Jammu and Kashmir unveils its first women commando squad

Original Source: 
 http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/jammu-and-kashmir-unveils-its-first-women-commando-squad-380800

Researcher- Bhhavya Gahlaut

As Neelofer prepares to leave the police training academy in Udhampur in south Kashmir, there is a look of pride and patriotism on her face. And justifiably so. In her early 20s, she is part of the first batch of women crack commandos of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, trained to participate in counter-insurgency operations in the state.

"We were told that women can't do anything, but we have learnt at this academy that women can do anything. After doing this commando course, we also feel that we can achieve something in life," said Neelofer, who spent her childhood in Srinagar, once a hot bed of militancy.

Along with 80 others, Neelofer has been imparted special counter-insurgency training to fight militants. Since they are locals, they are well-versed with the topography and are better connected with the population.

But the ratio is still heavily skewed with less than a thousand women comprising the 80,000-strong Jammu and Kashmir police. But the likes of Neelofer point towards an encouraging trend of women aspiring to join the forces, dominated by men.

"We are proud of these girls, they have shown great dedication. They are well-trained and ready to face on any challenge for the security of the nation," said Farooq Khan, Director, Sher-e-Kashmir Police Academy in Udhampur.

At a time when the government plans to slowly phase out central forces from the state, it's the state police which will have to take on a more prominent role in the fight against militancy. And it is women commandos like Neelofer who will play a critical role in the process of restoring normalcy in the state.

The Legacy of Silence: Why we Ignore Rape from Guatemala to Syria

Original Source-  http://www.womenundersiegeproject.org/blog/entry/the-legacy-of-silence-why-we-ignore-the-rape-of-women-from-guatemala-to-syr


Researcher- Avantika Lal



Just before 2 a.m. and nearly half a world away, I watched a guilty verdict from Guatemala scroll by tweet by tweet on my phone. Former President Efrain Rios Montt was convicted on May 10 of genocide and crimes against humanity and given 80 years in prison. As the news came through, I felt a satisfied chill—decades after the murder of 200,000 Guatemalans and the rape of 100,000 women, mostly Mayans, justice has actually come in our lifetime.
I watched this long-awaited verdict come down while in Beirut. For the past couple weeks I was in Lebanon and Jordan reporting on the rape and torture of Syrians, who are living with so many levels of pain and sadness it’s hard to begin to quantify them all. A little over a year ago, I was in Guatemala meeting the women of that war.
While clearly culturally different in many ways, the women I’ve met who lived through these conflicts share something in particular: Both groups have been terrified to talk about the brutality forced upon them. Both groups are doubted, ignored, and made invisible through shame.
In Guatemala, I heard women say they’d never told their husbands about their rapes because they feared losing their homes and families. In Jordan and Lebanon, I spoke to refugees, social workers, and psychiatrists who said the same thing about the women of Syria who’ve been violated. In fact, the survivors of this war are so frightened to talk about what happened to them, they only speak about their “neighbor” or “friend” who was raped.

The International Rescue Committee has said that rape is a primary reason why women are fleeing Syria. This photo was taken at Zaatari, a refugee camp in Jordan that houses more than 150,000 Syrians. (Lauren Wolfe)
This distancing, of course, is not always distancing. Every single professional I’ve spoken to who works with women refugees says there are just too many cases in which they can easily identify the victim as the person sitting in front of them. Why, then, won’t these women say that they themselves were raped?
“I’m sure if my husband knows he will divorce me the same day, the same hour,” one rape survivor told a doctor working in Amman whom I’ll call Dr. Meena.
From the suburbs of Homs, the survivor, 23, was on her own with her daughters in her house when shabiha (plainclothes militia) forces broke in at the end of last year. I’ve heard many stories now in which rape appears to be used as a means to flush out men in home raids—in this case, the woman said there were no men home, thinking the shabiha would leave without harming her. She was wrong. Three of them raped her. Her daughters were in the hall. They heard her screaming. She told Dr. Meena they thought she was just being beaten.
She didn’t tell anyone what happened to her until she told the doctor in December. Why not?
“I am responsible,” this woman said.
Responsible for her own rape.
And we wonder why women aren’t clamoring to show their faces.
In a society, as in Syria, that places their purity in their physical bodies, when women are no longer thought to be virgins, they are discarded like dirty tissues.
Take the story of another rape survivor from Homs Dr. Meena examined. This particular girl, 17, had lacerations on her vagina, painful UTIs, and vaginal infections—all of which went untreated until the doctor saw her in December. It took numerous visits for the girl to tell the doctor she was raped and to beg her not to tell anyone. Dr. Meena offered to help the girl with a gynecologist referral, thinking maybe there is a way to make her body look like she is still a virgin. In the meantime, her father is trying to force the girl into marriage.
Everything, everything tells this girl not to speak about rape.
Beyond divorce, I’ve heard multiple stories that detail honor killings after women have been raped in Syria—a survivor is shot by her own brother/husband/whoever in the family. Social workers and doctors who have interviewed rape survivors from Syria have told me that women believe that speaking about their rapes will end their lives.
The concept of purity, and honor, kills women.
As Valerie Hudson and her coauthors write in their 2012 book Sex and World Peace, the founder of a group called the Syrian Women Observatory, Bassam al-Kadi, said: “The killing of women because they are women is a worldwide phenomenon. The problem with us is not that we kill [women], while others do not, the problem is that we reward the killer by saying that he was defending his honor and therefore of good character.”
Stories of  honor killings are very hard to confirm since they are happening inside the hot war zone that is Syria, where journalists and human rights workers are not allowed to investigate. But let’s pretend for a minute that there are no honor killings at all. Now let’s pretend we ourselves are Syrian women survivors of rape and we think we’re going to be killed if we say something. Why would we tell?
And the problem doesn’t always begin and end with the survivors of sexualized violence not wanting to share their stories. Often it lies in the fact that there are few competent services in refugee areas to help women speak about their experiences.
One very active nonprofit assisting Syrian refugees told me they “prefer not to ask” about sexualized violence on home visits with families who’ve just arrived in Jordan. “We’d rather they come to us,” I was told. But how are these refugees supposed to break free of all this stigma and come forward to ask for psychological or other medical help? Most of the women I met aren’t even leaving their houses because they are so traumatized and frightened of their new surroundings. (Not to mention the discrimination Syrians are facing in Jordan and Lebanon, where prices are rising and streets are crammed with cars and anger at the refugees.) To be fair to this organization, their home visits usually take place with an entire family present—men too. So it likely isn’t usually the right situation in which to talk about something as “shameful” as rape.
But then, what is the right situation? When will these women—already vulnerable—ever find the “right time”?
I know some people continue to doubt that rape is happening as part of this war. That thinking is hard for me to understand after all the stories I’ve gathered.
Here’s an easy way to think about this issue differently.
I would ask that disbelievers take a minute to click around Syria Tracker to watch some videos of men being tortured, their throats cut, limbs severed, eyes plucked out. Or they could go to Zaatari, the refugee camp that houses more than 150,000 Syrians in the arid north of Jordan, as I did. It probably won’t take long for men to ask if they’d take a minute to watch some videos on cell phones, as I was asked to. Maybe they would be shown a video of a dead body being stabbed 30 times, as I was. Or maybe they’d watch another being kicked while the back of its skull hangs off. I saw that one too.
Talk to a few Syrians—men or women, doesn’t matter. They’d hear how special—and vulnerable—women are considered in this society. How women must be protected.
Why, then, is it so hard to imagine that women’s bodies are being used alongside men’s as a particularly effective tool of this war? That this precious commodity called “women” is the perfect envelope in which to send a message of domination and defeat in Syria?
Why is it so hard to think that women here too are being tortured in the ways they have been for so many wars?
Could it be because it is unthinkable? That women, noncombatants, are being physically and emotionally destroyed makes no emotional sense. How could such a thing really be happening?
Could it be because there is no “proof”? If so, take a look at this report from the United Nations for proof if that’s what’s needed; here are dozens of more reports we’ve gathered from NGOs, witnesses, and media reports. We have confirmation of many stories that resemble so many others. Is that number not high enough maybe? Do we need to be able to point to thousands of women and men sexually violated to say we condemn this and realize that these people need help?
Now look to Guatemala.
For 30 years, much of the world managed to deny the Guatemalan genocide. The decimation of the Maya people, along with thousands of women kept as sexual slaves or raped, went quietly into history for decades. As of May 10, that is no longer the case. We now have a court verdict that points fingers, names names, and makes visible what was once hidden.
Can’t we, for once, accept that sometimes there are things we can’t easily see that are terrible and disgusting and forcibly hidden and collectively decide that they must be addressed? Can’t we agree that women around the world have been silenced and shamed repeatedly whether it is in a single rape in Steubenville, Ohio, or in thousands of cases as in Guatemala—and in whatever the number will ultimately be in Syria?
Should we tell Dr. Meena’s patients to keep quiet, as everyone else around them tacitly has, or should we raise our hands and let these women—whether they are dozens, hundreds, or thousands—know we are listening and that they have our support? They do not need any more victimization. They need help. And they deserve justice.

Education and Peace Building in Kashmir

Original Source- http://www.claws.in/administrator/uploaded_files/1370851731Issue_Brief.pdf

Since War begins in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defence of peace must be constructed (UNESCO Constitution, 1945)

The World Bank Development Report in 2011 declared education as the most crucial aspect in peace building. In conflict situations, security and political issues gain dominance in the development agenda and education acquires a back seat. While the above-mentioned aspects are important, education could play a vital role in fostering peace in the conflict-ridden regions. Maria Montessori, a famed educator had very rightly said in one of her public talks:

“Those who want war prepare young people for war; but those, who want peace, have neglected young children and adolescents so that they are unable to organise them for peace.

Education is vital for transforming the current, dominant culture of violence. These efforts should be directed towards children and youth to give them an alternative picture to war and violence that in turn would avoid relapsing into conflict. It will equip them with the skills, which would inculcate human values, respect and tolerance towards the other sex, religion and culture. The value system in education was recognised at the World Declaration on “education for all”, which also identified the need to promote liberal approach towards life.

Kashmir’s Story

Kashmir has been scarred by nearly two decades of conflict; almost an entire generation has grown amidst violence punctuated by guns, armed men, regular frisking and curfew. Violence can have a detrimental impact on the child psychology. “Inshallah Kashmir” a documentary by Ashwin Kumar, which has been widely acclaimed for presenting various facets of insurgency in Kashmir describes this particular instance where few children from a village were replicating a curfew, the like they often witness in their environment.  When probed, they had no idea why this curfew was being executed.

The stone pelting incident of 2010 signalled the brimming frustration amongst the disillusioned and restive youth who have never seen a peaceful valley before. Lack of employment opportunities, prospects of a bleak future as well as a sense of lost roots and cultural values has bred anger amongst them. A contributory factor is the flawed education system, which does not stress on children’s “social, moral and humanistic” aspects. 

Neerja Mattoo, a renowned academician and journalist in Jammu and Kashmir, has expressed grief over the devastated state of education in the state while citing its egalitarian and secular features in the past. Today, children have no recollection of a shared history and harmony which prevailed amongst diverse communities of Kashmir in the past. She said, “If the children do not find it in their textbooks, neither in their associations, it’s naturally going to be an insular experience of education”.

In absence of ethics and values based education in “normal schools”, teachers and trainers resort to Quranic teachings as a resource for moral values to students. In fact, the Ministry of Human Resource Development had released funds under the scheme to promote quality education for modernising 362 Madrasas in three districts of Jammu and Kashmir namely Kulgam, Pulwama and Sri Nagar. Though there have been allegations that the state government has embezzled funds, there are hardliners who have refused the funding altogether under this scheme citing it as an attack on the religious institutions and an attempt to malign the separatist movement.

This shows how the educational institutions are susceptible to the political contours of J&K. Various political groups have vested interests in disrupting the peaceful environment in Kashmir, thereby causing delay in state board examinations or suspending classes held in schools which inadvertently stifles the confidence amongst students. Later, they find themselves incapable of matching the standards for career and higher education opportunities that exist in the world outside Kashmir.

Education can also exacerbate conflict. Often the State and its ideology seep into the education curriculum. In Pakistan, the State controlled education system offers no room for critical questioning and analysis. The teachers too have no choice but to follow the curriculum to the letter. The syllabus presents history in a selective manner where India is clearly represented as the “other”, albeit different from the victim, more righteous Pakistan. A quote from the Class XI textbook in Pakistan reads, “Social equality means that there should be no discrimination and difference in society based on race, colour or region, which reduces people to second class citizenship, for example, the kind of discrimination against Muslims in India and Blacks in Europe”. This kind of a statement completely fails to acknowledge the kind of atrocities and racial profiling carried out against religious minorities in Pakistan. According to US diplomatic cables leaked by wiki leaks, British Muslims are sending their “problem child” to madrasas and schools in POK. These children are at the risk of being recruited by various terrorist groups. Most of the suicide bombers in Afghanistan are products of highly radicalised madrasas being run in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan. If this religious extremism seeps into the educational infrastructure of J&K, it would prove to be a serious menace.

Saudi Arabia is already pumping money in Kashmir to promote the Wahabi ideology through university, madrasas and schools. The intelligence bureau has confirmed that money is being pumped through illegal hawala channels in the name of charity (zakat).  These institutions, while offering no room for gender equality or critical questioning, tend to promote fundamentalist attitudes. Many people in the region study at these institutions due to absence of alternatives. Uneven distribution of education is also known to enhance conflict. Ladakhi, Gujjar, Bakerwal and other tribes have expressed grievances over the growing illiteracy rate amongst their communities, thus rendering the state government approach as non inclusive. 

Schools as Safe Haven

As Brock Utne points out “It is of no help if the subject matter taught is of critical nature selected to further democratic values and the character formation of individuals if the  methods used to convey the subject matter are authoritarian, do not engage students, and do not appeal to their emotions”. Several schools have been destroyed, mostly by militants, in the 23-year long insurgency. Security Forces too had occupied a few schools when deployed to fight militants in the rural areas. This led to schools being run in camps and tents. Militarising schools has a negative psychological impact on children and is not conducive to their functioning. The dropout rates are highest amongst girls due to actual or perceived violence. Lack of higher education institutions also leads to frustration. Those who cannot afford to continue their education outside Kashmir are sucked into militancy more easily. Farooq, a local schoolteacher, had this to say: “Here in Kashmir, it is different because the parents cannot reprimand or guide their children. We are scared they might just run off and join some terrorist groups or commit suicide.” This is indicative of a very serious ground reality. 

Kashmir is home to several tribes, each having its own set of values, culture and language. Gujjar and Bakerwal community have already expressed anguish over the state government’s negligence to provide basic education. Similarly, several poor groups in Ladakh, who can only speak in Ladakhi find the language barrier very challenging since most of the classes in schools are held in Urdu or Hindi. To counter this, a model being run in schools of Assam can be replicated in Kashmir. In several backward areas of Assam, the classroom language is Bodo, at least till the primary level.  This can boost the confidence amongst children.

A Way Forward

Various civil society groups and NGOs are already involved in imparting value and ethics based education in the classrooms. Separate training modules have been designed for teachers to equip them to engage with students through dialogues and role plays. Sports can be used as an intervention to impart life skills to students in Kashmir. This model has already been tried and tested in the naxal districts by UNICEF and has proved to be quite successful in integrating vulnerable students into the mainstream society. Yoga and meditation could indeed prove very helpful in reducing the stress levels amongst students. Local media is very important in shaping perceptions in this region; therefore flagging the issue of peace education will bring this agenda back on the mind map of the communities as well as the state government.

One of the beneficiaries of the training program for peace education run by The Global Education and Leadership Foundation says, “The situation in Kashmir is such that it has completely closed our minds to new thoughts and solutions. This initiative has opened a new window for us and given us a space to discuss ideas, expressing our honest opinion, learning to solve problems and staying positive”. The religious texts and their original meaning could specifically be highlighted in the curriculum. Similarly, instances of resorting to settling disputes through peaceful means in the local culture can be incorporated in the curriculum. 

Role of Women in Peace Education

The UN Resolution 1325 has recognised the importance of gender in peace and security concerns. Often textbooks tend to perpetuate gender biased stereotypes which leads to gender inequality. It consists of male perspectives and male achievements which promote the idea of female subordination while also qualifying it as unquestionable and unchangeable. The portrayal of women as passive recipients of the welfare schemes and the developmental initiatives and not active contributors in peace building leads to their lack of political participation.

More so the access to education for girls and women in Kashmir is determined by the political situation and the right to education and their bodies is determined by external forces. Various terrorist factions including Dukhtaran-e-Millat (a pro separatist women’s group in Kashmir) have coerced women to stick to the dress codes as prescribed by them. In a particular instance from “A story of women’s college in Kashmir” by Neerja Mattoo underlines the horror that awaited the deviants-

 “A man with a stick was lying in wait outside college waiting to hit any girl whose head is not covered”

Women, especially in conflict situations, display high dropout roots due to sexual harassment in public spaces as well as within the school compounds, the situation being worse in rural areas. Therefore, only numerical growth of female teachers is not the solution, they need to be trained to be able to reflect on “concepts of freedom, responsibility, diversity, democratic participation, tolerance and respect.” Rokeya Sakhawat Hussain, a renowned feminist and educator had suggested that “the ultimate purpose of education is not to find a job but realisation of the fullest developmental potential as human being, which is why women have as much right to education as men”.

Dr. Susheela Bhan, a Kashmiri Pandit, runs ethics and values based education in 200 government schools in the backward areas. On my personal interaction with her, she suggested that it is the students from the rural areas who are most prone to militancy. Therefore engaging with these strata of the Kashmiri society is the need of the hour. Literacy for women is an important key to improve health, nutrition, education in the family. Once emancipated through education, they can be active contributors in peace

How can Army act as a facilitator?

As mentioned above, several schools have been destroyed in the conflict, especially in the rural areas. The Indian army is already involved in re-establishing schools in such areas under Operation Sadbhavana. To propagate the idea of ethics and values, such schools can follow the revised curriculum and teacher training methods based on peace education. These schools can liaise with various civil society groups and NGOs already working on value based education in the region to establish a sustainable model. A commanding officer in the region can hold career counselling sessions for locals in the area to inform them of the opportunities that exist for them outside Kashmir with respect to their qualifications. Since Army is not a permanent constitution in Kashmir, the onus of education and development must however rest with the state government.

Peace building is a more transformational agenda than just short term measures in the aftermath of conflict; the latter can only exacerbate conflict and add to the already restive nature of the State. Therefore reconstructing the education system in Kashmir should be given the highest priority. In the areas where it is deployed, the Army could facilitate the above process.

References

-Kirk Jackie(2007), “Education for Peace Building”, Women Building Peace between India and Pakistan, Anthem Critical Studies

-Barua Kalita Neera(2012), “Education for Peace”, Gender, Peace and Development in North East India, DVS Publishers

-Mattoo Neerja(2002), “The Story of a Women’s College in Kashmir”, Speaking Peace, Kali For Women

-Arshad Hiba(2008), “Education in Kashmir:Historical Overview and Current Analysis”, Kashmir Corps

-Bashir Abid(October 5, 2012) “Govt admits Madrassa funding”, Greater Kashmir

-Bhat Saima(March 14, 2013) , “683 Madrassa and Muktabs functional in J&K Government”, Kashmir Life

-Dupuy Kendra( Report No. ISBN 82-7481-165-8), “ Education for Peace: Building Peace and Transforming Conflict through Education Systems” International Peace Research Institute, Oslo for Save the Children, Norway

-India Defence Forum(February 6, 2011) “ UK Muslim problem kids sent to schools in PoK:Wikileaks”

-Jolly Asit( December 23, 2011), “The Wahhabi Invasion”, India Today

-Journal of Peace Education, Vol 6, Issue 2, 2009 “ Schooling for Violence and Peace: How does Peace Education differ from ‘normal’ schooling”

-Kaul Ashima(January 17 ,2013), “Education: The instrument of Peace in Kashmir” , Insight on Conflict,  Published by Peace Direct

-Observer Bureau( January 17, 2013) ,” Madrassas in Kashmir utilised Rs 47 Lakhs in one Year”, Daily State Observer

-Tundum Chosdan( December 1 , 2011) , “ Is Education System of Ladakh Relevant” ,Epilogue Vol 5, Issue 2

-Dorjay Thinlas(May 1, 2010) , “Ladakh’s Tryst with Education Reform”, Epilogue, Vol 4, Issue 5

Support Afghan Women's Rights

Original Source- http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/SUPPORT_AFGHAN_WOMENS_RIGHTS_STOP_THE_REPEAL_of_EVAW_the_Law_to_Eliminate_Violence_Against_Women/?fgfPFab&pv=6

Please sign this petition!

 

SUPPORT AFGHAN WOMEN'S RIGHTS: STOP THE REPEAL of EVAW-the Law to Eliminate Violence Against Women

The petition is needed to stop the Afghan Parliament and President Karzai from repealing the 2009 Afghan Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) to replace it with a less effective version that would serve the interests of extremists and perpetrators of violence against women. The existing law prohibits 22 acts of violence against women, provides support to survivors, and prosecutes offenders.

 

I help Women to be Leaders in Post Conflict Situations.

Original Source-   http://tehelka.com/i-catalyze-the-energy-of-women-and-train-them-to-be-effective-leaders-in-post-conflict-situations/


Hope Chigudu is a Uganda-based human rights campaigner, founding member of the Zimbabwe Resources Centre and Network (ZRCN) and has also been a gender and development advisor to the UN’s Industrial Development Organisation. Recently in India to monitor the work of Isis WICCE, a global feminist agency that works in conflict areas of the world, she talks to Baba Umar about the challenges that grassroot women confront, as well as their potential to make a change in communities across the world



What brings you to India?
I came to review the work of an organization called Isis WICCE (Isis-Women’s International Cross Cultural Exchange), a global feminist action-oriented organisation that works in conflict and post-conflict countries. I met its partners in India, Nepal and Pakistan.
How is the women’s movement in Africa changing the face of governance?
The women’s movement in Africa has always been at the centre of development. During the late fifties and sixties, African women were increasingly drawn into national liberation struggles, with gender politics having obliquely filtered into broader mobilization against colonialism and class oppression. While the women’s movement formed at this time was not clearly feminist, it indicated a tradition from the fifties, of women organising around the network of gender, race and class relations. Today women are involved in governance right from the household level to the regional level. There are many women participating in politics, in protecting the environment, in fighting violence against marginalized people and in ensuring that there is justice on the continent.
Are there many such examples you can cite?
Yes. Women have been at the centre of reconstruction programmes, especially in post- conflict countries. For example, activists, especially Liberian women, did whatever they could to negotiate for peace during the war. Consequently in June 2003, a peace accord was brokered in Accra. This led to the formation of a transitional government and holding national elections. Following the November 2005 election, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won and was sworn in as the first woman President of Liberia in January 2006. The Nobel Peace Prize 2011 was awarded jointly to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Liberian activist and leader Leymah Gbowee “for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and peace-building work. Then we have the Green Belt Movement and late Professor Wangari Maathai who got the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. In Malawi, Joyce Banda is the second women President on the continent. From July 2012, South Africa’s Nkosazana Dhlamini-Zuma took over the leadership of the African Union. Indeed, the list of women occupying spaces of power is growing.
How about women in other African nations where this rise is yet to be tasted?
Well, when one looks at the big picture, only two African countries out of 54 are being led by women. This is laughable, particularly when one remembers that demographically, women are over half the population in most countries in Africa. For women to be on the rise, whatever the woman leader does must trickle down to the other women.
Transformation is needed but this can only occur with the transformation of the whole system. Botswana and Rwanda are examples of African countries that are registering significant gains in women’s participation in political power. Affirmative action is something that addresses structural imbalances, not just having one woman running the government. Women need to be in leadership positions in various boardrooms, political parties and spaces of knowledge production such as the university, just to mention a few.
Tell us about the Zimbabwe Women Resource Centre and Network (ZWRCN)
We established ZWRCN in 1990 as a space for women. Back then, spaces for women to meet were limited and there was no central place where one could find information on women in Zimbabwe. Documents were scattered everywhere. Today ZWRCN has a documentation centre and is a place for learning and understanding gender, women, feminism and development and has regular discussions on these topics

What is the current state of feminist studies in Africa?
From humble beginnings, today almost every university in Africa has gender studies. Africa has produced women and some men who are working as activists, writers, researchers and scholars. Women’s universities are also mushrooming. There are many women in higher institutions that teach and carry out activism. There are also feminist journals like Feminist Africa produced by the African Gender Studies at the University of Capetown. Feminist studies are working closely with activists on the ground advocating for equal rights, justice and emancipation. Not all women studies are feminist though.
What does your experience say about the role of women during conflict situations? 
The importance of women in the promotion and maintenance of peace and human security is unquestionable. During times of conflict and post-conflict, women keep communities alive, feed the troops and mobilize for peace. For example, in West Africa, women members of the ‘Mano River Women’s Peace Network’ (Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone), came together to build peace, reconciliation and confidence in their countries. They organized themselves regionally, built networks and identified measures to help stop the recurrence of civil wars that had imperilled the region. They did other heroic actions such as bringing the heads of states to the negotiating table in 2001. In Liberia, they built peace huts and used them to address community tensions.
But in spite of all the risks they take in order to build peaceful societies, they are left behind in the list of revolutionary agendas and remain unprotected and invisible in all post-conflict programmes. Their contribution to peace and democratization during conflicts does not typically translate into leadership roles in decision-making institutions. Their narratives are largely absent from accounts in state and nation building, yet their contributions can’t be denied. Their voices go unheard during formal processes including peace negotiations, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, constitution-creation, elections, reconstruction, rehabilitation, truth and reconciliation and establishing a judicial system.
This is why, as a trainer, I catalyze the energy women have and train them to be effective leaders in post-conflict situations, so that they become leaders who can lobby, advocate and ensure that women’s issues are on the agenda.
Do you think there is a need for change in the media’s portrayal of women?
Yes, women are being objectified on billboards, advertisements, movies, music videos, and on television. As a result, young women are forced to focus on their looks instead of their holistic selves. Some young women, especially in urban areas, have a picture of what an ideal young woman should look like. Some of these images are harmful to their emotional and physical health. Many young women have developed eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression. These problems are directly linked to sexualized and objectified images in advertising and media entertainment. But feminism has always tried to break stereotypes. Feminism as a political tool of analysis looks at issues of class, sexuality, location, disability etc. It questions masculinity and femininity as the norm and offers alternatives.
India has been outraged with a surge in rapes. How are African women tackling this menace?
If there is an area in which we have invested a lot of energy, it is violence against women, which takes many forms, including rape. Women have been using whatever opportunity they can to put issues of rape on the agenda. As a result, many institutions and organizations have gender policies that are supposed to protect women. Inspite of this, rape is on the rise. Then there are other issues including poverty, maternal death, HIV/AIDS etc. Though the number of women in positions of authority in Africa is increasing, for this to constitute an improvement in the definition and lives of women in Africa, the structures have to change. This change will help women to continue to move to the forefront to lead at the local, national and global level. Problem-solving, both local and global, will gain credibility when they include women-led ideas and are crafted with a gender/feminist lens to ensure social justice.

Rajasthan: To pursue studies, girl defies Panchayat

Original Source- http://www.indianexpress.com/news/to-pursue-studies-girl-defies-panchayat/1127561/



Researcher- Avantika Lal


A 19-year-old girl from a remote village in Barmer, Rajasthan, stood up for her right to pursue higher education and refused to get married immediately, drawing the ire of the local caste panchayat which issued a decree to ostracise the family. Refusing to buckle under pressure, the girl filed a police complaint against five members of the caste panchayat and an investigation is being carried into the incident.
Chaini, a resident of Bhuka Bhagat Singh village in Barmer, was engaged to Varja Ram of neighbouring Hodu village three years ago. When her in-laws started pressuring her to get married, Chaini politely turned them down asking for time to pursue her education. Though initially her family too coaxed her to get married, she managed to convince her father Junja Ram eventually.
However, the village caste panchayat held a meeting at the local government school premises and asked Junja Ram to solemnise the marriage as soon as possible. When Chaini's family refused to go ahead, the caste panchayat took offence and issued a decree to ostracise the family. Chaini reported the matter to the local police station at Sindhari and an FIR was lodged.
Rahul Barhat, Superintendent of Police, told The Indian Express, "An FIR has been lodged and the matter is being investigated. We have to first establish that the facts narrated by the victim are true after which we can initiate any action against the accused."
Barhat said that the five accused in the caste panchayat have been bound by the magistrate, a legal procedure in which the accused are warned that if any harm is done to the girl they will be held responsible. If found guilty, the accused will be booked for threat and extortion, he said.

Jody Williams, 1997, USA

Original Source-  http://nobelwomensinitiative.org/meet-the-laureates/jody-williams/




Jody Williams received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work to ban landmines through the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which shared the Peace Prize with her that year. At that time, she became the 10th woman - and third American woman - in its almost 100-year history to receive the Prize.  Since her protests of the Vietnam War, she has been a life-long advocate of freedom, self-determination and human and civil rights.
Like others who have seen the ravages of war, she is an outspoken peace activist who struggles to reclaim the real meaning of peace - a concept which goes far beyond the absence of armed conflict and is defined by human security, not national security. Williams believes that working for peace is not for the faint of heart.  It requires dogged persistence and a commitment to sustainable peace, built on environmental justice and meeting the basic needs of the majority of people on our planet.

---

Since January of 2006, Jody Williams has worked toward those ends through the Nobel Women's Initiative, which she chairs.  Along with sister Nobel Laureate Dr. Shirin Ebadi of Iran, she took the lead in establishing the Nobel Women’s Initiative.  They were joined at that time by sister Nobel Laureates Wangari Maathai (Kenya), Rigoberta Menchú Tum (Guatemala) and Betty Williams and Mairead Maguire (Northern Ireland). The Initiative uses the prestige of the Nobel Peace Prize and the influence and access of the women Nobel Laureates themselves to support and amplify the efforts of women around the world working for sustainable peace with justice and equality.

Since 1998, Williams has also served as a Campaign Ambassador for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.  Beginning in early 1992 with two non-governmental organizations and a staff of one - Jody Williams, she oversaw the Campaign's growth to over 1,300 organizations in 95 countries working to eliminate antipersonnel landmines. In an unprecedented cooperative effort with governments, UN bodies and the International Committee of the Red Cross, she served as a chief strategist and spokesperson for the ICBL as it dramatically achieved its goal of an international treaty banning antipersonnel landmines during a diplomatic conference held in Oslo in September 1997.

Williams continues to be recognized for her contributions to human rights and global security. She is the recipient of fifteen honorary degrees, among other recognitions. In 2004, Williams was named by Forbes Magazine as one of the 100 most powerful women in the world in the publication of its first such annual list.

 

She holds the Sam and Cele Keeper Endowed Professorship in Peace and Social Justice at the Graduate College of Social Work at the University of Houston where she has been teaching since 2003.  In academic year 2012-2013, she became the inaugural Jane Addams Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Social Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Her new memoir on life as a grassroots activist, My Name is Jody Williams:  A Vermont Girl’s Winding Path to the Nobel Peace Prize was released by the University of California Press in early 2013.