Women and peace building - ensuring it is an inclusive process

"PRABODHINI" is the Gender Program of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka. As part of its outreach and networking activities, Prabodhini has invited leading gender specialists from a wide range of organisations to contribute a series of articles to the national media.

In this article Bhavani Fonseka of the Center for Policy Alternatives discusses Women and Peace Building - ensuring that it is an inclusive process.

Women have had a significant role across the globe, in situations of conflict, post conflict and peace building. In countries such as Afghanistan, Nagaland, Kashmir, Mindanao, El Salvador, Guatemala and Sri Lanka, women have raised awareness and created space for women's activism and participation in peace building.

Further, in the recent past, women have been seen as active agents in conflicts. Both the military as well as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have women in their forces.

In the Maoist insurgency in Nepal and in the National Socialist Council of Nagalism (NSCN) women have a key role and compose significant numbers in the forces.

At international level, there have been measures such as the UN Resolution 1325 that calls on member states and all parties to conflicts to include women at the highest levels of decision making, especially in peace negotiations and the implementation of peace agreements.

This builds on the Beijing Platform for Action and The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) calling for equal participation and equal opportunities for women.

It is evident that women's activism in peace building is both at the international and the local levels.

Women's agency for peace is most active in local initiatives where there is community level participation in dispute resolution and management, raising human rights violations and opposing any action that may be seen to violate any rights as well as participating in various forums aimed towards reconciliation.

For example, in the conflict-affected areas in Sri Lanka, there are many women's groups at community level and village level that are active at various levels and forms in the peace initiative.

The ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka has created space for women to move from their traditional domestic role to the public sphere.

Conflict has resulted in many cultural and social barriers being erased or temporarily suspended' there has also been a transformation in social and gender hierarchies as a result of the increasing number of female-headed households (FHHs) and the socio-economic impact of the conflict.

The rise in FHH has resulted in women being the sole breadwinner as well as caring for the family. This has put an added burden on them. Conflict has created roles that empower women but in many cases these new roles have been thrust upon the women and many women have a sense of ambivalence about these new roles.

In any peace building initiative, it is essential to recognise the new roles that have been created regarding women, women's agencies and capacity in their new roles.

As seen in many conflicts and peace processes, women have been active in an informal manner but women's participation in active peace negotiations has been minimal. As seen in the recent past, the peace negotiations in Sri Lanka have seen very few women being part of the formal process.

A significant development in the recent past was the setting up of the Sub-Committee on Gender Issues during the fourth round of talks between the government and the LTTE in 2003. The Sub-Committee consisted of five members nominated by the Government and five by the LTTE.

As a result of the stalled peace process, the Sub-Committee was unable to formulate any policies or recommendations and it is uncertain what the role of the Sub-Committee would be in the future.

A study to assess Prabodhini's impact on "Women's Participation in Politics, the Peace Process and Public Life" conducted by Social Indicator, Centre for Policy Alternatives in August 2004, found that the majority of women interviewed were aware of the peace talks and a majority were satisfied with the participation of women in the peace talks.

A significant number believed that Sri Lankan women has a special role in ending the North East war. There were diverse views on what constituted a special role, such as forwarding their individual ideas and proposals, playing a role through women's organisations and collectives, living harmoniously in their respective villages, participating in rallies for peace, voicing their opinions, holding meetings and creating awareness among women and the general public.

Women's role in peace building must also take into consideration the recent developments in Sri Lanka. The tsunami struck several countries on December 26, last year creating much destruction and devastation.

Many women in the conflict affected areas in Sri Lanka, who had experienced the horrors of the conflict, faced the horrors of the tsunami.

In the immediate aftermath of the tsunami many women from different backgrounds and ethnic groups came together to help the people in need, thereby creating new linkages and building bridges.

It is important that this momentum is kept alive. It is also important that any new initiatives by the stakeholders make it an inclusive process so that all voices are heard regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender, class or caste.

Women's experiences and roles enable different voices and values to be articulated which can bring in diversity and a different perspective to peace building and negotiations.

It has been argued that since women have had the traditional role of nurturing and caring as well as in certain cases, being excluded from the public sphere, they have experienced unfair and unjust treatment.

Therefore women can highlight the inequalities that are present in society and specifically in times of conflict and post conflict.

They can question standards and norms that are male dominated and infuse a gendered discourse to areas such as conflict resolution and management, reconciliation, human rights, governance and security.

Women also have a key role in post-conflict reconstruction and ensuring that justice, fairness and equality are achieved in parallel to upholding good governance principles such as participation, accountability, transparency, subsidiarity, effectiveness, pluralism and equity.

Including women in peace building involves challenging the traditional notion of what constitutes political activity.

It links peace building with civil, political and socio-economic rights. Having women in peace building measures and negotiations ensures that the process is one of democracy, equality and inclusivity.