scholarly journals Bringing a Gender Perspective to the Peace Table: Women in Myanmar’s Peace Process

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Zin Mar Thein

<p>Ethnic division and inequality lie at the heart of Myanmar's internal conflicts. In these conflicts, ethnic women are the most vulnerable group based on their ethnicity and gender. They are not only victims of violence, they have also been systematically marginalized from formal peace processes under both military and civilian governments. This thesis uses a feminist constructivist approach to examine the gendered role of women and girls in Myanmar society and the impacts of armed conflicts on women and girls in the conflict areas. The thesis discusses the history of ethnic divisions in Myanmar since independence in 1948, various peace initiatives pursued by Myanmar governments and the experiences of women and girls during conflict and their involvement in the more recent peace-building process. Drawing on extensive interviews with officials, politicians and civil society representatives, the thesis argues that if a sustainable and just peace is to be built in Myanmar, women need to be given a greater role. It also identifies obstacles that need to be overcome if women are to participate effectively in both formal and informal peace processes.</p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Zin Mar Thein

<p>Ethnic division and inequality lie at the heart of Myanmar's internal conflicts. In these conflicts, ethnic women are the most vulnerable group based on their ethnicity and gender. They are not only victims of violence, they have also been systematically marginalized from formal peace processes under both military and civilian governments. This thesis uses a feminist constructivist approach to examine the gendered role of women and girls in Myanmar society and the impacts of armed conflicts on women and girls in the conflict areas. The thesis discusses the history of ethnic divisions in Myanmar since independence in 1948, various peace initiatives pursued by Myanmar governments and the experiences of women and girls during conflict and their involvement in the more recent peace-building process. Drawing on extensive interviews with officials, politicians and civil society representatives, the thesis argues that if a sustainable and just peace is to be built in Myanmar, women need to be given a greater role. It also identifies obstacles that need to be overcome if women are to participate effectively in both formal and informal peace processes.</p>


Author(s):  
Maria Hadjipavlou

Gender shapes how both men and women understand their experiences and actions regarding armed conflicts. A gender perspective in the context of conflict situations means to pay close attention to the special needs of women and girls during peace-building processes, including disarmament, demobilization, repatriation, resettlement, rehabilitation, reintegration to the social fabric in post-conflict reconstruction, as well as to take measures to support local women’s peace initiatives. In this light, the overall culture, both within the UN and its member states, needs to be addressed. This culture is still patriarchal and supportive of state militaries, and peacekeeping operations that are comprised of them, which are based on a hegemonic masculinity that depends on the trivialization of women and the exploitation and commodification of women’s bodies. The values, qualities, and qualifications for peace-keeping personnel, on the ground and in senior positions, have been framed and adopted through a patriarchal understanding of peace-keeping, peace-building, and peace-making which has defined security narrowly, has relied on state militaries and military experts to be peace enforcers and makers, has been disinterested in the relationship between conflict and social inequalities, has imposed new social inequalities and new violences in the name of peacekeeping, and has systematically excluded or marginalized women in peace-keeping, peace-building, and peacemaking processes. Although the recent advances, reflected in Security Council, other UN, and member state resolutions and mandates, of integrating gender concerns into these processes have made a positive difference in some operations, implementation of these is still marginal.


Thesis Eleven ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 145 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sedfrey M. Candelaria

Republic Act 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997 (IPRA) was passed by the Philippine Congress in order to address the concerns of the indigenous communities which had received marginal attention through the past decades. Indigenous communities have also been displaced from their lands due to armed conflicts between government soldiers and secessionist groups, particularly the Moro rebels and the communist-led New Peoples’ Army. The Philippines has been privy to peace initiatives with these two groups for some time now. Political circumstances, however, and legal impediments have periodically stalled the peace processes. It is the author’s intention to focus on the predicament of indigenous communities as they seek a strategic role in shaping the content of peace agreements being negotiated by the Philippine government with the rebel groups. How have the indigenous communities made an impression on the two peace processes through the years? And, have the indigenous peoples’ rights been sufficiently protected in the context of the peace agreements? The author will draw from his own insights on the peace processes and agreements which have been negotiated and even tested before the Supreme Court of the Philippines.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. e59057
Author(s):  
Mariana Germana Miquelino Alves de Oliveira

Neste artigo, buscamos entender as implicações das relações de gênero para a resolução de conflitos armados e as possíveis contribuições resultantes da inclusão de mulheres nos processos de paz. À luz das teorias feministas das Relações Internacionais, propomos a hipótese de que não se pode compreender amplamente as dinâmicas de um conflito armado sem considerar a influência das relações de gênero para a sua eclosão e continuidade e, por conseguinte, não se pode implementar medidas de resolução que sejam plenamente eficientes. Mais do que isso, sugerimos que as mulheres sejam parte ativa dos esforços de construção da paz  para que esse processo  se torne mais representativo e possa responder também às fontes de insegurança feminina.Palavras-chave: Resolução de conflitos; Construção da paz; Mulheres.ABSTRACTIn this article, we seek to understand the implications of gender relations for the resolution of armed conflicts and the possible contributions resulting from the inclusion of women in peace processes. In the light of feminist theories of International Relations, we propose the hypothesis that one cannot fully understand the dynamics of armed conflict without considering the influence of gender relations for its outbreak and continuity and, therefore, resolution measures that are fully efficient cannot be implemented. Furthermore, we suggest that for the peace process to become more representative and to respond to sources of female insecurity as well.Keywords: Conflict resolution; Peace building; Women. Recebido em: 10/04/2021 | Aceito em: 27/07/2021. 


2020 ◽  
pp. 0095327X2091076
Author(s):  
Evren Balta ◽  
Murat Yüksel ◽  
Yasemin Gülsüm Acar

Militia groups have only recently started to attract scholarly attention in the literature on internal conflicts. This attention is mostly focused on either the causes of their emergence or their functions and performance during the conflict. The role of militia groups in post-conflict processes, however, has not been adequately addressed. This article intends to fill this gap by analyzing the case of village guards, a type of pro-government militia system in Turkey, based on qualitative evidence from field research. While the dominant narrative in the literature identifies militia groups as spoilers in peace processes, the article shows that militias do not act as spoilers under certain conditions. In the case of the village guard system in Turkey, the permanent integration of militias into the state’s regular military apparatus prevented militia groups from acting as spoilers. It then argues that the permanent integration of wartime militia systems is a consequence of two factors: militia networking and a lack of comprehensive peace-building structures.


2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Winterrowd ◽  
Silvia Canetto ◽  
April Biasiolli ◽  
Nazanin Mohajeri-Nelson ◽  
Aki Hosoi ◽  
...  

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