Focus: Women, Gender and Armed Conflict

The end of the Cold War in 1989 did not, as had been expected, bring about a reduction in armed conflicts. More than two thirds of the poorest countries in the world are in conflict regions. The nature of armed conflict has changed. In the past, wars used to be waged almost solely between two sovereign states, but so-called modern wars are fought in quite different ways. The international community faces a completely new situation, an immensely complex nexus of diverse causes and warring parties. Today, warfare is increasingly taking on intranational forms (domestic or cross-border armed conflicts among disintegrating states, civil wars or rebellions), now exceeding international conflicts in terms of absolute numbers but also of intensity. The former demarcated fronts between two well-trained national military forces are being superseded by new actors, such as warlords, rebels, mercenaries and child soldiers. Nor is warfare a purely male domain any more; we can no longer ignore the role of women in hostilities. Besides voluntary female combatants, thousands of girl soldiers are forced to fight. Women and girls are abducted and coerced into marrying warlords or held as slaves or prostitutes. Rape is deployed as a strategic weapon and method of torture.

These very brutal, prolonged and disorderly conflicts afflict many civilians (up to 90 per cent). This is also why there has been a huge rise in the number of refugees and internally displaced persons. Uprooted population groups, particularly women and children, live for years in camps, dependent on humanitarian aid and with limited access to vital resources. Discrimination against women in the distribution of food, the lack of recognition of their particular needs, attacks and acts of violence or extortion in the camps perpetuate their insecurity.