Participation

The Participation theme focuses on women’s representation and participation in peace processes, electoral process – as both the candidate and voter – UN decision-making positions, and in the broader social-political sphere.

The Security Council acknowledges the need for strategies to increase women’s participation in all UN missions and appointments to high-level positions in SCR 1325(OP3) and 1889(OP4) and further emphasises the need for women’s participation in peacebuilding processes (1889). 

Specifically, it calls for the mobilisation of resources for advancing gender equality and empowering women (OP14), reporting on the progress of women’s participation in UN missions (OP18), equal access to education for women and girls in post-conflict societies (OP11), and the increase of women’s participation in political and economic decision-making (OP15). Until this language translates into action, the potential for women’s full and equal contribution to international peace and security will remain unrealized.

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AFGHANISTAN: Afghan Women Fear Backsliding As President Karzai Negotiates With Taliban

“There was a piercing cry, then nothing,” says Jamila, large tears welling up in her dark eyes. “They were beating her legs with a long metal pipe.

AFGHANISTAN: Ambassador Hakimi Speaks on the Role of Women in Afghanistan's Peace Process

Today, Ambassador Eklil Hakimi spoke at a panel discussion titled, Women, Peace and Security in Afghanistan: Prospects on the Way Forward.

MIDDLE EAST: Yemen's Nobel Peace Winner Urges Participation in Polls

In a dimly lit tent in Yemen's Change Square, Nobel peace laureate Tawakkul Karman has laid out a blueprint of her country's future: a modern state with equality and rule of law.

WEST ASIA: Gender and Conflict in Iraq

Gender violence in conflict zones can stem from a multitude of factors – societal customs, ideologies, stress, as well as government and non-government actors participating in the conflict. As a result, Iraq has seen an increase in the rate of domestic violence during periods of recession and war.

SOUTH ASIA: Huge Rally in Pakistan for Women's Rights


Tens of thousands of women rallied in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi Sunday to call for improved rights and gender equality.

MIDDLE EAST: Quota, What Quota? How Parliaments Lack Female Touch in Arab Region

Across the Middle East, countries are witnessing parliamentary changes under newly-installed governments which have been credited as a result of the Arab Spring.

It means issues such as setting quotas for women in parliament have stepped into the limelight under a post-revolutionary glow, in the hope that new governments can take advantage of pro-democracy reform.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: We Must Engage Women in Promoting Peace in Our Societies

In the quiet corners of the Lungga area a small but important workshop has just been completed this week. The workshop was intended to train women as peace-markers in our societies.

Africa: Is the AU's Women's Decade a Pipedream?

The African Women's Decade (2010-2020) is a bold political initiative that aims to put women at the centre of development on the continent. Launched in Nairobi, Kenya, in October 2010, with roots traceable to the UN First World Conference on Women, held in Mexico city in 1975, this initiative aims to create conditions under which the participation of all African women in the continent's socio-economic development can be guaranteed.

UN Report on Sexual Violence During Conflict Singles Out Worst Offenders

he annual United Nations report documenting conflict-related sexual violence around the world today for the first time names some of the military forces, militia and other armed groups that are suspected of being among the worst offenders.

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