Governance

Citation:

Hutchinson, Susan. 2018. "Leading the Operationalisation of WPS." Security Challenges 14 (2): 124-43.

Author: Susan Hutchinson

Annotation:

Topics: Armed Conflict, DDR, Gender, Women, Governance, International Organizations, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militaries, Security, Security Sector Reform, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS Regions: Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, Americas, North America, Asia, South Asia, Europe, Balkans, Nordic states, Northern Europe, Western Europe, Oceania Countries: Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Rwanda, Sweden, Timor-Leste, United States of America, Yugoslavia (former)

Year: 2018

Citation:

Benard, Cheryl, Seth G. Jones, Olga Oliker, Cathryn Quantic Thurston, Brooke K. Stearns, and Kristen Cordell. 2008. Women and Nation-Building. Santa Monica: RAND Corporation.

Authors: Cheryl Benard, Seth G. Jones, Olga Oliker, Cathryn Quantic Thurston, Brooke K. Stearns, Kristen Cordell

Annotation:

Summary:
"The challenge of nation-building, i.e., dealing with the societal and political aftermaths of conflicts and putting new governments and new social compacts into place, has occupied much international energy during the past several decades. As an art, a process, and a set of competencies, it is still very much in an ongoing learning and experimentation phase. The RAND Corporation has contributed to the emerging knowledge base in this domain through a series of studies that have looked at nation-building enterprises led by the United States and others that were led by the United Nations and have examined the experiences gained during the reconstruction of specific sectors. Our study focuses on gender and nation-building. It considers this issue from two aspects: First, it examines gender-specific impacts of conflict and post-conflict and the ways in which events in these contexts may affect women differently than they affect men. Second, it analyzes the role of women in the nation-building process, in terms of both actual current practices, as far as these could be measured and ascertained, and possible outcomes that might occur if these practices were to be modified.

The study team first surveyed the broader literature on women in development, women and governance, women and conflict, and women in nation-building. It then focused on the case of Afghanistan. This case study was chosen for three reasons: First, it is contemporary, and it offers a longer nation-building “track record” and thus more data than does Iraq, the other contemporary case. Second, the relevant debate and decision line is easy to track because gender issues have been overtly on the table from the beginning of U.S. post-conflict involvement in Afghanistan, in part because of the Taliban’s equally overt prior emphasis on gender issues as a defining quality of its regime. Third, in contrast to earlier cases of nation-building, the issue of women’s inclusion is presently an official part of any development agenda, so that all the active agents in the nation-building enterprise have made conscious choices and decisions in that regard which can be reviewed and their underlying logic evaluated.

The study concludes with a broad set of analytic and policy recommendations. First, we identify the gaps in data collection and provide specific suggestions for improvement. Then, we recommend three shifts in emphasis that we believe are likely to strengthen the prospects of stability and enhance the outcomes of nation-building programs: a more genuine emphasis on the broader concept of human security from the earliest phases of the nation-building effort; a focus on establishing governance based on principles of equity and consistent rule of law from the start; and economic inclusion of women in the earliest stages of reconstruction activities” (Benard, Jones, Oliker, Thurston, Stearns, and Cordell 2008, xiii).

Topics: Development, Economies, Conflict, Education, Gender, Governance, Health, International Organizations, Livelihoods, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Security, Human Security Regions: Americas, North America, Asia, South Asia Countries: Afghanistan, United States of America

Year: 2008

Citation:

Hadjipavlou, Maria, and E. Biran Mertan. 2019. "A Multilevel Intervention: The Case of the Cyprus Gender Advisory Team (GAT) Achievements and Challenges." Journal of Peacebuilding & Development 14 (2): 125-37.

Authors: Maria Hadjipavlou, E. Biran Mertan

Abstract:

In this article, we discuss Gender Advisory Team (GAT)’s multilevel linkage strategy—Macro–Meso–Micro—in promoting women’s ideas and views on the different issues discussed at the negotiating table and raising public awareness on GAT’s recommendations regarding the issues of governance and power sharing from a gender and feminist perspective as well as on property, economy, citizenship, and education in a federal reunited Cyprus. In this article, we give examples only on governance and citizenship. Our feminist take on these issues necessitates a perspective that transcends the ethnic divide and includes the Women, Peace and Security agenda. We argue that Cypriot women’s concerns, needs, and gender mainstreaming as well an inclusive process should be prioritised at all levels of institutions. We conclude with GAT’s impact and challenges.

Keywords: Cyprus, multilevel strategy, Gender, conflict, negotiation, recommendations, feminist perspective

Topics: Citizenship, Ethnicity, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Governance, Post-Conflict Governance, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS Regions: Europe, Southern Europe Countries: Cyprus

Year: 2019

Citation:

Ali, Nada Mustafa. 2011. Gender and Statebuilding in South Sudan. 298. Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace. 

Author: Nada Mustafa Ali

Annotation:

Summary:
"South Sudan’s independence ends decades of conflict as well as socioeconomic and political marginalization at the hands of successive governments in Khartoum, which affected women in gender-specific ways. Independence thus opens up opportunities for women’s economic and social empowerment, ensuring that the new country’s political and economic structures and institutions reflect commitments to women’s participation and human rights. In turn, empowering women will enable South Sudan to strengthen its economic and political structures and institutions.

There is great potential for gender equality and respect for women’s rights in South Sudan. The government has expressed commitments to equality between women and men and to women’s participation. South Sudan is relatively egalitarian and lacking in religious extremism. International actors interested in South Sudan recognize that promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment and addressing gender-based violence (GBV) are key to maintaining peace and security and helping South Sudan’s economy grow.

Challenges abound, however. South Sudan is severely lacking in infrastructure and has some of the worst human development indicators worldwide. Social and cultural practices harmful to women compound the effects of conflict and marginalization. There are constant internal and external security threats, a limited understanding of gender equality, and a tendency within communities to view gender as an alien and illegitimate concern, given the acute problems that South Sudan faces.

The government of South Sudan, with the support of regional partners and the international community, should ensure that gender equality and women’s rights are fully integrated into and are outcomes of state building. National planning, developing the permanent constitution, and building the country’s new institutions and structures should reflect commitments to gender equality and input from women and women’s groups across South Sudan. The government should cost and meet the full budgetary needs of the Ministry of Gender, Child, and Welfare; ratify and implement the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa; strengthen efforts to prevent GBV and address the needs of GBV victims and survivors; and invest more in quality and accessible health and education” (Ali 2011, 1-2).

Topics: Armed Conflict, Secessionist Wars, Economies, Gender, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Post-Conflict Governance, International Organizations, Livelihoods, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: South Sudan

Year: 2011

Citation:

Gilmartin, Niall. 2019. Female Combatants after Armed Struggle: Lost in Transition? New York: Routledge. 

Author: Niall Gilmartin

Annotation:

Topics: Armed Conflict, Combatants, Female Combatants, Feminisms, Gender, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Non-State Armed Groups, Peace and Security, Post-Conflict, Peacekeeping, Violence Regions: Europe, Western Europe Countries: Ireland

Year: 2019

Citation:

Uwayezu, Ernest and John Mugisha. 2018. "Decoding Gender Justice in Land Conflicts Resolution in Rwanda." African Journal of Land Policy and Geospatial Sciences 1 (1): 1-20.

Authors: Ernest Uwayezu, John Mugisha

Abstract:

ENGLISH ABSTRACT:
Rwanda has implemented a land tenure regularization program since 2008 that enabled the adjudication and registration of land rights for both men and women. However, Rwandan women are vulnerable to land conflicts because some men do not recognize or respect women’s rights in land. This study investigates the extent to which government institutions in Rwanda empower women in claiming and defending their land rights. Data sources include questionnaire survey, interviews, and the review of literature on land reform in Rwanda. Findings reveal that Rwandan women preferably lodge their land claims to local authorities or mediation committees because the process of land conflict resolution is fair, free of charge and faster. However, the most used land conflict resolution mechanisms cannot enforce its decisions when some men are against those decisions. There is a need to think of mechanisms to enforce those decisions.

FRENCH ABSTRACT:
Depuis l’an 2008, le Rwanda a lancé un programme de régularisation du system foncier ayant permis l'adjudication et l'enregistrement des droits fonciers pour les hommes et les femmes. Cependant, les femmes rwandaises sont vulnérables aux conflits fonciers parce que leurs droits fonciers ne sont ni reconnus, ni respectés par certains hommes. Cette étude explore comment les institutions gouvernementales au Rwanda appuient des femmes pour revendiquer leurs droits fonciers à travers le processus de résolution des conflits fonciers. L’étude se fonde sur des enquêtes par questionnaire, des entretiens et de la revue de la littérature sur le sujet. Elle révèle que les femmes rwandaises soumettent leurs plaintes auprès des autorités locales et des comités de médiation qui règlent ces plaintes d’une de façon juste, rapide et gratuitement. Comme ces autorités n’imposent pas leurs décisions, il faudrait instituer des mécanismes d’appliquer ces décisions quand certains hommes en sont contre.

Keywords: women's land rights, conflict resolution, mediation, Rwanda, droits fonciers des femmes, résolution des conflits

Topics: Conflict, Resource Conflict, Gender, Land Tenure, Governance, Rights, Land Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa, Central Africa, East Africa Countries: Rwanda

Year: 2018

Citation:

Dey, Joyashri and Subhabrata Dutta. 2014. “Gender Responsive Budgeting in India: Trends and Analysis.” International Journal of Social Science 3 (4): 495-509.

Authors: Joyashri Day, Subhabrata Dutta

Abstract:

The Budget is an important tool in the hands of state for affirmative action for improvement of gender relations through reduction of gender gap in the development process. It can help to reduce economic inequalities, between men and women as well as between the rich and the poor. Budget impacts women’s lives in several ways. It directly promotes women’s development through allocation of budgetary funds for women’s programmes and reduces opportunities for empowerment of women through budgetary cuts. Gender budget doesn’t mean a separate budget for women rather gender budget is an attempt to assess government priorities as they are reflected through the budget and examine how they impact women and men and within that, certain groups of women and men. Gender Budget doesn’t look at whether or not the same is spent on men and women but rather at what the impact of the spending is on men and women and whether or not budgets respond to the needs of both women and men adequately. Thus, Government of India has undertaken Gender budgeting initiatives contribute to ‘gender mainstreaming’ by focusing on the gender dimensions of government budgets.

Keywords: gender based violence, women empowerment, Government Programmes, gender budget

Topics: Development, Economies, Economic Inequality, Gender, Gender Budgeting, Gender Mainstreaming, Governance Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India

Year: 2014

Citation:

Martin de Almagro, Maria. 2018. “Hybrid Clubs: A Feminist Approach to Peacebuilding in the Democratic Republic of Congo.” Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding 12 (3): 319-34.

Author: Maria Martin de Almagro

Abstract:

Critical approaches to peacebuilding have achieved a local turn wherein alienated indigenous experiences are the cornerstone of emancipatory practices – yet this emancipation of the ‘different’ risks perpetuating the discrimination and normalization of the challenged liberal peace. Using the case study of a feminist campaign to elect more women in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), this article’s feminist approach to critical peacebuilding utilizes storytelling to develop a conceptual grid that reveals the complexities of the politics of difference, and proposes the concept of the ‘hybrid club’ as a cluster of local and international actors coalescing to develop peacebuilding initiatives.

Keywords: hybridity, gender, Democratic Republic of the Congo, space, embodiment, experience, peacebuilding

Topics: Feminisms, Gender, Women, Governance, Elections, Indigenous, Peacebuilding Regions: Africa, Central Africa Countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Year: 2018

Citation:

Dudwick, Nora, and Kathleen Kuehnast. 2016. Gender and Fragility: Ensuring a Golden Hour. United States Institute of Peace. 

Authors: Nora Dudwick, Kathleen Kuehnast

Annotation:

Summary: 
"Physicians refer to the “golden hour” as the period after traumatic injury when successful emergency treatment is still possible. The chapeau paper for this series, U.S. Leadership and the Problem of State Fragility, defines fragility as the breakdown or absence of a social contract between people and their government. The collapse of social and political order in response to natural disasters, population displacements, violence, and/or war, however, can paradoxically provide opportunities for societal change. The need to reimagine and rebuild ruptured institutions can create openings for renegotiating gender roles and establishing the basis of an inclusive and more stable society. Unless gender equality receives high level and dedicated support during this “golden hour,” long-standing patterns of inequality are likely to be reestablished. As noted by an expert on security studies, “Promotion of gender equality goes far beyond the issue of social justice and has important consequences for international security.” The golden hour for gender is not after the peace treaties have been signed. The social contract on gender equality must be conceived before the crisis has ended, and then written into the new constitution, implemented in the reconfigured institutions, and prioritized in newly developed education textbooks” (Dudwick and Kuehnast 2016, 1).

Topics: Education, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Constitutions, Post-Conflict Governance, Post-Conflict, Peace Processes, Security

Year: 2016

Citation:

Suteu, Silvia, and Christine Bell. 2018. Women, Constitution-Making and Peace Processes. New York: UN Women. 

Authors: Silvia Suteu, Christine Bell

Annotation:

Summary:
"Constitutions form the fundamental legal document in states where they exist, and will usually have priority over ordinary legislation. They provide an interpretive lens through which legislation will be applied, and set the tone for law-making generally. Women and minorities can anchor rights claims and legal claims against discrimination in constitutional language.

Constitutions tend to be more difficult to amend than ordinary legislation, requiring special majorities in parliament and sometimes additional validation steps (such as popular referendums or court certification) for amendments to come into effect. It is important, therefore, for women’s rights to be enshrined in the constitution from the beginning. The difficulty of changing constitutions once they are adopted means that inclusion of rights may be of enduring importance, and omission of rights may be very difficult to correct.

In post-conflict settings, constitutions are deeply intertwined with peacebuilding, good governance and the rule of law. Enshrining women’s rights in societies emerging from conflict is, however, not easy: gender equality is often considered of low priority during constitutional negotiations as compared with issues such as the division of state power and resources, and the way that this should be translated into institutional design. Sometimes gender equality will be relegated to law-making after constitutional drafting. The fact that there are still constitutions in the world today which make no mention of equality generally, or gender equality specifically, is proof that insisting on engendering the constitution is important.

Constitutions also play a deeply symbolic role. They embody a new social contract, whose terms will signal the inclusion or exclusion of particular segments of society. The numerous references to “founding fathers”, “Father of the Nation”, “brotherhood”, or “sons” in constitutions signal the male-dominated understanding of the political community and women’s exclusion from it. Conversely, an explicit reference to “men and women” as part of “we, the people” – as the Tunisian constitution’s preamble includes – can serve to clarify that the state takes women’s contributions seriously and recognizes women as full members of society" (Suteu and Bell 2018, 1).

Topics: Conflict, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Constitutions, Post-Conflict, Peacebuilding, Peace Processes, Rights, Women's Rights

Year: 2018