Working Title:

Gender and the Development of Peace

Dr. Lynda-ann Blanchard Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney Our Work, Our Lives Conference- Dili, Timor Leste, September 2011

The significance of gender in peace and conflict studies

What has gender got to do with peace ? Feminist approaches to human rights Nonviolence and the roles of women and men as agents of social change Development as a context for the interplay between gender and peace

Peace, Gender and Development

A peace and conflict studies perspective begins with the intersections between gender, development and peace and includes a critical analysis of the masculinisation of warfare and the feminisation of peace.

The phenomenology of militarism some quotes

Throughout my time in the world of strategic analysis, it was hard not to notice the ubiquitous weight of gender, both in social relations and in language itself. My goal was to develop a critique of dominant western concepts of reason in a discussion of the nature of nuclear strategic thinking the metaphors are arresting [Carol Cohen, 1987:688] Lets explore the intimate historical and modern connection between manhood and nationhood: through the construction of patriotic manhood and exalted motherhood as icons of nationalist ideology; through sexualised militarism. [Joanne Nagel, 1998:242]
Refs: *Cohn, C (1987) "Sex and Death in the Rational World of Defense Intellectuals", Signs: Journal of Women and Culture and Society, Summer 1987. *Nagel, J (1998) "Masculinity and nationalism: gender and sexuality in the making of nations", Ethnic and Racial Studies 2:1.

The phenomenology and political economy of militarism some facts

In 2005, James Wolfensohn, former Head of the World Bank said The world spends US$900 billion /year on defence and $50 billion per year on development, therein lies the problem. In 2010, Australia spent $61 million dollars per day on defence The Iraq War was called the 3-Trillion Dollar War, and this does not include the human and environmental costs of destroyed lives and lands The US has approx. 1,000 overseas military bases, the largest collection of bases in world history.

The phenomenology and social economy of militarism some figures

There are approx, 23,000 nuclear weapons in the world today (96% are in the arsenals of Russia and the USA) The Lowy Poll on public opinion and foreign policy released last year showed that 75% of Australians somewhat or strongly agreed that global nuclear disarmament should be a top priority for the Australian Govt. Women were more likely than men to agree 84% compared with 65% Despite Winston Churchills decades old assertion to jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war, only a fraction of Australias national budget is dedicated to diplomacy on nuclear disarmament or any other issue, compared to that dedicated to defence
Ref -- www. lowyinstitute .org/PublicationPop.asp?pid=1148 Ref-- Carol Cohen, Felicity Hill and Sara Ruddick (2010), The Relevance of Gender for Eliminating Weapons of Mass Destruction reachingcriticalwill.org/resources/books/BAC/text.html

Timor Leste.
The two warships are named Jaco and Betano and were commissioned into East Timorese service in late June 2010 at an estimated cost of US$34 million East Timor Government budget papers show that the F-FDTL has been allocated funding of $US21.519 million for 2011

The phenomenology and social/political economy of violence some facts

The face of global poverty is a feminine face


Structural violence according to peace theorists

Funding from Australias Addressing Domestic Violence fund was pilfered to fund Anti-terrorism measures


Direct violence against women

75 percent of the IDP in Nepal are women and children (Caritas, 2005)


The unequal impacts of war on women include indirect violence

Source: ekantipur.com

Challenging Norms
Breaking through the norm of masculinised definitions of security or masculinisation of warfare Brings to the surface human security a feminisation of peace

Source: ekantipur.com

The Grameen Bank of Bangladesh

Addressing Structural Violence
      

14 million borrowers in Bangladesh 97% women Seek poorest of the poor as clients Women are shareholders in their bank Liberating women from poverty, liberates children Changes gender inequalities in broader community Diminishing patriarchy

Professor Muhammad Yunus, Founder Grameen Bank Sydney Peace Prize Recipient 1998; Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2008.

Aboriginal Night Patrols

Addressing Direct Violence


  

Began in by grandmothers in the Yuendumu community Removal of alcohol induced male violence from community So effective, police offered uniform and a patrol car Women asked for police cooperation in exchange Reconciling (dialogue and collaboration between) Indigenous/ Non-Indigenous relations

Ref:
www.nt.gov.au/health/healthdev/health_promotion/bushb ook/volume2/chap1/community.htm

Women for Peace Conference Dili 2009

Addressing Cultural Violence Across the world women have increasingly gained a voice in the development of their communities reducing gender related barriers to opportunities. However, for women in many countries, culture remains the main constraint in efforts to reduce gender inequalities. Women and men need to work together so peace and development can progress, especially in post-conflict environments which impact on womens access to education, jobs and decisionmaking. Ref: Women for Peace Narrative Report: 2nd International Conference 2009, pg. 3

The Alola FoundationTimor Leste

The Alola Foundation was originally created (in 2001) to raise awareness of the widespread sexual violence against women and girls in Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor) during the militia attacks of September 1999. The Foundation, today provides a wide range of vitally important hands-on support for the women and children of Timor-Leste.
(Alola Foundation website, August 2011)

Peacebuilding -- Creativity & Imagination Policy & Law

Weaving Womens Stories overcoming war Village Theatre confronting bride price Justice for Women Survivors of Gender Based Violence Peace through Tourism in Timor addressing youth under-employment and under-education Womens participation in the public sphere leads to economic, social and political empowerment

Pedagogy of Peace and Conflict Studies

Is a shift from a system leading to chronic wars, social injustice and ecological imbalance to one of peace, social justice and ecological balance a realistic possibility? what changes in social structure would make such a transformation possible? [Riane Eisler, 1995:xiv].