Cate Buchanan, Project Manager for the HD Center, said the Center focuses on “mediation and facilitation of conflicts.
” With Nepal launching a National Action Plan based on the UN Resolution #1325, HD Center’s initiative is relevant to Nepal and other countries undergoing their respective peace process. [break]The purpose of the conference is not to produce a document or issue a declaration but instead to function as a platform for women to network and utilize “informal mentoring.”
The Nepali participants at the roundtable included Shobha Gautam from the Institute of Human Rights Communication in Nepal, Sangeeta Thapa from UNIFEM Nepal, and Sapana Pradhan Malla, Constituent Assembly Member.
Malla said that she views this conference as a place to “learn lessons and share experiences from other countries that are undergoing their own peace processes.” She added that since the Government of Nepal is involved, Nepal was able to contribute to and identify with what can be implemented here in terms of its own Constitution Drafting Process.
Irene Khan, former General Secretary of Amnesty International and a current Board Member of HD Center, explains the “failure to recognize [that] women can contribute” is responsible for the lack of female participation in global peace talks, which is also apparent in the absence of women in Nepal’s own three peace talks held in 2001, 2003, and 2006. Due to patriarchal societies and gender discrimination, she adds, “the business of war is considered a man’s business [but] if you miss women out, you miss a whole range of issues.” War does not only affect men, it affects everyone, and women play a determining role in rehabilitating communities.
Without female representation, issues such as gender violence, social development, health, welfare, and reintegration are not likely to be prioritized. Khan adds that although women take the lead in such issues, “there is no such thing as just women’s issues.”
She elaborates, “Everything is a gender issue. There is an angle that affects women and an angle that affects men; that’s why you need both sides.”
According to Khan, increasing female participation enables “legitimacy and sustainability of peace.” While men tend to focus on their political affiliation, Khan says women prioritize issues and arrive at agreements because they are not bound to their parties’ agenda.
It is no surprise, therefore, that other participants at the roundtable, such as Shadia Mahaban – the only female representative during the Helsinki negotiations in 2005 for the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), and Irene Santiago, one of the two women on the panel for negotiating peace with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the Philippines – have faced opposition from men. If men cooperate and make it easier for women to share power, the whole process of transitioning from male-dominated government to an equitable system could be simplified and beneficial for everyone.
Massouda Jalal, founder of Jalal Foundation and the first female to run for the office of prime minister in Afghanistan, believes a woman’s power is rooted in being emotional. This, however, is often perceived negatively, Jalal claims. “Men are more emotional. They create wars. Women are more emotional in love,” she counters.
She explains how love inspires creation and maintenance of peace, and how women like herself willingly sacrifice themselves to benefit the people; which, in turn, makes women exemplary leaders. According to Jalan, due to an insufficient number of women in political positions, these qualities are lacking, and therefore, peace has not been obtained yet.
Jalal firmly believes change will start when women are appointed to leadership and political positions so they are equally represented and have “equal access to, then equal control over, decision-making.”
“With a new world order, new structure will require new relationships,” Jalal says, which calls for better communication and balance between the genders in order to “live a happy life without fear, poverty, pain, suffering, and no more fear of being a victim.”
Women like Santiago, Marhaban, Khan, and Jalal have faced opposition from men in their respective countries; yet there are some men who support their causes.
Adam Cooper, Consultant at the HD Center, says, “I’ve learned how critical it is to have women’s perspectives for peace itself.” He says that men need to be open since more women are needed in peace talks, and hopes the “networks formed here will outlast the conference.”
As encouraging as that is, Jalal and Khan, however, admit that without international support as well as electoral support, it will continue to be difficult for women to assume bigger roles. Until feminism is understood as synonymous with social justice, women will continue to be neglected and relegated to smaller roles and will not be given the power and opportunity to contribute to equality and peace in the world by being involved in decision-making.
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