The Political Economy of Gender and Peacebuilding

Citation:

Chilmeran, Yasmin, and Jacqui True. 2019. "The Political Economy of Gender and Peacebuilding." In Handbook on Intervention and Statebuilding, edited by Nicolas Lemay-Hébert, 323-38. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.

Authors: Yasmin Chilmeran, Jacqui True

Abstract:

UNSCR 1325 and subsequent Security Council resolutions emphasise the importance of women’s participation in peace processes and peacebuilding to ensure the sustainability of peace and prevent the recurrence of conflict. However, in post-conflict contexts, gender inequalities are heightened, contributing to women’s vulnerability to gender-based violence and structural violence. This chapter applies a feminist political economy framework to examine women’s experiences of these forms of violence. Through an analysis of the post-occupation Iraq case we explore: (1) the political economy causes of women’s insecurity, and (2) the consequences of this insecurity for women’s participation in the peacebuilding process. We examine the types of peacebuilding women are involved in and why they are often excluded from major peacebuilding decisions with implications for the failure to adequately address conflict-related gendered violence. In particular, we consider the work that women are doing to address violence and insecurity within their communities outside of state-sanctioned processes. Above all, the case of Iraq demonstrates that there is an inextricable connection between the gendered experience of insecurity and unequal gendered forms of post-conflict participation.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Occupation, Conflict Prevention, Feminisms, Feminist Political Economy, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Political Economies, Post-Conflict, Peacebuilding, Political Participation, Peace Processes, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325, Violence Regions: MENA, Asia, Middle East Countries: Iraq

Year: 2019