Participation of Women in UN Peacekeeping Operations

Citation:

Odanović, Gorana. 2010. “Participation of Women in UN Peacekeeping Operations.” Western Balkans Security Observer 5 (16): 70–79.

Author: Gorana Odanović

Abstract:

Participation of women in the UN peacekeeping operations, as one of necessary preconditions for their effective and successful implementation, has become more widely accepted only during the past ten years. Although women’s contribution in the peacekeeping operations is multifaceted (the level of security among the local women increases, the trust of the local community in the mission grows, the contact with the female population is easier to establish, etc.), the percentage of women who participate in these operations is at the low level, especially when it comes to police and military troops. The greatest obstacles to higher involvement of women in peacekeeping operations are in the fact that there are very few women in police and military units in the states which participate in the UN peacekeeping operations, but also in gender discrimination based on prejudice and stereotypes that women do not have required psychological and physical abilities to perform successfully in the peacekeeping operations. These are, at the same time, the reasons why so few women are involved in the UN peacekeeping operations in which the Serbian police and military units are participating.

Topics: Gender, Women, International Organizations, Peacekeeping Regions: Europe, Balkans, Eastern Europe Countries: Serbia

Year: 2010