Women, Peace, and Security

Aroussi, Sahla

doi:10.1017/9781780685748

Cited by 13 publications

(16 citation statements)

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“…All the women acknowledged that at some point their children had given them the strength to carry on, a fact which contradicts the common perception that having children limits agency (Carlman, 2012: 82-83). See also Aroussi (2009), for a critique of feminist representations of women as mythical peacebuilders and postmodern feminists who have insisted on "the futility of any attempt to define an essential female nature" (Spegele, 2002: 392, cited by Arousi, 2009). All the women who had partners before their conflict victimization (partners who had often fathered all or most of their children) had separated from them after being victimized by the conflict (Esther's partner left her when she was raped, feeling that he was the main victim), and none of them cites a partner as a source of emotional or economic support.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leaders against all odds: Women victims of conflict in Colombia

Restrepo

2016

Palgrave Commun

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In the current high-profile conflict within Colombia, women account for the majority of civilian victims. It has been argued that the inclusion of women in peace-building processes may help increase the scope and sustainability of the subsequently achieved peace. However, most women victims of conflict (WVCs) achieve public visibility simply because of their suffering, not because of their potential as sources, initiators and agents of peace. In contrast, this article argues that WVCs represent a hitherto uncharted piece of the peace-building puzzle. In particular, this study explores the ways in which some WVCs are overcoming their own victimhood and emerging as leaders in peace-building, despite the significant personal risks associated with the on-going violence: who better to help heal and empower victims and reconcile society than those who have suffered trauma themselvesand risen above it? The article draws its primary evidence from extensive personal interviews, ethnographic work and data on women victims in Colombia. Against all odds, these unsung WVC leaders have proven to be powerful agents of change: capable of healing, empowering and even reconciling broader society. This article is published as part of a thematic collection on multi-and interdisciplinary perspectives on gender studies.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leaders against all odds: Women victims of conflict in Colombia

Restrepo

2016

Palgrave Commun

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“…Resolution 1325 was initially widely celebrated by feminists and women's activists because of its potential for transforming unequal gender relationships in transitional societies and increasing women's equal participation and full involvement, particularly in leadership positions in national, regional, and international institutions and in future governance and transitional institutions. The underlying aim of Resolution 1325 was not simply to protect women during armed conflicts but also to promote gender equality and women's empowerment during peace processes and postconflict reconstruction (Aroussi 2015; Otto 2009).…”

Section: Sexual Violence and The Un Agenda On Women Peace And Securitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Conflicts tend to reinforce existing patriarchal structures and exacerbate gender discrimination (Ní Aoláin 2011). Particularly during postconflict transition, women often suffer from exclusion from decision making and experience a backlash against their rights (Al-Ali 2005; Aroussi 2015; Pankhurst 2007). While women are involved during conflicts in war and peacemaking efforts and in managing the survival of their communities, they are typically excluded from participating in formal peace negotiations, transitional and future government institutions, and reconstruction programs (Aroussi 2015).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Feminist scholars have also highlighted the continuum of gender harm in which women live in peace, conflict, and postconflict societies and the interconnectedness among the various forms of violence (Cockburn 2004; Enloe 2010; True 2012). Feminists have constantly pointed to the organic link between women's lack of access to decision making and resources such as lands, properties, credit, employment, and education and their vulnerability to violence during conflicts and in so-called peacetime (Aroussi 2015; Ní Aoláin, Haynes, and Cahn 2011; True 2012).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…This resolution represented the first instance in which the UN Security Council recognized women beyond the category of victims as political actors and essential partners capable of contributing to the maintenance of international peace and security. The resolution introduced a holistic agenda to address the needs of women in armed conflicts, peace processes, and postconflict reconstruction and to involve and support women's participation in all their peace activities (Aroussi 2015). However, since June 2008, the UN Security Council has adopted a series of new resolutions on women, peace, and security that focus almost exclusively on the issue of sexual violence in armed conflicts.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Women, Peace, and Security and the DRC: Time to Rethink Wartime Sexual Violence as Gender-Based Violence?

Aroussi

2016

Pol & Gen

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During armed conflicts, women experience extensive gender harm of a physical, sexual, legal, economic, social, cultural, and political nature. Recently, however, we have witnessed unprecedented attention in international law and policy-making arenas to the specific issue of sexual violence as a strategy of warfare. This has been particularly obvious in the agenda on women, peace, and security. Since 2008, the United Nations agenda has increasingly and repeatedly focused on sexual violence in armed conflicts in several Security Council resolutions, calling on and pressuring member states and international agencies to address this issue using militaristic and legalistic strategies. In this article, looking particularly at the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), I argue that the prioritization of sexual harm over other forms of gender harm has had a detrimental impact on women living in aid-dependent societies, and the international obsession with sexual harm has delivered neither justice nor security for victims in the DRC. The article concludes that in order to effectively address sexual violence, we have to rethink sexual harm as gender harm and start listening and responding to women's actual needs and priorities on the ground.

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Strange Bedfellows: Interrogating the Unintended Consequences of Integrating Countering Violent Extremism with the UN's Women, Peace, and Security Agenda in Kenya

Aroussi

2020

Pol & Gen

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Abstract In October 2015, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2242 calling on member states to work toward the greater integration of the women, peace, and security (WPS) agenda with efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism. While the rapprochement between counterterrorism and WPS may appear to be a step forward, particularly for those seeking to increase women's participation in areas traditionally dominated by men, it is also potentially dangerous. This article makes a significant contribution to the larger debate on the WPS agenda by studying the impact and unintended consequences of linking WPS with countering violent extremism on the ground in Kenya. Based on original research in the field, including key informant interviews, I argue that in the Kenyan context, connecting WPS with violent extremism has had several damaging consequences for women and their communities. Far from advancing the WPS agenda, this new policy shift has caused tension between local and international priorities, precipitated the redirection of donor funding away from important gender initiatives and toward countering violent extremism, and resulted in women's additional stigmatization, insecurity, and exclusion.

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Women, Peace, and Security

Cited by 13 publications

References 0 publications

Leaders against all odds: Women victims of conflict in Colombia

Leaders against all odds: Women victims of conflict in Colombia

Women, Peace, and Security and the DRC: Time to Rethink Wartime Sexual Violence as Gender-Based Violence?

Strange Bedfellows: Interrogating the Unintended Consequences of Integrating Countering Violent Extremism with the UN's Women, Peace, and Security Agenda in Kenya

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