REPORT: Promoting Women's Participation in Conflict and Post-Conflict Societies: How Women Worldwide are Making and Building Peace
It is widely recognized that women bear a heavy burden in conflict and post conflict societies, both directly through violence perpetrated against themselves and their families and as survivors attempting to reconstruct destroyed communities. There is also growing recognition of women as ‘agents of change' skillfully reshaping and rebuilding communities affected by conflict. As this report attests, women worldwide – as government representatives, activists, leaders of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and women's networks and other concerned citizens -- have persevered through threats and conditions of violence to initiate transformative processes within conflict and post conflict societies. Undeterred by rebel groups, authoritarian regimes, cultural restrictions or resource limitations, and often at great personal risk, women continue the work of promoting peace and security in their communities.
The objective of this report is to explore community-based initiatives undertaken by women's organizations and civil society seeking to promote women's participation in peace processes. By communicating directly with women and organizations in the field, we have been able to highlight experiences and insights through the perspectives of the women participants themselves. The resulting narrative can assist in closing policy gaps in part by identifying, documenting and sharing organizational activity directed at implementing Security Council Resolution (SCR) 1325.
The report focuses on women's participation in two key components of the peace process: peacemaking and early post-conflict peacebuilding. Transition periods, especially post- conflict, can provide “windows of opportunity” not only to utilize the abundant skills of women in peacemaking but also to promote gender equality and advance women's position in society.i This is illustrated through the report's case studies focused on the important programmatic work undertaken by diverse women's organizations worldwide.
This report makes clear that women continue to face significant barriers to full participation: a lack of inclusive leadership, gaps between government policy and action, a fragmentation of networks and messaging, a lack of resources and educational opportunities, and consuming familial obligations. However, from ‘spitting sessions' to ‘local to local' dialogues, women are formulating and sharing creative initiatives that can be used by other women worldwide seeking to overcome barriers to participation.
Many of the successful projects described here (and thousands of others that we could not include) are both small-scale and resource poor, requiring more systematic support from national and international agencies. Large-scale implementation of SCR 1325's participation obligations requires translating national and international frameworks into real resources and actionable policies at multiple levels of society. This will ensure ‘real change' for women seeking more opportunities for leadership in conflict and post conflict societies.
At the end of this report is a detailed set of recommendations that we believe will enhance prospects for women's participation in all aspects of peace processes.