical gro u p i n gs , and su pporting loc a l

com mu n i ti e s .F i n a lly, trad i ti ons that rei n force unequal power rel a ti ons need to be

ch a n ged , yet this ch a n ge must be managed in a way that does not alien a te others or cut of f

the lines of com mu n i c a ti on . In other word s , a cri tical dialogue must be establ i s h ed that

wi ll furt h er the cause of pe ace in Nort h ern Irel a n d .

2 6 Women in Peace
F i ve

C o n c l u s i o n s

Vi o l en ce and warf a re establ i s h , rei n force , and ex acerb a te divi s i ons within commun i ti e s .On ce inflicted , su ch divi s i ons cannot be undone wi t h o ut the active

p a rti c i p a ti on of a ll mem bers of the com mu n i ty. The processes of h e a l i n g, recon c i l i a ti on , and recon s tru cti on cannot be ef fectively implem en ted by a single group or

s ector of s oc i ety acting alon e . Deep divi s i ons cannot be bri d ged solely by the vi ctors ,n or

by the vi cti m s ,n or by the su rvivors ; n or wi ll they disappear with the arrival of a new

gen era ti on . The easing of con ten tious social divi s i ons requ i res the conscious con tri buti ons and full com m i tm ent of a ll sectors of a soc i ety wishing to move forw a rd to el eva te

its heri t a ge .

The em phasis placed here on wom en’s gra s s roots movem ents and their roles in the

m ending process is not inten ded to el eva te these groups above other movem en t s . Th e

goal has been to draw atten ti on to an import a n t , yet of ten negl ected ,a s pect of the conf l i ct re s o luti on process and to make su re that the crucial role of wom en in war- torn soc ieties is not overl oo ked or dismissed . Wom en , with their fundamental con cern for

su b s i s ten ce and su rvival issu e s ,a re essen tial actors and leaders in gra s s roots movem en t s ,

e s pec i a lly in times of c ivil stri fe . Wom en’s parti c i p a ti on in the quest for pe ace aids capac ity - building in soc i eties thre a ten ed by vi o l ent con f l i ct . By prep a ring for pe ace and del egi timizing vi o l en ce ,s oc i eties become more resistant to arm ed con f l i ct and re s i l i ent in the

f ace of ch a ll en ge s .

The work of n on govern m ental or ga n i z a ti ons and gra s s roots movem ents is import a n t

work , but it is work that is of ten overl oo ked by po l i c ym a kers and their advi s ors . Th e

work of gra s s roots movem ents is not of ten gl a m oro u s ; it is the everyd ay work of su rviva l .

This everyd ay work easily escapes the noti ce of govern m ents overwh el m ed by the immed i a te dramas of w a rf a re because they con s i der it “com m on” and “ord i n a ry.” But com m on

is the fo u n d a ti on of com mu n i ty, and ord i n a ry is the root of ex tra ord i n a ry.

Thu s , just as all parts of com mu n i ty must be invo lved in the process of healing divis i on s , so must all aspects of con f l i ct re s o luti on be given due wei gh t . The import a n ce of

the “com m on” must be recogn i zed : the pursuit of pe ace or the stabi l i z a ti on of a pe ace

a greem ent is most su ccessful wh en it ref l ects the divers i ty of the com mu n i ty. The role of

the com m on and ord i n a ry must be kept in sight wh en we discuss the futu re of com mun i ty; the com m on de s erves a pre s en ce and a voi ce in policy dec i s i on s .

2 7
N o t e s

1 . Georgina Waylen, Gender in Third World Politics (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers,

1996), pp. 7–8.

2 . V. Spike Peterson and Anne Sisson Runyan, Global Gender Issues, 2nd edition (Boulder, CO:

Westview Press, 1999), p. 96.

3 . J. Ann Tickner, "Why Women Can’t Run the World: International Politics According to

Francis Fukuyama," International Studies Review, vol. 1, no. 3 (1999), pp. 3–11.

4 . For an examination of these issues, see Managing Global Chaos: Sources of and Responses to

International Conflict, edited by Chester A. Crocker, Fen Osler Hampson, and Pamela Aall

(Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press, 1996), especially Part II on

"Statecraft, Intervention, and International Order," pp. 173–376. 

5 . J. Ann Tickner, Gender in International Relations: Feminist Perspectives on Achieving Global

S e c u r i t y (New York: Columbia University Press, 1992), p. 28.

6 . Structural violence was introduced as a concept by Johan Galtung in the 1969 article

"Violence, Peace, and Peace Research," Journal of Peace Research, vol. 3 (1969), pp. 167–191.

As defined by Peterson and Runyan, "structural violence, which is differentiated from but

related to direct physical violence, arises from social, economic, and political structures that

increase the vulnerability of various groupings of people (women, minorities, children, the

aged, the disabled, gays and lesbians, etc.) to many forms of harm (poverty, hunger, infant

mortality, disease, isolation, etc.)." Peterson and Runyan, Global Gender Issues, p. 260.

7 . Peterson and Runyan, Global Gender Issues, p. 56 (emphasis in the original).

8 . Point 13 of the Beijing Declaration of the UN Fourth World Conference on Women,

September 15, 1995, A/CONF.177/20 (1995) and A/CONF.177/20/Add.1 (1995).

9 . Tickner, "Why Women Can’t Run the World." See also Monty G. Marshall and Donna

Ramsey, "Gender Empowerment and the Willingness of States to Use Force," paper prepared

for the 1999 International Studies Association conference in Washington, DC, February

19–22, 1999.

1 0 . An example of this type of technological warfare in which societal infrastructure was specifically targeted is the U.S.-led NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, where bridges, power plants, and

radio and television installations were destroyed.

11. There are notable exceptions, though, including the recent negotiations over Northern Ireland

resulting in the Good Friday Agreement, discussed later in this book. For more detail on

women’s involvement in formal negotiations, see the new publication from the United

Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), Women at the Peace Table: Making a

Difference ( w w w . u n i f e m . u n d p . o r g ).

12. Peterson and Runyan, Global Gender Issues, p. 50.

13. Juliet J. Pope, "The Emergence of a Joint Israeli-Palestinian Women’s Peace Movement during

the Intifada," in Haleh Afshar, ed., Women in the Middle East: Perceptions, Realities and

Struggles for Liberation (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1993), pp. 172–184.

2 8
1 4 . Sara Helman and Tamar Rapoport, "Women in Black: Challenging Israel’s Gender and Sociopolitical Orders," British Journal of Sociology, vol. 48, no. 4 (1997), p. 683.

1 5 . Internet sites for these groups are as follows:

The Bridge: Jewish and Arab Women for Peace in the Middle East 

( h t t p : / / t x . t e c h n i o n . a c . i l / ~ a d a / t h e - b r i d g e . h t m l );

The Jerusalem Link ( h t t p : / / w w w . b a t s h a l o m . o r g / J e r u s a l e m L i n k . h t m );

The Jerusalem Center for Women ( h t t p : / / w w w . j - c - w . o r g );

Bat Shalom ( h t t p : / / w w w . b a t s h a l o m . o r g );

Building Bridges for Peace ( h t t p : / / a j p . c o m / b b f p . h t m l ).

The website for Nisan Young Women Leaders (http://www.nisan.org) appears to be defunct.

1 6 . Seven of the original seventeen commissioners were women, though, as Graybill states,

"Membership was later increased to provide further gender and ethnic balance and to be

more broadly representative." Lyn S. Graybill, "Pursuit of Truth and Reconciliation in South

A f r i c a , " Africa Today/Africa Rights Monitor, vol. 45, no. 1 (Jan./Mar. 1998), p. 104.

1 7 . Truth and Reconciliation Commission Final Report, vol. 4, ch. 10, "Special Hearing: Women,"

p. 1. ( h t t p : / / w w w . p o l i t y . o r g . z a / g o v d o c s / c o m m i s s i o n s / 1 9 9 8 / t r c / 4 c h a p 1 0 . h t m )

1 8 . I b i d .

1 9 . I b i d .

Notes 2 9

About the Au t h o r

Donna Ramsey Marshall is program assistant in the Re s e a rch and Studies Progra m

of the Un i ted States In s ti tute of Pe ace , with re s e a rch interests in intern a ti onal hu m a n i t a rian law, n onvi o l ent social movem en t s , and gen der and con f l i ct . Pri or to joining the In s titute , Ra m s ey Ma rs h a ll worked at the Cen ter for In tern a ti onal Devel opm ent and Con f l i ct

Ma n a gem ent at the Un ivers i ty of Ma ryl a n d , Co ll ege Pa rk , wh ere she was re s e a rch assistant for the Mi n ori ties at Risk Proj ect and proj ect coord i n a tor for the Arm ed Con f l i ct and

In terven ti on Proj ect of the State Fa i lu re Task Force . She is a 1997–98 Ro t a ry Am b a s s adorial Scholar and holds a master ’s degree in intern a ti onal con f l i ct analysis from the Un ivers i ty of Kent at Ca n terbu ry (Engl a n d ) .
About the Institute

The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan federal institution created by Congress to promote research, education, and training on the peaceful management and resolution of international conflicts. Established in 1984, the Institute meets its

congressional mandate through an array of programs, including research grants, fellowships, professional training, education programs from high school through graduate school, conferences

and workshops, library services, and publications. The Institute’s Board of Directors is appointed

by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate.

Chairman of the Board: Chester A. Crocker

Vice Chairman: Max M. Kampelman

President: Richard H. Solomon

Executive Vice President: Harriet Hentges

Board of Directors

Chester A. Crocker (Chairman), James R. Schlesinger Professor of Strategic Studies, School of Foreign

Service, Georgetown University

Max M. Kampelman, Esq. (Vice Chairman), Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver and Jacobson, Washington,

D.C.

Dennis L. Bark, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, Stanford University 

Stephen J. Hadley, Esq., Shea and Gardner, Washington, D.C.

Theodore M. Hesburgh, President Emeritus, University of Notre Dame

Zalmay Khalilzad, RAND Corporation, Washington, D.C.

Seymour Martin Lipset, Hazel Professor of Public Policy, George Mason University

W. Scott Thompson, Professor of International Politics, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts

University

Allen Weinstein, President, Center for Democracy, Washington, D.C.

Harriet Zimmerman, Vice President, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Washington, D.C.

Members ex officio

J. Stapleton Roy, Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research

Daniel H. Simpson, Vice President, National Defense University

Walter B. Slocombe, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy

Richard H. Solomon, President, United States Institute of Peace (nonvoting)

3 0
OTHER TITLES IN THE PEACEWORKS SERIES

Grappling with Peace Education in Serbia, by Ruzica Rozandic (No. 33, April 2000)

Three Dimensions of Peacebuilding in Bosnia: Findings from USIP-Sponsored Research and Field Projects,

edited by Steven M. Riskin (No. 32, December 1999)

Building Security in Post–Cold War Eurasia: The OSCE and U.S. Foreign Policy, by P. Terrence

Hopmann (No. 31, September 1999)

New Approaches to International Negotiation and Mediation: Findings from USIP-Sponsored Research,

edited by Timothy D. Sisk (No. 30, August 1999)

Training to Promote Conflict Management: USIP-Assisted Training Projects, edited by David Smock

(No. 29, July 1999)

The Challenge of Regional Cooperation in Central Asia: Preventing Conflict in the Ferghana Valley, b y

Anara Tabyshalieva (No. 28, June 1999)

Territorial Conflicts and Their Resolution: The Case of Ecuador and Peru, by Beth A. Simmons (No. 27,

April 1999)

The Quest for Democratic Security: The Role of the Council of Europe and U.S. Foreign Policy, by Heinrich

Klebes (No. 26, January 1999)

Nagorno-Karabakh: Searching for a Solution, by Patricia Carley (No. 25, December 1998)

Removing Barricades in Somalia: Options for Peace and Rehabilitation, by Hussein Adam and Richard

Ford, with Ali Jimale Ahmed, Abdinasir Osman Isse, Nur Weheliye, and David Smock (No. 24,

October 1998)

Muddling toward Democracy: Political Change in Grassroots China, by Anne F. Thurston (No. 23,

August 1998)

Preventing Genocide in Burundi: Lessons from International Diplomacy, by Stephen R. Weissman

(No. 22, July 1998)

The China Challenge in the Twenty-First Century: Implications for U.S. Foreign Policy, by Chen Jian

(No. 21, June 1998)

Private Peacemaking: USIP-Assisted Peacemaking Projects of Nonprofit Organizations, edited by David R.

Smock (No. 20, June 1998)

Sovereignty after Empire: Self-Determination Movements in the Former Soviet Union, by Galina

Starovoitova (No. 19, October 1997)

Keynote Addresses from the “Virtual Diplomacy” Conference, by Richard H. Solomon, Walter B. Wriston,

and George P. Shultz (No. 18, September 1997)

Greek-Turkish Relations and U.S. Foreign Policy: Cyprus, the Aegean, and Regional Stability, by Tozun

Bahcheli, Theodore A. Couloumbis, and Patricia Carley (No. 17, August 1997) 

U.S. Responses to Self-Determination Movements: Strategies for Nonviolent Outcomes and Alternatives to

Secession, by Patricia Carley (No. 16, July 1997)

Creative Approaches to Managing Conflict in Africa: Findings from USIP-Funded Projects, edited by David

R. Smock (No. 15, April 1997)
OF RELATED INTEREST

Many other publications from the United States Institute of Peace address issues of direct relevance to

grassroots peacebuilding.

RECENT INSTITUTE REPORTS INCLUDE:

Three Dimensions of Peacebuilding in Bosnia: Findings from USIP-Sponsored Research and Field Projects,

edited by Steven M. Riskin (Peaceworks No. 32, December 1999)

Training to Promote Conflict Management: USIP-Assisted Training Projects, edited by David Smock

(Peaceworks No. 29, July 1999)

Removing Barricades in Somalia: Options for Peace and Rehabilitation, by Hussein Adam and Richard

Ford, with Ali Jimale Ahmed, Abdinasir Osman Isse, Nur Weheliye, and David Smock (Peaceworks

No. 24, October 1998)

Muddling toward Democracy: Political Change in Grassroots China, by Anne F. Thurston (Peaceworks

No. 23, August 1998)

Private Peacemaking: USIP-Assisted Peacemaking Projects of Nonprofit Organizations, edited by David R.

Smock (Peaceworks No. 20, June 1998)

To obtain an Institute report (available free of charge), write United States Institute of Peace,

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A Very Political Economy: Peacebuilding and Foreign Aid in the West Bank and Gaza, by Rex Brynen

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Herding Cats: Multiparty Mediation in a Complex World, edited by Chester A. Crocker, Fen Osler

Hampson, and Pamela Aall (November 1999)

Managing Global Chaos: Sources of and Responses to International Conflict, edited by Chester A. Crocker,

Fen Osler Hampson, and Pamela Aall (1996)

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