Economic Empowerment, Peace and Security—Women Using Information Communication Technology in Somalia

Posted on February 27, 2015 by giwps

Johorad [name has been changed] lives in the deep desert just under a full day’s walk from the “tarmac road”, the black asphalt highway cutting across Puntland – a state in Somalia’s northwest – the only formal transit point connecting Johorads’ community with the rest of the country and the coast. Johorad is 23 years old, married, with three children, and is the family member directly responsible for managing the goats and camels sourcing the family’s income. Johorad also walks three kilometers to climb the top of a hill four times a week so that she can get reception on her 3G mobile phone from one of the telecom towers dotting the arid landscape. Through her phone, she can connect with other women in her livestock and milk collection cooperative via SMS, and she can navigate the Internet and manage her Facebook account. Phone and the internet are so important to Johorad that at times, when income constraints force her to choose between buying batteries for a generator to light the house at night and paying her phone bill, the phone bill wins. And because she often uses this technology to manage her livestock business, Johorad’s family supports this prioritization. Yet in addition to growing her family’s business, Johorad’s phone, and through it, her ability to connect to other communities through the internet, has enabled her to develop her talent as a poet, and even gain national recognition for her writing.

Johorad went to school until class four, and she can still read and write in Somali. She has always thought in music and song, and she would jot lines of poetry on paper scraps about the house. But her world expanded drastically in the spring of 2014 when she found the Facebook page of the Puntland Women Writers Association (PWWA), based in the state capital of Garowe. Taking a leap, Johorad messaged one of the PWWA women and sent across a short poem. The association was shocked and thrilled that someone from such a far off, rural community had found out about their presence and made contact. After communicating back and forth, the PWWA was eventually able to fund Johorad coming to Garowe to present her poem as an honorary guest at the Association’s annual literary conference. This visit marked the first time Johorad had traveled to an urban setting beyond the nearest village on the asphalt highway to which she brought livestock and milk every few weeks. Today, Johorad exchanges messages with PWWA members and other women several times a week, and her writing will be included in a book of poetry and oral history collected by the PWWA and set to be published in early 2016.

Johorad’s story is just one example of how in certain contexts in Somalia, the growing availability and use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) is helping augment women’s activity in the economic and public sphere. Though unfolding in incremental steps, women’s increasing empowerment in this regard, and the inter-clan networks growing out of their activities are contributing to Somalia’s movement towards more peaceful coexistence between communities.

Women in rural areas largely manage the livestock-related businesses, and, through this, are major drivers of communication between communities in rural spaces. To overcome separation across huge geographic distances, women livestock holders have been forming milk collection collectives, where participants arrange for milk and livestock transport through semi-urban counterparts at various stops along the asphalt “tarmac road.” The increasing ubiquity of mobile phones is now helping women diversify these businesses. They are creating a socially acceptable avenue for communication with the more “downstream” parts of the livestock supply chain, such as milk processing, livestock transport, market access and distribution – businesses traditionally dominated by men.

In more urban contexts, Somali women most commonly engage in economic activity through retail entrepreneurship. Women are often seen in the public sphere running clothing and perfume emporiums, market stalls and connector businesses. Particularly in Somalia’s context of entrenched clan conflict and fighting between Somali-African Union forces and al-Shabaab, Somalis have developed a complicated security vetting process to screen new neighbors, employees, business partners and educational institution applicants. Female entrepreneurs often have to conduct particularly strenuous social vetting processes for those they associate with, given the added restrictions on women related to modesty and social reputation. Mobile phones help streamline these complicated processes. Urban women entrepreneurs have actually converted security vetting processes into a service they sell as part of the “connector services” product suite. Already being mavericks simply by nature of their non-traditional client-facing role allows Somali women entrepreneurs to push boundaries in other ways. Anecdotal evidence suggests that, proportional to the amount of women in the workforce, it is more common for Somali women to enter into a business partnership outside their own particular community or sub-clan than for men to do the same.

Somali women in both rural and urban contexts are increasingly using communication as an entry point into the economic space. Furthermore, they are using mobile phones as a tool for doing so, and their economic activity bridges social gaps between disparate communities. Linkages between communities build rapport between community members that disincentives escalation of violent conflict. The improved economic opportunities available to rural communities out of women’s increased involvement in different parts of the livestock supply chain helps satisfy some of the economic grievances associated with violent conflict. Research suggests that in areas where women’s communication-based economic activity is more robust, inter-community conflict and revenge-based violence has been on the decline.

Johorad’s experience using mobile phone technology to grow her family’s business and her own artistic pursuits gives us one tiny glimpse into how the use of information communication technology is changing women’s role in Somali society. This change in roles is both improving women’s overall position and strengthening community linkages necessary for maintaining sustainable peace. Though community backlash towards women’s increasing economic activity is prevalent, ICT is making it socially and logistically easier for women to create bonds between their communities and between each other. As Somalia moves closer toward its 2016 elections, women politicians might find new opportunities for engagement and have a particularly important role to play. Women’s increasing use of ICT to link with other women and society at large may continue to develop and contribute to these and other socio-political tides.

Rachel Firestone is a second year Master’s Candidate at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, focusing on post-conflict reconstruction and the role of access to justice mechanisms in fragile and conflict states. Previously, she spent five years in India working on leadership and self-advocacy programs for women from communities recovering from sectarian violence and internal displacement. This summer, Rachel led a global education program in India through Lakeside School in Seattle and worked in Somalia on an ICT-based entrepreneurship development project with the World Bank.

Symposium Recap – “Women: Powerful Agents for Peace and Security”

Posted on February 26, 2015 by giwps

Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security Associate Director Mayesha Alam travelled to Amsterdam, Netherlands to participate in the “Women: Powerful Agents for Peace and Security” symposium, convened by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. Discussions at the symposium focused on enhancing the participation and leadership of women in conflict and post-conflict peacebuilding. Read her recap of the symposium below.

We need to deconstruct what we mean by “peace” and “security” and reconstruct this terms, as well as how we formulate policy around them, in a way that incorporates the lived experiences of women and their grassroots level efforts. So when we say “peace” or “security”, what do we mean by this? Peace for whom and by whom? Security for whom and by whom?

As one woman leader from South Sudan, Rita Abraham, said, “The hierarchy of peace negotiations does not favour those who wage peace but those who wage war. Women are systematically marginalized from negotiations, even when mobilized for peace. It’s as if you need a gun to get to the peace table.”

What happens all too often, when the only people around a negotiation table are the warring parties, is that the discussion become about power-sharing and personal gain. This needs to be changed such that negotiations provide a roadmap for responsibility-sharing and good governance.

How do we do this? Listen to women on the ground. If they’re living it, they’re the true experts. They know what it takes to survive.

Increase both the participation of women as well as their perspectives during peace negotiations. How do we do this? Make sure that every internationally mediated peace process includes one male mediator and one female mediator. And in the terms of reference for mediators, include guidelines and requirements related to gender sensitivity. These are two measures that can move us towards developing an international standard of practice.

Civil society and government need to work more constructively together.CSO and government do not need to be friends but they do need to be able to partner.Peace is a multi-stakeholder process, but, too often, the participation of anyone that is not a direct warring party is simply cosmetic. One way to make the dialogue a partnership is by focusing on common goals and mutual interest.

If you want women to be in decision-making positions, they need to be able to perform at their best and navigate the systems through which peace, governance and security are operated. This requires capacity-sharing (new terminology to replace capacity-building which connotes that women on the ground are lacking in capacity).

Two examples:

a) Electoral quotas — if you are going to create quotas for women to participate in formal politics, you need to make sure they are able to work the system and survive – to actually lead. Otherwise, quotas can be counterproductive.

b) Political parties — political parties in too many places have a bad reputation for their dysfunctional nature, for corruption and poor leadership, and for partisanship that ultimately undermines good governance. And yet, without political parties, there cannot be a true democratic system. Women often choose not to run for office because of the way political parties work. There is a need to overhaul and clean up parties. Democracy without women is impossible. And democracy without political parties is also not possible.

More than rights trainings or gender sensitization trainings, what women on the ground need are real entry points to engage directly in decision-making, whether or not they’re engaged informal politics.

If you want to encourage governments to incorporate women into the process, don’t just blame and shame, but also use positive examples. How do we do this? Elevate those who are leading by example. Use positive examples to change mindsets; in every single country there are women who are doing important and transformative things. Highlight them and hold their governments accountable based on these positive examples rather than only negative examples.

Violence takes many forms and one of the troubling trends now is gender-based violence and abuse being perpetrated through ICT. Maybe it seems like a lesser form of violence, but it can incite serious physical and mental harm, especially for women in politics or women human rights defenders. It feeds into institutions, it feeds in domestic violence within the home, and it can make very real barriers for women to participate that a) did not exist before or b) buttress old barriers.

The WPS agenda needs to be broadened to include and engage with private security (not just police, armies and insurgent groups), especially as the role of private security companies grows in places like Afghanistan (UNSCR 1325 and subsequent resolutions do not recognize this actor). The same is true for the intelligence agencies. There is very little understanding and research on this topic. These agencies, especially in the Countering Violent Extremism space, have operated until now in a gender-blind way that actually does more harm than good and also undermines their objectives.

Apply the principle of “Do No Harm”to the implementation of UNSCR 1325/the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. This is especially for donor agencies and governments who are increasingly trying to engage on these issues but don’t necessarily know how to. Even where good intentions exist, bad practice triumphs. A few common mistakes include:

a) Not listening to women on the ground
b) Speaking on behalf of women on the ground, rather than letting them speak for themselves
c) Providing inadequate support to women’s groups due to the way in which international aid is administered or false perceptions (such as women’s groups are unable to manage financial resources, ill-equipped to handle large sums of money)

Mayesha Alam is the Associate Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. Ms. Alam is an Adjunct Faculty in the School of Foreign Service where she co-teaches a graduate seminar on women, peace and security. She is the author of Women and Transitional Justice: Progress and Persistent Challenges (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014). Originally from Bangladesh, she received her M.A. in conflict resolution at Georgetown University and her B.A. in international relations and biology from Mount Holyoke College.

A Listener and Facilitator: Mrs. Rula Ghani Speaks About Her Role as First Lady of Afghanistan

Posted on February 23, 2015 by giwps

For the first time in decades, a first lady of Afghanistan is engaged in her country’s public life. Mrs. Rula Ghani visited Georgetown University on February 19 for “Remarks by H.E. Mrs. Rula Ghani, First Lady of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan” to speak about progress and opportunities for women in Afghanistan, as well as challenges for the future. Mrs. Ghani described viewing her role as a listener and facilitator in Afghanistan, and shared her ideas for empowering her country’s women, youth and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

In September Mrs. Ghani became first lady when her husband Ashraf Ghani assumed the presidency after a five month election and recount process, which resulted in a unity government with Abdullah Abdullah. The role of first lady is not built into Afghanistan’s constitution, but Mrs. Ghani has built an office and a team of advisors to support her goals of connecting with the people and serving as a listener and facilitator for their ideas and concerns. She maintains an open door policy and has met with businesswomen and groups of young girls, among others.

“What I try to do is figure out what does the country need,” she said. “The country needs a lot of things…what is really wonderful is that we are at a turning point where we can start rebuilding the country.”

Mrs. Ghani spoke of former President Hamid Karzai as providing necessary stability in Afghanistan that is now the basis on which her husband can begin his reforms. She is most interested in support for IDPs, how citizens of Afghanistan view their culture and the role of women, and youth.

Addressing the needs of the IDPs is a pursuit that she said is “long-term and requires political will.” Mrs. Ghani spoke of the plight of people returning to their homes without jobs, and of children who work on the streets for the equivalent of $0.50 a day. She sees the necessity of moving people out of camps and building townships where everything will be available – schools, markets, clinics, mosques and factories to provide jobs.

On the important issue of the status of women in Afghanistan, Mrs. Ghani wants to reframe the discussion from one of “women’s rights” to one of the role of women within families. “I will not talk about it as ‘women’s rights,’” she said. “You rub the people the wrong way and get negative reactions. We have to be smart. We have to be clear about our goals but pursue them gently.”

Mrs. Ghani said that after 23 years of civil war and 13 years of international aid, “Afghans have forgotten what their culture was.” She left Afghanistan in 1977 and returned in 2002 to find many changes, including a degradation of how women are respected in the family. Mrs. Ghani recognized the importance of trying to increase women’s status within the family unit instead of separating them as a standalone group.

“My mother and my husband’s grandmother were formidable women,” she said. “They really ruled the roost. Their word was law in their household. [Afghans] do not have appreciation or respect for women anymore like that… Instead of seeing a woman as just an object, as an object of frustration or violence, a sexual object, women should regain their role.”

Mrs. Ghani discussed her concern of the disconnection of Kabul from the provinces; few educational and health services reach Afghanistan’s rural areas, and this needs to be remedied. She spoke about the critical importance of teachers, nurses, and midwives reaching the provinces for reducing maternal mortality and increasing girls’ school enrollment.

“Mortality has decreased, but we are still losing too many of these women and these babies,” she said. “Ideally, the goal should be to train local women to serve in these roles, not someone from Kabul. Most schools are being taught by men, and a lot of the families will not send their daughters.”

Mrs. Ghani said she has “no idea” whether women will be involved in any potential peace and reconciliation negotiations with the Taliban, but affirmed President Ghani’s commitment to women. “If peace and reconciliation with the Taliban happens, you can be sure that women won’t lose their rights,” she said. “My husband won’t allow that. But whether or not women will be the table, I don’t know.”

President Ghani promised to nominate four women for ministerial positions during his campaign, but only two were presented to Parliament before the winter break. Neither was confirmed. Mrs. Ghani asked the audience to think about the context in Afghanistan and said the upcoming female candidate for minister of women’s affairs, Najiba Ayubi, is terrific and has a strong chance of being confirmed.

Mrs. Ghani also attributed challenges facing youth in her country to years of war and dependence on foreign aid. Youth issues are especially important because over 60 percent of Afghanistan’s population is under the age of 25. “They’re totally lost,” she said. “They’ve known war, and then they’ve known the 13 preceding years where there has not really been an emphasis on civic duty…. Aid reinforces dependence. These young people are waiting for things to fall on their lap.” She said that a first step will be to reintegrate an emphasis of civic duty into school curriculums. Another key is a reframing of international aid from assistance to development. She sees development agencies as doing a good job when the program stays alive after they leave.

Mrs. Ghani ended her talk on a hopeful note, mentioning that many people – men and women, young and old – are now talking about the future of Afghanistan. “Eventually, we will have a country that isn’t perfect, but is very good living in,” she said.

Helen Moser is a graduate research assistant with the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, and a student in the Global Human Development program in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. She has focused her studies on women’s political participation and South Asia and has worked in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and India.

Election-Related Violence Against Women in Nigeria

Posted on February 13, 2015 by giwps

A PDF version of this “Information2Action: Rapid Response” can be found here.

The 2014-2015 election period in Nigeria is creating unrest and concern over increasing rates of election-related violence against women. 2014 was reportedly “the most violent year” for women in Nigeria, in large part due to Boko Haram’s targeted kidnapping of and attacks against women and girls. They are also known to have coerced women and girls into serving as suicide bombers in Kano State. Against this backdrop of growing insurgent violence with catastrophic consequences on civilians – particularly in the northeast region – presidential elections are impending.

One week prior to the previously scheduled February 14 presidential elections, the Nigerian election commission announced that elections would be postponed due to heightened insecurity. Although President Goodluck Jonathan denies postponing the election date for his own political benefit, the US government and others have expressed concern over the delayed elections, fearing that this is merely a tactic by Jonathan’s administration to weaken the opposition. His party has been in power since 2009 but recent polls indicate a political deadlock with contender Muhammadu Buhari.

Among many concerns related to postponing the elections, there is a fear that the delay will result in increased election-related violence. Tension in the country is very high and there is major distrust that the electoral process will be free and fair. Both the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposing All Progressives Congress (APC) have signed on to the “Abuja Accord,” which calls for peaceful elections and effective management of the outcome in hopes of curbing election-related violence but reality shows a troubling, violent trend. Leading up to the country’s 2011 elections, violent attacks led to some 1,000 reported fatalities. Incidents of election-related violence for the 2015 elections have already surpassed the 2011 numbers, and are likely to worsen as a result of the postponement. Further exacerbating this year’s election-related violence are falling oil prices, which could lead to economic and political insecurity.

Of critical concern during this period of postponement is violence against women in politics, which takes many forms — including psychological threats, sexual harassment and abuse, physical harm – and hampers or prevents their ability to exercise political voice through voting, activism, public dialogue, campaigning and running for or holding office. This type of targeted, gender-based, political violence is a global scourge which marginalizes women in political and public life, reinforces entrenched patriarchal values, and undermines the integration and representation of women’s experiences and perspectives in processes and institutions of governance.

Given the prevalence of violence in Nigerian politics, along with a climate of sociocultural and religious conservatism, women are often dissuaded from entering the political sphere. Nigeria ranks 133^rd in the world in women’s political participation: only nine out of 109 Senate seats are occupied by women, and 24 out of 352 seats in the House of Representatives are held by women. In the 2015 elections, female political candidates have been subject to hate speech and threats. Women are frequent targets in and victims of election-related violence.

Election-related violence against women has been on the Nigerian government’s radar. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed its commitment to protecting women throughout the electoral process. INEC’s Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega stated: “In INEC we believe very strongly that whatever we do, we have to factor the protection and the defence of women.” However, the issue extends beyond one merely of protection. At stake is the participation and leadership of Nigerian women in the political future of their country, without which democracy is but a false hope.

Nigerian civil society organizations, in coordination with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) recently conducted capacity-building trainings on election observation, attempting to introduce gender-sensitive approaches into the public’s political consciousness. The reach and impact of these, however, are not entirely clear. Nigeria would also benefit from better training on gender-based violence for its security forces. As the new election date of March 28 approaches, the situation will need to be closely monitored to ensure women’s safety and prevent an increase in further violence.

Economic Opportunity for Women in Rural Afghanistan: A Survivor Story

Posted on February 12, 2015 by giwps

Originally posted by TO THE MARKET in the HuffPost Impact Blog here.

ARZU means “hope” in Dari, one of Afghanistan’s official languages. For the female employees of ARZU Studio Hope, however, it means more than hope — it means opportunity. ARZU empowers Afghan women to “lift themselves and their families out of poverty through ethical, artisan-based employment, education, and access to healthcare.” Education is paramount: in a country where education opportunities for girls and women are almost non-existent in rural areas, 100 percent of ARZU weavers are literate. Outside the classroom, education continues with the goal of economic empowerment. A holistic cycle takes place: Women and girls learn to weave and knot rugs which then creates income for their families, education, and the facilities ARZU uses as schools, community gardens, and recreation centers.

We had the opportunity to interview one of these extraordinary artisans who has survived decades of war and conflict. Her name is Masuma. She was born in Dragon Valley, Bamiyan, but was forced to leave due to the Taliban occupation. Through working with ARZU, Masuma has been able to reclaim her life, her home, and her sense of self. Here are some the thoughts she shared with us:

TO THE MARKET: Tell us about your childhood.
Masuma: In the late 1990s, Taliban violence forced my family to flee to Kabul from Bamiyan when I was only three years old. With danger in Kabul mounting, my family moved once again, this time to a refugee camp in Pakistan. While there, my mother and grandmother weaved rugs, but even though they worked tirelessly, they could not earn enough money to even buy food for the family. In October 2005, we returned to Bamiyan and joined ARZU’s weaving program in 2007.

TO THE MARKET: Did you have the opportunity to seek an education?
Masuma: Due to the gap in my education while living as a refugee, I was behind my peers in Government School and was not able to attend. With help from ARZU, I was able was able to continue my education, eventually enrolling in Government School.

ARZU helped a lot. Through the fast track classes I was able to stay in school, and I recently enrolled in ARZUs English classes. With education I know I will have good opportunities in the future. That’s why I encourage my siblings to continue their education as well. I want them to become educated so that there are other ways for them to live and not be blinded in life.

TO THE MARKET: Tell us more about working.
Masuma: Last year, I started weaving Peace Cord bracelets for ARZU part-time. I feel very proud that I am able to contribute to my family and help my mother and grandmother with daily expenses and the education of my siblings. As a wage earner, I am a contributor, rather than burden to my family. When a person works and earns her own income, it automatically gives her a power in family. I have this power now

TO THE MARKET: So what inspires you?
Masuma: Education. Growing up as a refugee without a home or country, I never thought of the future. I thought of only the moment I was in because that is all that I knew. ARZU helped me to be literate and go to Government School. I know that if I continue my education I can have good opportunities in the future, and I always encourage my brothers and sister to continue their education. My view of life has changed now, and I have hope for the future and my country.

To learn more about ARZU Studio Hope and shop their Peace Cords, click here.

Want to help survivors like Masuma this Valentine’s Day? Follow TO THE MARKET on social media and share this story using the hashtag #AHeartforSurvivors!

TO THE MARKET | Survivor-made Goods is a social enterprise focused on the promotion of goods made by and stories told by survivors of conflict, abuse, and disease. Jane Mosbacher Morris is the Founder and CEO TO THE MARKET, having previously served as the Director of Humanitarian Action for the McCain Institute for International Leadership, where she managed the Institute’s human trafficking. Prior to joining the Institute, Jane worked in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism and in the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues. You can follow TO THE MARKET on Instagram,Facebook, and Twitter @LetsgoTTM and on Pinterest, Google+, and Youtube @TOTHEMARKET.

When One Man’s Peace is Another Woman’s Trap

Posted on February 9, 2015 by giwps

Any views or opinions represented in this blog post are personal and belong solely to the blog author and do not represent those of people, institutions or organizations that the owner may or may not be associated with in professional or personal capacity, unless explicitly stated.

Standing in Nevruz Park in Diyarbakir, Turkey last March, I was immediately and acutely aware of the magnitude of the event playing out before me. Two years ago marked the first time Kurds could legally gather to celebrate the Persian New Year. This year, Kurdish vendors came prepared with traditional foods and merchandise for sale. Eager to capitalize on the spirit of the day, men solicited grilled meats and peppers, circled families with trays of traditional simit, and manned tables stacked rows-deep with t-shirts, flags, and scarves – some boasting the traditional colors of Kurdish nationalism, others boldly featuring Abdullah Ocalan’s profile. Visions of red, yellow and green were woven together by the sound of women ululating in unison over rhythmic drumbeats, a combination that evoked a sense of communal celebration.

To understand the significance of the event, it is critical to establish some context around Turkish-Kurdish relations over the past several decades. In 1974, Abdullah Ocalan organized Kurdish resistance to Turkish rule by issuing a clarion call to action that, up until recently, argued for a separate and unified Kurdish state encompassing Kurdish communities living in Iraq, Syria, and Iran. Over the past 40 years, the Turkish government and the PKK, or Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan – the group of armed insurgents that formed around the charismatic leadership of Ocalan – have participated in on-again, off-again periods of intense military engagement. Since 1984, the conflict has racked up severe costs, both human and financial: 30,000-40,000 lives and $300 billion-$450 billion have been claimed over four decades of fighting. By all accounts, the Turkish-Kurdish conflict has defined several generations of Kurds living in Turkey, and has served as a template from which offshoots of the PKK in Syria and Iraq have mobilized for greater autonomy within their own national contexts.

But since 2013, Ocalan, with the support of PKK leadership in the Qandil Mountains of Iraq, has engaged directly with the Turkish Government in high-level peace talks, even though both sides are careful to frame the discussion in terms of “seeking a solution” rather than “building peace.” The talks are in the very early stages, with the government only having released its vision of a six-phase road map last summer. In addition to the slow pace of progress, many observers express concerns that ISIS’ sustained attack on the Syrian-Kurdish town of Kobane and the Turkish governments’ posture toward intervention threaten to derail the positive developments of the past few years.

In Diyarbakir, I was awestruck listening to Ocalan’s message – recorded prior to the start of the festival from his prison on Imrali Island in the Marmara Sea – permeate the air, reminding his followers to tread the path of peace and avoid a return to violence. Even more strikingly, I was amazed to see how many young girls took center-stage in the celebrations. In conversations with Turkish friends, I was told that Kurdish women suffer a great deal under the burden of an oppressive patriarchal structure, further stressed by decades of conflict, poverty and neglect. But at the celebration, the energy on the ground suggested something very different. I noted an equal number of women dressed in long, sequined gowns as I did women dressed in the infamous green fatigues of PKK mountain fighters. I quickly lost count of the number of young girls I saw, ages 10 and younger, dancing with their elders, clad head to toe in the olive green of the Kurdish insurgency. So even as Ocalan was speaking to a peaceful and prosperous future, it was clear that the allure of rebellion still held powerful sway over some of Turkey’s youngest women.

There is limited scholarship outlining the conditions under which women leverage violence to effect political change, but some anecdotal evidence suggests that, at least in the case of Kurdish women electing to join the insurgency, women take up arms to “escape poverty. They flee a conservative society where domestic violence is common and there is little opportunity.” These motivating factors could help explain why Kurdish women have been attracted to the organization since it was formed in the late 1970s.

But women’s representation in the struggle for Kurdish self-determination is not just limited to the PKK. In the political wing of the Kurdish movement, the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), women are guaranteed a participation threshold of 40 percent and the party is presided over jointly by both a male and female representative at all times. There is historically a strong commitment to elevating women to key positions as both political actors and combatants. This is true at least in terms of theory and what is visible to an outside world, whose capacity to understand the PKK might be influenced by factors such as the U.S. State Department’s 1997 listing of the PKK as a terrorist organization.

Turning again to the ongoing peace negotiations between the Turkish government and the PKK, a workable plan that facilitates the disarming, demobilization and facilitated reintegration (DDR) of Kurdish combatants is a hotly contested topic. One often-ignored aspect of DDR in this context is how demobilization will impact on the Kurdish women who have made their mark in the decades-long insurgency. If it is true that significant numbers of women have joined the ranks of the PKK over the past four decades as a means of pursuing empowerment and social status through military engagement, any sort of demobilization and reintegration scheme will have to comprehensively map out mechanisms through which returned combatants can return to civilian life without sacrificing perceived gains in self-actualization. A report by International Crisis Group suggests, “Any amnesty or reintegration mechanisms must make sure not to exclude women and girls who are combatants or otherwise associated with the insurgency.” In view of women’s long involvement with the insurgency, simply ensuring that we do not exclude women does not evoke a strong image of a plan that accounts for women’s active roles in the group.

Rather than limit the focus on how not to exclude women from DDR programming, a successful post-conflict strategy must think more proactively about how to prioritize the women being asked to disarm. There must be compelling incentives to return to civilian life that are driven by an understanding of the gendered pathways to combat that brought women into the military theatre to begin with. If the aim is to present a peaceful alternative to the militant nature of the past 40 years, any durable peace deal cannot afford to ignore the factors and structures that pushed Kurdish women into combat; it cannot risk implementing DDR protocol and programs that do not expressly appeal to female combatants. Parallel political, economic and social development programming must be sensitive to the ways in which Kurdish women’s realities are differently gendered, and must offer enticing and appropriately tailored incentives to female combatants being asked to demobilize.

The most enduring memory of my March afternoon in Diyarbakir was not dancing chapi, and it was not moving freely through a dense crowd wrapped in a scarf emblazoned with the colors of Kurdistan, an act that would otherwise garner unwanted attention everywhere else in Turkey. The moment I will never forget unfolded when I looked into the eyes of a little girl waiving a flag with Ocalan’s face on it and wondered if she would be afforded the chance to grow up in a Turkey where her interests would be represented democratically, equitably and without the echo of gunfire in the background.

Amanda Jessen is a graduate student in the Conflict Resolution program in the Department of Government at Georgetown University, focusing her studies on women and violent extremism. She spent 11 months in Turkey as a Boren Fellow, where her work centered on researching Turkey’s role in providing humanitarian relief to Syrian refugees.

South Sudan Signs New Ceasefire Deal, Step Towards Power-Sharing Agreement

Posted on February 5, 2015 by giwps

This post can also be found in PDF format here.

INFORMATION2ACTION: Rapid Response

On February 2^nd, South Sudan President Salva Kiir and former vice-president Riek Machar signed an agreement committing to a permanent ceasefire and outlining the future of a transitional government. Parties are scheduled to resume talks on February 19^th, and the timeline agreed to in the February 2^nd deal stipulates that ‘outstanding issues of conflict’ should be resolved by March 5^th so that the Transitional Government of National Unity can be established no later than July 9, 2015.

Though the agreement of February 2nd is only a precursor to what will be discussed more thoroughly at continuing peace talks, it includes an outline of the mandate and structure of the transitional government; the creation of a Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing to establish a record of human rights violations and investigate and prosecute individuals with the greatest responsibility for violation committed since 2013; the establishment of a Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission to oversee the implementation of the Agreement; and a timeline for negotiating outstanding issues. Aside from the provision for a Minister of Gender, Child and Social Welfare in the transitional government, the continuation of an existing position, there are no direct mentions of women or gender in the February 2^nd agreement.

The African Union has received criticism from human rights groups for deciding to defer consideration of the AU Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan’s final report. The Commission conducted its field mission in April 2014 and submitted its report in December, but the findings have yet to be made public. The Commission’s field team included the AU’s Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security, Bineta Diop, and conducted extensive interviews with government officials and civilians in an attempt to document abuses committed since 2013 and make recommendations for accountability. Many expect the report to include a focus on sexual violence against women and girls, which ground reports indicate is a growing scourge across the county. After a visit to South Sudan in October 2014, UN Special Envoy for Sexual Violence, Zainab Bangura, said the situation was the worst she had ever seen.

Based on public opinion research analyzed in the Institute’s 2014 publication “Security, Basic Services and Economic Opportunity in South Sudan: Perspective of Women Post-Independence and Pre-Civil War,” women in South Sudan identify poverty and unemployment as the greatest problems facing the country. Women also identified community-level security concerns, gaps in access to basic services, and exhibited a decline in trust in public institutions. As the peace process moves forward and the transitional government is formed, it is essential that women’s voices are taken into account, particularly in regards to community level concerns that affect women’s daily existence, such as access to healthcare, education or clean water; all areas they prioritized and none of which are included in the February 2nd agreement. The inclusion of diverse community perspectives in the peace process is needed to reflect the needs of the women, men and children facing the direst conditions.

A strong quota for women’s participation, both for the continued peace negotiations and in the transitional government, would ensure that a substantive portion of roles are filled by women. Though women comprise 65% of the population of South Sudan, their representation at the peace table remains low. In 2014 Voice of America reported that three delegates of ten total from the rebel group negotiations team were women, with no women represented on the government team.

Commemorating the Third Anniversary of the U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security

Posted on February 2, 2015 by giwps

On December 19, 2011, President Obama launched the United States National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) through Executive Order 13595. Last week, USAID hosted a Third Anniversary Event to commemorate this fundamental change in how the U.S. government approaches diplomacy, development and defense to support women in conflict zones. The event featured speakers from USAID; the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor; the National Security Council and the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. The panel focused its remarks on successes and barriers to NAP implementation, including research gaps, in anticipation of the three-year review of the U.S. NAP.

The U.S. NAP represents the government’s express commitment to realizing UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000), which seeks to increase women’s participation in peacebuilding and protect women from conflict-related sexual violence. Bringing more women to negotiation tables, integrating solutions and justice for women into peace agreements, and increasing women in security and justice systems “is not just a nice thing to do, it is a strategic thing to do,” said Karen Hanrahan, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) at the U.S. Department of State.

Echoing this sentiment, those in the WPS field must recognize that “we cannot sell the agenda with rights-based arguments alone,” said Dr. Robert Egnell, Senior Faculty Advisor at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. “[And] we are still [unfortunately]…in a startup phase 15 years after the initiation of the agenda.” We need evidence-based research, which Egnell acknowledged tends to indicate a desire for quantitative figures—a report that can show “including women at the peace table is 70% more effective,” for example. However, there are so few cases of women’s inclusion in peace talks that it would be statistically insignificant research to form quantitative analyses at this juncture. Instead, Egnell suggested that we emphasize qualitative examples so we can begin to understand how women impact peace processes. Another facet of the WPS research agenda that Egnell raised is the need to shift from viewing women as victims to seeing them as change agents, so that 1325 can have the intended empowering effect.

To gauge the U.S. government’s success in implementing its NAP, Executive Order 13595 called for a comprehensive review after three years—which is due to take place in 2015. Contemplating the successes and challenges of the U.S. NAP, Carla Koppell, Chief Strategy Officer of USAID Office of the Administrator, shared her reflections on a recent trip to Uganda: There is a palpable difference in how individuals engage in conversations around gender today, versus three or four years ago. “Today, everyone at the mission thinks about gender issues as woven into the entire post-conflict reconstruction program.” Additionally, Dr. David Yang, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau of Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance at USAID, highlighted that USAID has made significant progress in the past three years. Signs of this progress include the integration of WPS objectives into the overall USAID business model, mandatory country-level and project-level gender analysis, gender training for staff, and adopting mission orders at the country level on gender integration. While these are welcome indicators of success, many challenges to fully implementing the U.S. NAP still exist.

There are several tactical choices that the U.S. will need to address when reviewing its NAP and overall implementation strategy: Should there be a focus on rights based arguments or strategic arguments? An emphasis on gender perspectives or integration, on gender mainstreaming or specific functions? Where should the government initiate the process of change? After addressing these concerns, the U.S. will need to think about how to alter “centuries of ingrained bureaucratic processes…there are questions about how to effectively integrate organizational change that we still don’t have answers to,” Egnell indicated.

It is a point of critical importance: How do we get the appropriate stakeholders—at home and abroad – to accept this agenda and meaningfully incorporate it into preexisting structures? This is a fundamental challenge of working in the WPS field, especially in crisis environments where governments experience problems of political will and capacity, and cannot always plan beyond the urgency of the conflict at hand. Furthermore, we need to ascertain how “we address societal discrimination and cultural values associated with the WPS effort,” stated Regina Waugh, Director of Human Rights and Gender at the National Security Council. She asserted, “the type of social change that needs to happen is not an overnight thing.”

Hanrahan remains positive, noting the U.S. is “trying to improve how we do business” and is “committed to leading by example,” but cautions, “we must also be somewhat humble as we review [our] global track record.” In light of the upcoming 15^th Anniversary of UNSCR 1325, the third anniversary of the U.S. NAP and its upcoming review, and the post-2015 development agenda, Hanrahan shared, “We are viewing 2015 as the year of women, peace and security,” and “we are pushing to place gender equality and women and girls at the heart of the post-2015 development agenda.”

In addition to the identified priorities, research gaps, successes and challenges, the U.S. and all countries committed to the WPS agenda will need to explore how to move beyond the numbers when assessing gains in women’s political participation. Yang stressed, “It is not just about increasing quotas, it is about devising, conceptualizing and achieving women’s true influence, power and leadership.” This is the essence of UNSCR 1325, and one of the fundamental goals of the WPS agenda.

As Koppell underscored in her remarks, “civil society is essential” to government accountability and mainstreaming this commitment across sectors. The involvement of civil society will be indispensable in designing a review of the U.S. NAP that addresses these identified gaps and ultimately strengthens the government’s commitment to effectively implementing 1325.

Ashley Binetti is the 2014-2015 Hillary Rodham Clinton Law Fellow at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. She received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2014, specializing in human rights and transnational law.

Access to Finance in Rural India—A Catalyst for Leadership and Social Change

Posted on December 23, 2014 by giwps

Creases at her smile-points coursing down her face in chasms, skin leathery with the sun, the woman before me holds my gaze steadily as we chat, sitting cross-legged on the packed earth floor of a neighbor’s home in an alpine village in the lower Himalayas of Uttarakhand, Northern India. I met Tulsi Devi this past summer when I was working as an educator running global education and immersion programs for American high school students in India. She was the leader of her village’s Self Help Group (SHG), and the village representative for a district-wide women’s animal husbandry and cottage industry cooperative. Yet 15 years ago, Tulsi never spoke with men outside of her immediate family, and she knew very few women besides her mother-in-law. Though she tended the fields while her husband worked construction in far-away Delhi, her in-laws controlled all cash flow in his absence. After her husband’s death, Tulsi’s family financially abandoned her, and soon after, cattle raiders ransacked her field and stole her only dairy goat, leaving her and her children to forage pickings from neighbors’ fields for the next two years. Today, Tulsi describes her life as a vine of many chapters, tendrils spinning off in different directions. Yet, over our conversation, she would often circle back to one particular moment—her first opportunity to gain access to finance. To Tulsi, this marked a turning point, which ultimately altered her position in society and enabled her to become a person characterized by action and empowerment instead of as a victim.

Nearly a year after the cattle-raider attack, word came of an SHG-based financial saving and loaning program for women starting in a nearby village, and Tulsi’s neighbors spoke of starting a similar group. Tulsi was skeptical and refused to join. But a year later, a member from a different SHG visited her village and encouraged her and several other women to participate. This time, Tulsi accepted the offer.

Access to a loan from the collective’s pooled funds granted Tulsi sufficient financial security to reallocate several hours of each day from farm work to salaried day labor at a nearby public works construction project, for the first time granting her access to a regular cash salary in her own name. After repaying her initial loans, Tulsi used the new income to repair her fences to keep bandits and wild boars from destroying her crops. With the help of additional SHG loans, she eventually purchased goats and a milk-cow, thus investing in income-generating infrastructure and accumulation of capital. Today, Tulsi has her own bank account, signs her own name on official documents, and independently financed her daughter’s wedding.

In addition to increasing her financial security and independence, Tulsi’s association with the SHG also pulled her out of her previous social isolation and connected her to women with similar life experiences and livelihoods. She learned that other women experienced increasingly dry, infertile soil and dust-devils that would rise up with the wind and pull up entire hillsides with their whirlwind funnels. She saw that she was not the only one who was having to walk longer and longer distances to reach running water each year, often as far as 10 miles in a single direction.

Learning that the negative impact from environmental degradation was collective and not just her own experience, Tulsi became very involved with the Save the Valley[1] movement—an advocacy and programming network that included self-help groups, a local non-profit, and elected representatives to village-level government. While these new, more public and inter-gendered interactions were a major break from her past, the fact that Tulsi earned her own income deflected family pushback against her increasingly visible presence in the community.

Tulsi has since become a major advocate for reforestation to preserve the valley’s eco-system and conserve and replenish its water sources. Today, she leads a reforestation nursery and replanting monitoring project across three villages through a local NGO working with the valley conservation coalition. Her leading concerns are ensuring that both men and women from her community participate in the valley-wide campaign for better government services to protect against the environmental degradation and climate change threatening the river basin, and, consequently, their collective livelihoods.

For Tulsi, gaining access to finance has had a multiplier effect, awakening in her a drive to advocate for the long-term interests of her entire community. Tulsi’s segue from personal empowerment into community leadership illustrates a crucial aspect to peace and security that is increasingly recognized, but often still difficult to replicate in practice – economic participation. A context-specific tipping point seems to be the key.

We know that women are uniquely and disproportionately affected by armed conflict, climate change and natural disasters. We also know that women’s pre-existing responsibilities to family and culture mean they have a powerful hold over community psyche and have an incredible capacity to galvanize their peers towards social change. Tulsi Devi exemplifies how advancing women’s roles in the economic space, be it rural or urban, can be that powerful catalyst. Economic participation does not only help women—it transforms the ability of entire communities to advocate for their own concerns in ways that have long-lasting and widespread impact.

[1] Roughly translated from the Hindi, not official nomenclature.

The Great Unfinished Business of the Beijing Platform for Action

Posted on December 18, 2014 by giwps

This essay by Ambassador Melanne Verveer was originally included in a publication by the Wilson Center’s Women in Public Service Project entitled Beijing+20: Looking Back and the Road Ahead, Reflections on Milestones in Women’s Leadership in the 21st Century.

Twenty years ago, I joined then-First Lady Hillary Clinton on a trip to Beijing for the Fourth World Conference on Women. It was there that she declared, for all the world to hear, that “human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights.”

Women globally have made significant progress in the last 20 years: more girls are in school than ever before, maternal mortality is decreasing, and women’s economic participation is growing. Laws have been enacted to combat violence against women, but, still too often, they are not enforced and policies are not implemented. Women are also frequently shut out of political leadership. Despite the undeniable progress, much remains to be achieved for women and girls to enjoy full equality—not just on paper, but in reality. This discrepancy that divides rhetoric from reality is not just a women’s issue. Research and experiences show that when women and girls progress, all of society progresses.

Our world is plagued by dozens of armed conflicts that threaten the safety and security of millions of men, women, and children on a daily basis. Women and girls bear a disproportionate toll. Rape is a strategic tool of war, and women are sidelined in the processes where decisions are being made about them and their families. It is essential that women have a place at the table in peacemaking and that they actively participate in peacebuilding.

We also know that economic prosperity is critical to peace and security. Women represent 80 percent of the global purchasing power, and investing in women helps to grow economies and stabilize communities. Our economic progress as a global community will stagnate if women remain disempowered, disenfranchised, and excluded from decision making positions in governance and the economy.

Including women’s voices and perspectives in peacemaking ultimately helps entire societies reconcile, rebuild, and achieve a just and lasting peace. Yet, women are consistently underrepresented in peace processes. Of some 39 active conflicts over the past 10 years, women have made up only 4 percent of peace negotiation teams. Moreover, only 16 percent of some 585 peace treaties drafted in the past 20 years contain references to the critical role of women. This exclusion is not only shortchanging women, but also undermining peace and security.

As we mark the 20th anniversary of the Platform for Action adopted at Beijing in 1995, and the 15th anniversaries of the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and the establishment of the Millennium Development Goals, let us renew the commitment to women’s progress and a better world that these pronouncements represent. We have yet to fully realize their objectives and so we must seize the moment to do more.

Growing women’s political decision-making capacities and opportunities, especially in conflict-affected and post-conflict settings, remains the great unfinished business of the Beijing Platform for Action. This will require innovation, collaboration, and determination, but I believe that by working together—in government, civil society, and the private sector – we can create progress and level the playing field. It is our collective responsibility to fulfill the promise we made 20 years ago, that women’s rights are human rights, once and for all. We cannot settle for anything less.

Ambassador Verveer is the Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. She served as the first Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues with the U.S. Department of State.

GIWPS Blog

Reflections from the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security