Women for Peace
The biggest misconception that a lot of people have is that the end of a war means total peace. Most, if not all of the time, post-conflict can be one of the most trying times for the people of any country, particularly for women. Post-conflict means the restoration and the rebuilding of communities. It’s that time when many, especially women and children, struggle to get over the trauma wrought by widespread violence.
It’s sad however, how very few member states of the United Nations are actually supporting the National Action Plan, a resolution on heavily involving women in the peace building and peace keeping process. Now in its 9th year, the resolution has only managed to get the support of 16 member states and that’s not even half of the entire United Nations.
I can’t quite understand why it has taken many of the member states this long to contemplate whether or not to support the National Action Plan. One thing is for certain: what is not written on paper doesn’t necessarily exist. Support expressed through nothing but words may easily be well forgotten and forgone.
According to the United Nations, women generally occupy less than 10% of the decision making seats in terms of peace keeping and conflict resolution. This is extremely alarming, if you ask me, considering that many of those who suffer in war torn areas are women and children.
More seats in decision making bodies should then be allocated for women considering that a woman’s point of view is essential when solutions are created to be able to rebuild peace and put together the broken pieces of shattered lives.
Women are the ones who can best represent what the needs of women are in terms of economic independence, physical security, access to health and other social services, access to education, and justice. This highlights the need for women to take a more dominant and active role in helping rebuild communities that have experienced the ravages of war.
Women’s groups must also be present during donor meetings such that more focus is given on supporting the establishment on women’s cooperatives and in offering more opportunities for women post war.
The United Nations must be relentless in its push for member states to support the resolution because it is often the violence against women that persists post war that isn’t spotted on the radar.
Comments
I know a little subject you may find interesting.
Have you read about the group called *Las Abejas*, in the State of Chiapas, México?
You can search in GoogleBooks its information and read about a very interesting and effective action coming from women and the clearly already existing outlines of community based work in direct action against big corporations and some of its coercitives ways of making wealth -since no one regulates them really when chopping trees, killing people or polluding...
Thought you may like to read about them. Also there are a few examples in Colombia with indigineous women that work with the ONIC and CRIC.
****
Reading the comment above, I don't think that women have to do anything except, for starts, deprogram themselves. Start questioning their own beliefs, their own dogmas, their own cultural backgrounds, in order to really have a neat mind-frame of the action that is need in order to gain balance socially. I mean, maybe some people are not happy with abortion, but let's be real here: we are an overpopulated species. We must regulate. Animals abort too, in order to keep the Balance cyclical. And so can we.
But some men don't see it that way, they are happy preaching over women's bodies and being fearmongerers; some women jump happily along, unaware that despite your theological believes, there is a limit, very real, to resources (emotional & biological in nature).
So, what's to do?
Accept it blindfounded? Or, think about it as an opportunity to i) give good clean in-depth sexual education, ii) legalize abortion so there are no dangerous procedures.
And so, in Colombia a lot of women are rising to the task of separating their Eclesiastic Beliefs from their Biological Rights. Rightly so, when you think about it: it has been a long standing tradition of seeing a woman as a reproductive item, not a living breathing soul.
And it's a Male Standard Issue, that can only be stopped by women organizing a new voice about it.
I resume this by saying that if women really are better than men... well, it's ok by me -and I for one, truly think so. But they really need to prove it, stoping the sheer masculinization of their own actions and looking at alternatives. Maybe start by history: a history made of great men, but that rarely mentions great women as valid and powerful actors into mankind growth.
Women are better in almost
Women are better in almost everything - planning, organizing, analysing, etc. I honestly believe we can greatly aid in resolving the major issues that beset our country, especially about peace in Mindanao. But we are kept out of important decision-making bodies because there'll be nothing left for men to do after we have successfully address each of those. This will bring to light weaknesses and insecurities most of them leave at home, inside the confines of their closets or under their beds. Nothing personal against men. I have five brothers & I love my dad. But I honestly hope they'll give us a chance to work through each conflicts beside them. After all, this world is simply not the same without us.
Post new comment