Oceania

Securing the 'Gender Legitimacy' of the UN Security Council: Prising Gender from Its Historical Moorings

Citation:

Otto, Dianne. 2004. “Securing the 'Gender Legitimacy' of the UN Security Council: Prising Gender from Its Historical Moorings.” Legal Studies Research Paper 92, Faculty of Law, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne.

Author: Dianne Otto

Abstract:

Recent feminist efforts to engage with the UN Security Council might well be dismissed as a futile attempt to employ the master's tools to dismantle the master's house. That these efforts have born fruit, was evidenced by the Council's unanimous adoption of Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security in October 2000. Since its adoption, the Resolution has been the focus of continuing engagement between women's peace advocates and the Council. 
 
The Resolution can be understood as one of a range of measures adopted by the Council in an effort to tackle its legitimacy deficit; specifically, its gender legitimacy. While the Resolution's promotion of the increased involvement of women in decision-making opens the possibility of clawing back some of the ground lost to military ways of thinking, and legitimating emancipatory understandings of peace based on gender equality and social justice, it also runs the risk of lending a renewed legitimacy to the old ways of getting things done, just as women's participation in the colonial civilizing mission helped to make imperialism possible.  
 
The examples of Afghanistan and East Timor, reveal that there has been slow but measured progress towards increasing the participation of women in formal decision-making processes, and that the progress that has been made has depended in large part on the extensive mobilization of local and trans-national women's peace networks. At the same time, most Afghan and East Timorese women were unaffected by the increased formal participation of women, as they faced heightened levels of gendered violence and economic insecurity. This experience confirms the need use the Resolution to move beyond issues of participation, important as they are, to changing the militarized and imperial gender stereotypes that have played such a central role in maintaining militarism and the secondary status of women. Only then will the Council's deficit in gender legitimacy be reversed in an emancipatory way. (Abstract from Social Sciences Research Network) 

Topics: Coloniality/Post-Coloniality, Feminisms, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Peace and Security, International Organizations, Militarism, Political Participation, Security, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325 Regions: Asia, South Asia, Oceania Countries: Afghanistan, Timor-Leste

Year: 2004

Gendered Dimensions of Disaster Risk Management, Natural Resource Management, and Climate Change Adaptation in the Pacific

Citation:

Anderson, Cheryl L. 2009. “Gendered Dimensions of Disaster Risk Management, Natural Resource Management, and Climate Change Adaptation in the Pacific.” Women in Fisheries Information Bulletin, no. 20, 3–9.

Author: Cheryl L. Anderson

Annotation:

Summary: 
“Under the overarching frameworks of sustainable development and human security, the fields of disaster risk management and climate change adaptation have engaged in increasingly parallel tracks for planning and programming. In the Pacific, the cross-cutting themes of gender and traditional ecological knowledge are important perspectives for understanding the socioeconomic dimensions of disaster, environmental degradation, and climate changes. Explorations of gender dimensions of disaster and climate impacts provide a deeper understanding of these impacts, which enables the identification of solutions that may alleviate them” (Anderson 2009, 3).

Topics: Development, Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Security, Human Security Regions: Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Oceania

Year: 2009

Gendered Violence in Natural Disasters: Learning from New Orleans, Haiti and Christchurch

Citation:

True, Jacqui. 2013. “Gendered Violence in Natural Disasters: Learning from New Orleans, Haiti and Christchurch.” Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work 25 (2): 78–89.

Author: Jacqui True

Abstract:

Why are women so vulnerable to violence and death as a result of disaster compared with men? This article investigates how global environmental forces in the form of natural disasters from floods, droughts and famines to earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes affect women and men differently. Disasters are known to have direct and indirect impacts on gender-based violence particularly against women and girls, revealing a pattern of heightened violence and vulnerability in their aftermath. These gendered impacts are directly relevant to social work theory, practice and advocacy, which seek to promote social well being and to prevent violence in homes and communities during and in the aftermath of disasters. The article argues that women’s unequal economic and social status relative to men before a disaster strikes determines the extent of their vulnerability to violence during and after a crisis. If gender-based violence and women’s particular needs are not addressed in disaster preparedness, disaster recovery plans and humanitarian assistance, then women and girls’ vulnerability will increase. The article offers some lessons based on primary research of responses to the 2010-2011 Christchurch earthquakes against the backdrop of what we know about the responses to an earthquake of similar magnitude in Haiti in 2009. It draws implications from this research for social work theory, practice and advocacy, highlighting the importance of ensuring that future disaster planning and decision making is gender-sensitive.

Keywords: canterbury earthquakes, christchurch earthquakes, disaster, women, Gender, haiti earthquake, violence, disaster planning

Topics: Economies, Economic Inequality, Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Humanitarian Assistance, Violence Regions: Americas, Caribbean countries, North America, Oceania Countries: Haiti, New Zealand, United States of America

Year: 2013

Contemporary Feminist Analysis of Australian Farm Women in the Context of Climate Changes

Citation:

Alston, Margaret, Josephine Clarke, and Kerri Whittenbury. 2018. “Contemporary Feminist Analysis of Australian Farm Women in the Context of Climate Changes.” Social Sciences 7 (2): 16.

Authors: Margaret Alston, Josephine Clark, Kerri Whittenbury

Abstract:

Climate changes are reshaping agricultural production and food security across the world. One result is that women in both the developed and developing world are increasingly being drawn into agricultural labour. Yet, because the labour of women has historically been marginalised and ignored, these changes remain largely unacknowledged. In this paper, we examine gender changes in agricultural labour allocations on Australian irrigated dairy farms impacted by climate-related reductions in water available for irrigation. In the Murray-Darling Basin area of Australia, long years of drought and the need to address ecological degradation have led to the introduction of water saving methods and these have had major impacts at the farm level. We present research indicating that a major outcome has been an increase in women’s labour on- and off-farms. Yet, the lack of attention to gendered labour distribution continues the historical neglect of women’s labour, maintains patriarchal relations in agriculture, significantly impacts women’s views of themselves as agricultural outsiders, and reduces attention to a gendered analysis of climate change outcomes. We argue that gender mainstreaming of climate and agricultural policies is long overdue.

Keywords: feminism, climate change, rural women, agricultural labour

Topics: Agriculture, Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Women, Gender Analysis, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Livelihoods, Security, Food Security Regions: Oceania Countries: Australia

Year: 2018

The Politics of Property: Gender, Land and Political Authority in Solomon Islands

Citation:

Monson, Rebecca. 2017. “The Politics of Property: Gender, Land and Political Authority in Solomon Islands.” In Kastom, Property and Ideology: Land Transformations in Melanesia, edited by Siobhan McDonnell, Matthew G. Allen, and Colin Filer, 383-404. Canberra: ANU Press.

Author: Rebecca Monson

Annotation:

Summary: 
"This chapter links questions about social differentiation in land relations in Solomon Islands to debates about gender inequality in the exercise of formal political authority. I demonstrate that, although land tenure is dynamic and contested, different people are differently positioned to influence the outcomes of negotiations over land. In particular, once contests over land enter the arenas established by the state, it is primarily male leaders—often referred to as ‘chiefs’—who perform, endorse and reject claims to land as property. While the dominance of senior men in these arenas is often perceived by foreign observers as rooted in ‘customary’ ideas about ‘who may talk’ about land matters, I suggest that it is also linked to long-term processes of colonial intrusion, missionisation, and capitalist models of development" (Monson 2017, 385). 

Topics: Coloniality/Post-Coloniality, Development, Economies, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Land Tenure, Rights, Land Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Oceania Countries: Solomon Islands

Year: 2017

Do Natural Disasters Decrease the Gender Gap in Schooling?

Citation:

Takasaki, Yoshito. 2017. “Do Natural Disasters Decrease the Gender Gap in Schooling?” World Development 94 (1): 75–89.

Author: Yoshito Takasaki

Keywords: gender gap in schooling, child labor, natural disaster, disaster aid, Pacific, Fiji

Annotation:

Summary: 
Rapidly decreasing gender gaps in schooling in some developing countries can be partly explained by a gendered division of child farm labor as a coping response to natural disasters. This paper makes a case for this conjecture by analyzing original household survey data from rural Fiji. Boys, not girls, contribute to farming only among cyclone victims with dwelling damage, independent of housing-aid receipt. Boys’ school enrollment is significantly lower than girls’ only among victims who did not receive aid early enough. Boys with no elder brother and an educated father are particularly vulnerable in their progression to higher level schools.

Topics: Education, Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Households Regions: Oceania Countries: Fiji

Year: 2017

Land for Agriculture—Silent Women: Mens' Voices

Citation:

Kenneth, Roselyne. 2015. “Land for Agriculture-Silent Women: Mens' Voices.” In Bougainville before the Conflict, edited by Anthony J. Regan and Helga M. Griffin, 374-87. Canberra, Australia: ANU Press.

Author: Roselyne Kenneth

Annotation:

Summary:
“Entitlement to land constitutes an important base for a person’s status in Haku society on Buka Island. Associated with it are political consequences for the individual as well as for the society. This chapter focuses on the part played by both men and women in negotiations and decisions governing access to agricultural land in their communities, especially the part played by ‘maternal uncles’ and women’s voices in such processes. It also examines to what extent socio-political changes have affected the standing of women and their authority in contemporary society.
 
"On occasions when matters about customary land are discussed, the scene is dominated by men. A first impression is therefore that although the society is matrilineal, it is the men who dominate socio-political life. However, from the perspective of traditional Haku society, absence from public life was not the same as lacking power. The traditional position of women, although rarely exposed in public, included the power to exercise authority, especially in matters concerning land and other inherited rights. Thus, if women remain silent during public meetings, it does not mean that they lack the power to exercise authority in certain matters" (Kenneth 2015, p. 374).

Topics: Agriculture, Gender, Women, Men, Gendered Power Relations, Rights, Land Rights Regions: Oceania Countries: Papua New Guinea

Year: 2015

Pacific Regional Perspectives on Women and the Media: Making the Connection with UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (Women, Peace, and Security) and Section J of the Beijing Platform for Action

Citation:

Bhagwan-Rolls, Sharon. 2011. "Pacific Regional Perspectives on Women and the Media: Making the Connection with UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (Women, Peace, and Security) and Section J of the Beijing Platform for Action." Signs 36 (3): 570-77.

Author: Sharon Bhagwan-Rolls

Abstract:

If empowerment means challenging social norms, equalizing power relations, and enabling individuals and groups to actively claim their rights, then what does it mean for women in rural communities in the Pacific Island region, where the basic necessities of life remain unfulfilled? Where is the peace if there is poverty of information and communication? What does it mean for small Pacific Island states where national budgets for gender equality rely on bilateral support rather than real investment and equity in the allocation of national budgets? What does all this mean for women working to transform information and communication systems to ensure that women in our rural communities are not just informed but are also able to inform and influence both the security-sector-governance and truth-and-reconciliation processes as well as to articulate our economic security priorities, which are linked to our political security? These questions are critical when trying to decipher the implications of Section J of the Beijing Platform for Action for women of the Pacific region, which includes a diverse media environment ranging from a major global news hub in Australia to our mobile women’s radio station in Fiji. They are equally critical in our work of coordinating a regional women’s media network dedicated to advancing the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325. (The University of Chicago Press Journals)

 

Topics: Economies, Poverty, Gender, Women, Gender Budgeting, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Media, Infrastructure, Information & Communication Technologies, Justice, TRCs, Peace and Security, Peacebuilding, Security, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325 Regions: Oceania

Year: 2011

Prevention in Pieces: Representing Conflict in the Women, Peace and Security Agenda

Citation:

Basu, Soumita, and Laura J. Shepherd. 2018. "Prevention in Pieces: Representing Conflict in the Women, Peace and Security Agenda." Global Affairs 3(4-5): 441-453.

Authors: Soumita Basu, Laura J. Shepherd

Abstract:

The Women, Peace and Security agenda is often operationalized across three priority areas: the participation of women in peace and security governance; the protection of women’s rights and bodies (specifically, but not limited to, conflict-related sexual violence); and the prevention of conflict. In this short paper, we explore violence prevention in more detail, and argue that it is of critical importance to define conflict as well as prevention. We draw on the illustrative examples of Australia, the UK and India to explain how this definitional work happens within the machinery of the state and the networks of civil society. Understanding how conflict is theorized by different actors in different locations not only gives insight into the tendency towards militarization in the WPS agenda but also can be interpreted as a manifestation of contestation over ownership of the WPS agenda and its location between the state and civil society.

Keywords: women, peace and security, UNSCR 1325, National Action Plans

Topics: Civil Society, Conflict Prevention, Gender, Women, Conflict, Peace and Security, Governance, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militarization, Rights, Women's Rights, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325, Sexual Violence, SV against Women, Violence Regions: Asia, South Asia, Europe, Northern Europe, Oceania Countries: Australia, India, United Kingdom

Year: 2018

Does the United Nations' Women, Peace and Security Agenda Speak with, for or to Women in the Asia Pacific? The Development of National Action Plans in the Asia Pacific

Citation:

Lee-Koo, Katrina, and Barbara K. Trojanowska. 2017. "Does the United Nations' Women, Peace and Security Agenda Speak with, for or to Women in the Asia Pacific? The Development of National Action Plans in the Asia Pacific." Critical Studies on Security 5 (3): 287-301.

Authors: Katrina Lee-Koo, Barbara K. Trojanowska

Abstract:

Using a critical feminist security studies approach, this article explores the emancipatory possibilities of translating the United Nations’ Women, Peace and Security agenda to countries in the Asia Pacific through the development of national and regional level policy frameworks. It asks whether the common pitfalls of emancipation can be overcome in efforts by stakeholders to encourage a more inclusive, grounded and gender aware approach to security in the region. The paper engages the very real political dangers and constraints to pursuing emancipatory politics in this field but ultimately identifies the opportunities for emancipatory action.

Keywords: women, peace and security, Asia Pacific, emancipation

Topics: Feminisms, Gender, Women, Peace and Security, International Organizations, Peacebuilding, Security, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325 Regions: Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Oceania

Year: 2017

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