Reconstruction and Peacebuilding

The Reconstruction and Peacebuilding theme focuses on the application of a gender perspective to peacebuilding. The response of local, national, and international systems to women’s priorities in post-conflict situations can significantly impact stability and development.

The realisation of women’s right to full participation in preventing, resolving and recovering from conflict, is critical to building sustainable peace and the fulfilment of human security. Furthermore, the response of local, national and international systems to women’s priorities in post-conflict situations, can significantly impacts the stability and development of communities.

The engagement of women in early stages of peacemaking can increase gender analysis in post-conflict planning, lead to improved outcomes for women, and enhance their capacity to participate in longer-term peacebuilding. However, women’s rights and concerns should not be dependent on the presence of women in peace processes. Systems must be in place to ensure their inclusion is standard operating procedure.

In SCR 1325, the Security Council recognises that addressing the unique needs of women and girls during post-conflict reconstruction requires integrating a gender perspective at all stages (1325,OP8). The Security Council acknowledges the need to counter negative societal attitudes regarding women’s equal capacity for involvement, and calls for the promotion of women’s leadership and support for women’s organizations (1889,OP1). In addition, the Security Council requests training on the protection, rights and needs of women in all peacebuilding measures (1325,OP6).

To achieve this, the Security Council tasks the Secretary-General to report on challenges and make recommendations relevant to the participation of women and gender mainstreaming in peacebuilding and recovery efforts (1888,OP19). In response, the Secretary-General issued a report on women’s participation in peacebuilding in 2010. The report details the challenges obstacles women must confront in participating in recovery and peacebuilding efforts, and advocates for a Seven-Point Action Plan to respond to these challenges.


First, the plan calls to increase women’s engagement in peace processes and to address gender issues in the context of peace agreements. Secondly, the plan urges for the inclusion of gender expertise at senior levels in the UN’s mediation support activities. Thirdly, the plan notes that, while the international community cannot control the gender composition of the negotiating parties, it must investigate strategies for the inclusion of more women. Fourthly, the plan calls for the establishment of mechanisms to ensure that negotiating parties engage with women’s civil society organisations. The Action Plan’s fifth commitment involves increasing the proportion of women decision makers in post-conflict governance institutions. The sixth point addresses rule of law, emphasising the importance of issues such as women’s access to justice and a gender perspective to legal reform. The Action Plan’s seventh commitment is concerned with women’s economic empowerment. The Action Plan’s implementation remains the challenge.

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NEPAL: Unite for Peace, PM Tells Women

Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal today appealed to all women to unite for peace and constitution.

Issuing a statement, PM Khanal expressed his best wishes to all Nepali women on the occasion of 101st International Women's Day, celebrated all over the world under the slogan ‘Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women'.

MIDDLE EAST/NORTHERN AFRICA: Arab Women: This Time, the Revolution Won't Leave us Behind

Arab women were integral players in the post-colonial revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria, but soon lost ground. They are vowing not to be marginalized in the wake of this year's Arab spring.

KAZAKHSTAN: Kazakhstan Seeks Increased Role for Women in Politics

Kazakhstan's authorities will formulate a five-year plan paving the way for women to be given a broader role in the nation's political life, President Nursultan Nazarbayev has told a meeting of prominent women.

INTERNATIONAL: Women in Agriculture - Gender Gaps Are Holding Back Development

On the occasion of the 100th celebration of International Women's Day, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) presented a surprising and alarming assessment of the situation of rural women, based on a comprehensive analysis of men and women farmers around the world.

Female-headed households are not necessarily poorer than male-headed households.

NEPAL: Women's Rights Status in Nepal: Reasons to be Frustrated About

As we enter the second century of celebrations to mark March 8 as the International Women's Day (IWD), my mind questions: So what has changed for women globally and in Nepal? What are some of the key markers of women's progress and empowerment?

PAKISTAN: Rape Victims Denied Justice in Pakistan

Rehana Yasmin thought the kindly women had come to help her after floods devastated her village. Instead they passed her on to two men -- who raped her at gunpoint.

The 19-year-old student said three women took her from her home in the central Pakistani district of Rajanpur last summer, saying aid was being distributed for flood victims and they would get her food.

SRI LANKA: Women Have Played an Exemplary Role in Developing Sri Lanka

Today is the International Women's Day. The origin of this day, dates back to the year 1857 in which the employees of a garment factory in New York staged protest against its administration.

NICARAGUA: Despite Laws, Endemic Sexual Abuse of Nicaraguan Teens

The Nicaraguan government is failing to tackle widespread rape and sexual abuse of teenage girls and provide adequate assistance to rape survivors in the Central American nation, a researcher at the rights group, Amnesty International, has said.

CENTRAL AMERICA: Women's Day: Overcoming Barriers in Central America

Amarilis Chilel, 15, left her hometown of Ixchiguán in northwest Guatemala to work as a domestic in the capital: a common story among rural girls and women in Central America. "I went to school up to fourth grade," she told IPS.

The teenager, who belongs to the Mam community, one of the main Mayan native groups in Guatemala, says her father tried without success to convince her to stay in school.

MIDDLE EAST/NORTHERN AFRICA: New Regimes Need Women's Voices

Nawara Belal dreamt of an Egypt where men and women stood side-by-side. Last month, she lived that dream in Tahrir Square.

"In moments of happiness, we had our total right to dance or sing or hug each other and men," she told us, recalling the pro-democracy protests. "In moments of fear or disappointment, we were not excluded."

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