Peace & Peace-building

From ancient times to the modern era, women have been at the forefront of disarmament, anti-war and anti-violence campaigns. In many countries, from Liberia and Rwanda to Northern Ireland, Afghanistan and Argentina, women’s activism has had a decisive impact on reducing conflict and encouraging reconciliation. Yet, women are usually absent from formal peace negotiations and processes. UNIFEM has reported that in ten major peace processes in the past decade, women represented only 6 percent of negotiators and less than 3 percent of signatories to peace agreements. With the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, however, international recognition and support are growing for women as strategic partners in peacebuilding. Securing the active participation of women and girls increases the sustainability of peace efforts and contributes to long-term post-conflict recovery and reconstruction.

Women, Business, and the Law

Submitted by asklar on Tue, 03/06/2012 - 10:36pm

Women, Business and the Law is a World Bank report that presents indicators based on laws and regulations affecting women's prospects as entrepreneurs and employees, in part drawing on laws contained in the Gender Law Library. Both resources can inform research and policy discussions on how to improve women's economic opportunities and outcomes.

URL:

http://wbl.worldbank.org/

Gender Equality and Female Empowerment

Submitted by asklar on Mon, 03/05/2012 - 3:11am

Dr. Rajiv Shah, Administrator for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), launched the Agency's new Policy on Gender Equality and Female Empowerment.

Citing its importance, Dr. Shah stated, "We know that long-term, sustainable development will only be possible when women and men enjoy equal opportunity to rise to their potential. But today, women and girls continue to face disadvantages in every sector in which we work, and in other cases, boys are falling behind. With this policy, we can ensure our values and commitments are reflected in durable, meaningful results for all."

USAID Deputy Administrator, Ambassador Donald Steinberg, Gayle Smith, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Development, and other senior White House officials participated in the launch.

URL:

http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/policy_planning_and_learning/documents/GenderEqualityPolicy.pdf

Uncertainty for the future of the Moroccan women’s movement

Teaser:

For the past twenty years Moroccan women, from the liberal camp to the Islamist, have campaigned for equal rights for women. Their struggle has borne many triumphs and is gradually beginning to change the lives of women throughout the country. But how will they face the new challenges presented by Morocco's first Islamist-majority government?

Editorial:

From Open Democracy:

In the Moroccan parliamentary elections of November 25, 2011, for the first time in Morocco’s history, an Islamist faction, the Justice and Development Party (PJD) won 40 percent^↑of the seats in the government, giving it the majority in Morocco’s legislative body. Since then the leaders and members of Morocco’s liberal/secular women’s movement have been on alert. In January 2012, when Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane (PJD) revealed the appointments of his cabinet, much to the chagrin of the liberal women’s movement, only one woman was given a ministerial position. Bassima al-Hakkaoui, former MP and member of the PJD and, now, the Minister of Solidarity, Women, Family and Social Development, is the first hijab-wearing Islamist political figure to serve in the Moroccan government. Maguy Kakon, Social Center Party parliamentary candidate in 2007 and 2011, claims that while it may be too soon to tell exactly what the PJD government’s agenda will be, women are preparing “to fight to keep their hard-earned rights” that they fear may soon come under attack.

[...]

Source:

Open Demoracy

URL:

http://www.opendemocracy.net/heidi-basch-harod/uncertainty-for-future-of-moroccan-women%E2%80%99s-movement

Date:

March 2, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

The Arab Spring’s misogynist winter

Teaser:

A year after they marched alongside men to topple regimes in the Arab Spring, Arab women are facing a wall of misogyny.

Editorial:

From the New York Daily News:

In Tunisia, Salafist vigilantes have been attacking unveiled women and occupying universities that do not allow the face veil. In Egypt, only eight out of 508 newly elected parliamentarians are female, and the country’s Islamists are threatening to repeal laws making it easier for women to divorce and to gain custody of their children. The head of Libya’s transitional government has promised to bring back polygamy.

The rise of political Islam in all three countries has led some commentators to accuse the Islamists of turning the Arab Spring into an Islamist winter for women. Yet the backlash against women is not confined to Islamists. In Egypt, women who demonstrated for equal rights last year on International Women’s Day were met with ugly jeers and taunts to go home and take care of their children.

Female protesters against the secular military government were subjected to brutal beatings and “virginity tests.” Women who venture into Tahrir Square these days are often sexually harassed.

As the Egyptian anthropologist Hania Sholkamy recently noted, even the left-wing activists who first manned the barricades against President Hosni Mubarak’s regime “reject the whole narrative of gender equality as a figment of a Western imagination.”

[...]

Source:

New York Daily News

URL:

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/arab-spring-misogynist-winter-article-1.1024659?localLinksEnabled=false

Date:

February 21, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Exclusive: U.S. Acts on Women, Peace and Security

Teaser:

A new action plan opens far-reaching possibilities to improve the security of women and the world. With some caution, women’s peace advocates plan to monitor its implementation.

Editorial:

From the Women's Media Center:

The National Action Plan On Women, Peace and Security (NAP) issued by President Obama shortly before the end of last year has the potential of being a significant step forward in addressing the impact of military conflict on women and the necessity of women’s participation in conflict resolution. In response to a UN resolution, it provides a plan for the U.S. government to implement, “a gender responsive approach to its diplomatic, development, and defense-related work in conflict-affected environments” by mandating:

Women’s participation in peace negotiations.
Increased efforts to protect “women and children from harm, exploitation, discrimination, and abuse, including sexual and gender-based violence and trafficking in persons, and to hold perpetrators accountable in conflict-affected environments.”
Increased efforts to promote women’s roles in conflict prevention.
Post-conflict aid and recovery efforts that address the specific needs of women and children.

The order provides a blueprint for strengthened support and implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (SCR 1325) and other resolutions concerning the effect of conflict on women and their role in peacemaking and recovery.

[...]

Source:

Women's Media Center

URL:

http://womensmediacenter.com/blog/2012/01/exclusive-u-s-acts-on-women-peace-and-security/

Date:

February 6, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

What the Women Say: The Arab Spring and Implications for Women

Submitted by asklar on Fri, 01/20/2012 - 11:17am

ICAN's first MENA regional issue brief.

As the Arab world rumbles and shakes, women in the region are experiencing the good, the bad and the ugly that comes with instability, transition and crisis. From Tunisia and Egypt to Syria, Libya and Bahrain, women have been present and vocal in the street protest movements, standing shoulder to shoulder with the men, resisting the batons and tear gas, and being killed. Many have been key organizers and leaders in social networking, helping to articulate a common message and vision of freedom, democracy and equality, and providing logistical support to men at the frontlines of violence. They have also faced many of the
same physical and sexual threats and risks that women elsewhere have encountered during crises and transitions, including harassment, assault and death.

Despite their contribution, they are again facing exclusion from the political processes under way.

URL:

http://www.icanpeacework.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/ICAN17.pdf

Member Organization:

Center for Women's Global Leadership

Girls Grow: A Vital Force in Rural Economies

Submitted by asklar on Fri, 12/30/2011 - 7:30pm

In August 2010, The Chicago Council announced an initiative to bring attention to the role of girls in rural economies of developing countries and identify opportunities to increase investment in women and girls as a tool for economic growth and social stability. Catherine Bertini, currently a Chicago Council senior fellow and Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, served as chair of the project.

URL:

http://www.thechicagocouncil.org/files/Studies_Publications/TaskForcesandStudies/Girls_and_Rural_Economies.aspx

Sri Lanka: Women’s Insecurity in the North and East

Submitted by asklar on Thu, 12/22/2011 - 11:31am

Women in Sri Lanka’s predominantly Tamil-speaking north and east are facing a desperate lack of security in the aftermath of the long civil war. Today many still live in fear of violence from various sources. Those who fall victim to it have little means of redress. Women’s economic security is precarious, and their physical mobility is limited. The heavily militarised and centralised control of the north and east – with almost exclusively male, Sinhalese security forces – raises particular problems for women there in terms of their safety, sense of security and ability to access assistance. They have little control over their lives and no reliable institutions to turn to. The government has mostly dismissed women’s security issues and exacerbated fears, especially in the north and east. The international community has failed to appreciate and respond effectively to the challenges faced by women and girls in the former war zone.

URL:

http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/asia/south-asia/sri-lanka/217-sri-lanka-womens-insecurity-in-the-north-and-east.aspx

Women, Peace, and Security - US Policy Should Support UNSC Resolution 1325

Submitted by vivhdem on Wed, 12/07/2011 - 3:36pm

By Shyama Venkateswar, Ph.D.*
The National Council for Research on Women participates in the US Civil Society Working Group on Women, Peace, and Security. We are currently disseminating a statement and recommendations to encourage more robust US policies and programs to ensure that women's voices and organizations are fully represented throughout diplomacy, peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction efforts. In publishing this statement, the Working Group aims to transform declaratory support into concrete action and engender effective outcomes that bring peace, security, and dignity to the lives of women, men, and chiildren in conflict and crisis settings. Please help us spread the word about this important initiative. Click here to read the statement.

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US Civil Society Working Group on Women, Peace, and Security

Submitted by vivhdem on Wed, 12/07/2011 - 3:16pm

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NCRW is a network of leading university and community based research, policy, and advocacy centers with a growing global reach dedicated to advancing rights and opportunities for women and girls. We also have a Corporate Circle comprised of senior diversity professionals from leading U.S. and global member companies and a Presidents Circle of college and university leaders who share our commitment. NCRW harnesses the collective power of its network to provide knowledge, analysis, and thought leadership on issues ranging from reducing women’s poverty to building a critical mass of women’s leadership across sectors.

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