Oceania

Citation:

Lusby, Stephanie. 2017. "Securitisation, Development and the Invisibility of Gender." In Transformations of Gender in Melanesia, edited by Macintyre Martha and Spark Ceridwen, 23-44. Canberra: ANU Press. 

Author: Stephanie Lusby

Annotation:

"Discussions of violence are ubiquitous in, and with regard to, Papua New Guinea. In this chapter, I discuss how persistent broader contexts of legitimised violence shape efforts to destabilise particular patterns of violence, namely, male violence against women. Looking at the perspectives of men working in the security industry in PNG, I argue that the increased traction and centrality of discourses of securitisation in the name of national development allows violence against men accused of criminal or anti-social behaviour to persist. Critically, the silences around the gendered dimensions of violence between men excused as ‘disciplinary’ produces double standards that are unhelpful to efforts to improve gender equality. Here, I seek to illustrate that narratives of discipline and security form a continuum in discussions of violence, highlighting the need for politicised and holistic approaches to gender in violence interventions" (Lusby, 2017, p. 23).

Topics: Gender, Women, Men, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Security, Male Perpetrators, Violence Regions: Oceania Countries: Papua New Guinea

Year: 2017

Citation:

Christie, Tamoya, and Dhanaraj Thakur. 2016. “Caribbean and Pacific Islands: A Survey of Gender Budgeting Efforts.” IMF Working Paper 16/154. Washington, D.C.: International Monetary Fund. 

Authors: Tamoya Christie, Dhanaraj Thakur

Abstract:

Of the countries in the Caribbean and Pacific Islands, Timor-Leste has the most well-developed gender budgeting initiative. In the Pacific Islands, a few gender budgeting efforts were initiated but did not continue. In the Caribbean, there have been no well-developed gender budgeting efforts, although governments have undertaken policies to promote gender equality. We provide a number of recommendations to improve the effectiveness of gender budgeting efforts. Governments should link gender budgeting to national development plans, set realistic time expectations for achieving results, engage in capacity building with officials, draw upon strengths outside the government, and strengthen regional coordination.

Keywords: gender budgeting, fiscal policy & administration, gender inequality, Caribbean & Pacific Islands

Topics: Development, Gender Budgeting, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality Regions: Americas, Caribbean countries, Oceania Countries: Timor-Leste

Year: 2016

Citation:

Costa, Monica. 2017. Gender Responsive Budgeting in Fragile States: The Case of Timor-Leste. Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge.

Author: Monica Costa

Annotation:

Topics: Development, Economies, Economic Inequality, Gender Budgeting, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance Regions: Oceania Countries: Timor-Leste

Year: 2017

Citation:

Zorn, Jean G. 2016. "Translating and Internalising International Human Rights Law: The Courts of Melanesia Confront Gendered Violence." In Gender Violence & Human Rights: Seeking Justice in Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, edited by Aletta Biersack, Margaret Jolly, and Martha Macintyre, 229-70. Australia: ANU Press.

Author: Jean G. Zorn

Annotation:

"CEDAW has had a salutary effect on the island nations of the South Pacific, including Papua New Guinea. To say that, however, is not to say very much. To date, CEDAW’s effect has been limited— and the problems of women’s subordination and of widespread, systemic violence against women remain obdurate and intractable. Nevertheless, it is a beginning. Guided by the analyses of Meyersfeld and Koh, who pointed out that the first impact of an international law on the politics, economy and social ordering of any culture will most likely be found in the legal practices of that culture, I sought for evidence of CEDAW in the decisions handed down by judges of the state courts. And, indeed, I found a number of cases—still scattered, but potentially influential—in which judges have not only mentioned CEDAW’s existence, but have actually relied upon it in framing the common law and in applying domestic statutes. In other words, in the Meyersfeld/Koh terminology, judges are aiding the infiltration of this crucially important piece of international law into the domestic legal system" (Zorn, 2016, p. 262).

Topics: Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, International Law, International Human Rights, Rights, Women's Rights, Sexual Violence, SV against Women, Violence Regions: Oceania Countries: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu

Year: 2016

Citation:

Macintyre, Stuart. 2013. “Women’s Leadership in War and Reconstruction.” Labour History, no. 104, 65-80. 

Author: Stuart Macintyre

Abstract:

Topics: Economies, Economic Inequality, Gender, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Gender Equity, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Oceania Countries: Australia

Year: 2013

Citation:

True, Jacqui. 2012. “Rebuilding With or Without Women?: Gendered Violence in Postconflict Peace and Reconstruction” In The Political Economy of Violence Against Women. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Author: Jacqui True

Abstract:

Chapter 8 examines the spike of sexual and gender-based violence in postconflict and peace-building environments. Despite recent UN Security Council resolutions, the invisibility of this violence against women during and after conflict marginalizes women in postconflict state-building and economic reconstruction processes. This economic and political marginalization of women exacerbates violence after conflict and hinders these peace-building efforts. The first part of the chapter applies the political economy approach of the book to reveal how gendered peacekeeping economies exacerbate violence against women. It critiques the prioritization of law and order over social and economic opportunities. The second part examines the role of women in peace-building decision making and economic reconstruction in places as diverse as East Timor; Aceh, Indonesia; Mindanao province in the Philippines; Iraq; Afghanistan; Colombia; Guatemala; the Congo; and Darfur. The chapter concludes by critically assessing two approaches to postconflict prevention of violence against women: the “good practice” of placing women peacekeepers in postconflict zones and the role of reparations in ensuring women's equal access to postconflict development.

Keywords: post conflict, peacekeeping economies, reparations, peacebuilding, economic reconstruction

Topics: Armed Conflict, Development, Economies, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Peacebuilding, Peacekeeping, Peace Processes, Political Economies, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, Violence Regions: Africa, MENA, Central Africa, East Africa, Americas, Central America, South America, Asia, Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Oceania Countries: Afghanistan, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guatemala, Indonesia, Iraq, Philippines, Sudan, Timor-Leste

Year: 2012

Citation:

Author: Anna Naupa

Annotation:

Summary:

"While land reform was a key political driver of Vanuatu’s Independence in 1980, land policy reform only recently returned to the political arena in the mid-2000s. Finding the space to raise awareness about women’s land rights in a Vanuatu land reform context is challenged by competing reform priorities, such as redress mechanisms for unscrupulous deals, customary conflict resolution, and anti-corruption measures that had been overlooked for a couple of decades. Predominantly viewed as a male domain, the absence of women is notable in land discussions. Women have been largely invisible in state-managed land decisions, not least due to exclusionary practices by the males who control access to land in the traditional arena. Compounded by the primacy of customary land practice enshrined by Vanuatu’s Constitution and state reinforcement of such gender bias, advocating for women’s land rights—and women’s rights in general—has required culturally and politically strategic approaches to finding a place in the land reform agenda.

"This paper analyses the different strategies used to raise awareness and advocate for the recognition of women’s rights to land in Vanuatu’s policy reform context. Given the cultural context in Vanuatu, it has been necessary to adopt an advocacy model that goes beyond framing the language of rights within accepted socio-cultural constructs, to also address the political-economic dimensions of gendered access to land through identifying male champions, and to combine both upstream (awareness-raising) and downstream (coalition-building) advocacy paths. Future advocacy efforts must include greater engagement by women themselves, not just their advocates, for reform efforts to be sustainable (Naupa, 2017, 306)."

Topics: Gender, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Land Grabbing, Rights, Land Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Oceania Countries: Vanuatu

Year: 2017

Citation:

Makuwira, Jonathan. 2006. “Aid Partnership in the Bougainville Conflict: The Case of a Local Women’s NGO and Its Donors.” Development in Practice 16 (03–04): 322–33. doi:10.1080/09614520600694927.

Author: Jonathan Makuwira

Abstract:

This article documents lessons learned from a study of aid partnerships in post-conflict development and peace building in Bougainville. It examines how donor agencies, in this case the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) through the International Women's Development Agency (IWDA), contributed to the successes and failures of the Leitana Nehan Women's Development Agency (LNWDA). Although the donors contributed to the organisational development and capacity of the LNWDA, the balance of power remains unequal. Furthermore, the deployment of an intermediary body in the partnership exerts considerable pressure on the LNWDA, because it has to deal with multiple demands for accountability, which affect the impact of its own work on the ground. It is argued that in order to enhance the impact of their assistance, donor agencies need to develop a framework in which partnerships are sustained through mutual and less demanding accountabilities.

Topics: Development, Gender, Women, Humanitarian Assistance, NGOs, Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict Regions: Oceania Countries: Papua New Guinea

Year: 2006

Citation:

Cummins, Deborah. 2011. “The Problem of Gender Quotas: Women’s Representatives on Timor-Leste’s Suku Councils.” Development in Practice 21 (1): 85–95. doi:10.1080/09614524.2011.530246.

Author: Deborah Cummins

Abstract:

ENGLISH ABSTRACT

This article examines the experiences of women occupying reserved seats on the suku councils of Timor-Leste (each of which represents a number of small villages). The limited political participation of these women is often ascribed to patriarchal ideas within rural areas, and the need for capacity development. This article argues, however, that there are further structural issues at play, whereby the interaction between traditional and modern governance makes it difficult for women occupying reserved seats to make their mark. While gender quotas can be a useful tool to encourage women’s political participation, these structural issues need to be recognised and addressed in order to truly empower women.

FRENCH ABSTRACT

Cet article examineles expériences des femmes qui occupent des sièges réservés au sein des conseils desuku duTimor oriental (dont chacun repreésente un petit nombre de petits villages). La participation politique limitée de ces femmes est souvent attribuée à des idées patriarcales propres aux zones rurales et à la nécessité de développement des capacités. Cet article soutient, toutefois, qu’il y a d’autres questions structurelles en jeu, dans le cadre desquelles l’interaction entre la gouvernance traditionnelle et moderne fait qu’il est difficile pour les femmes qui occupent des sièges re´serve´s de s’imposer. Bien que les quotas de genrepuissent constituer un outil utile pour encourager la participation politique des femmes, ces questions structurelles doivent être reconnues et résolues pour véritablement autonomiser les femmes.

SPANISH ABSTRACT

Este ensayo analiza las experiencias de las mujeres que ocuparon curules reservadas para ellas en los consejos suku de Timor Oriental (cada uno de ellos representaba varias aldeas). La limitada participacio´n polı´tica de las mujeres se atribuye a menudo a las ideas patriarcales que existen en el a´mbito rural y a la necesidad de desarrollar capacidades. Sin embargo, el ensayo sostiene que entran en juego otros temas estructurales como la interaccio´n entre gobierno tradicional y moderno, lo cual impide que las mujeres que ocupan curules reservadas consigan el impacto deseado. Desde luego, las cuotas de ge´nero pueden favorecer una mayor participacio´n polı´tica de las mujeres, pero para que las mujeres se empoderen de manera significativa el orden estructural tiene que ser visibilizado y deconstruido.

PORTUGUESE ABSTRACT

Este artigo examina as experieˆncias das mulheres que esta˜o ocupando posic¸o˜es reservadas nos conselhos de suku de Timor-Leste (cada um deles representa va´rios vilarejos pequenos). A participac¸a˜o polı´tica limitada destas mulheres e´ frequentemente atribuı´da a ideias patriarcais dentro de a´reas rurais e a` necessidade de desenvolvimento de capacidades. Este artigo argumenta, pore´m, que ha´ outras questo˜es estruturais em jogo, que fazem com que a interac¸a˜o entre a governanc¸a tradicional e a moderna dificulte que as mulheres ocupem posic¸o˜es que possibilitem que elas fac¸am uma diferenc¸a. Embora as quotas de geˆnero possam ser uma ferramenta u´til para incentivar a participac¸a˜o polı´tica das mulheres, essas questo˜es estruturais precisam ser reconhecidas e abordadas para realmente empoderar as mulheres.

Keywords: aid, gender, diversity, governace, public policy, Southeast Asia

Topics: Gender, Women, Governance, Quotas, Justice, Political Participation Regions: Oceania Countries: Timor-Leste

Year: 2011

Citation:

Ramsay, Georgina. 2016. “Motherhood Motivations: African Refugee Women Resettled in Australia and Return Visits to a Country of First Asylum.” International Migration 54 (4): 87–101. doi:10.1111/imig.12249.

Author: Georgina Ramsay

Abstract:

This article expands on conceptualizations of refugee “return” by examining why African women resettled as refugees in Australia return to visit the country of first asylum from which they were previously resettled. I show that their return visits do not relate to attachment to place, but are motivated by social obligations to practise “motherhood” to family members who, due to conflict-induced displacement, remain in a country of first asylum. I argue that the phenomenon of refugee “return” cannot be conflated exclusively with return to country of origin but is, for African women in particular, centred on the reinvigoration of care relationships across diasporic settings of asylum in which family remain. Building on an emergent focus on feminization in migration studies, I show how these gendered dynamics of refugee “return” are an entry point from which to re-consider how scholarship and policy take into account “family” in contexts of forced migration.

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Migration, Refugees, Gender, Women Regions: Africa, Oceania Countries: Australia

Year: 2016