ISRAEL (PALESTINE) Rafah, Gaza Strip:
Laura, a Jewish-American peace activist, is greeted by four year old Arij.
Photographer © Fredrik Naumann / Panos Pictures
IPB recommends the following links and texts on the issue of gender perspectives in Disarmament for Development:
What are the linkages between disarmament, development and gender perspectives?
www.oecd.org/dataoecd/2/10/1896328.pdf
A gender perspective on disarmament challenges existing analysis and solutions for disarmament, and demands that people are put in the centre of the picture: women and men, as victims, survivors and perpetrators of weapons related violence. This is human security in action and we commend those governments that have committed themselves to advancing this concept and practice:
www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/cd/speeches03/NGOstate.html
This note explores two dimensions of the development/disarmament discussion. First, it looks at the macro issue of national disarmament, primarily related to nuclear weapons and military expenditures. Second, it turns to issues in the micro perspective, primarily concerned with local development for disarmament initiatives:
disarmament2.un.org/gender/note6.htm
Helping Women Help Themselves: Increasing the Role of Women in the Weapons in Exchange for Development Programme UN Development Programme (UNDP):
www.peacewomen.org/resources/DDR/ddrrrindex.html
Gender Budgets
The Gender Responsive Budgeting website is a collaborative effort between the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Commonwealth Secretariat and Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC), which was launched in 2001. The website strives to support efforts of governments, women’s organizations, members of parliaments and academics to ensure that planning and budgeting effectively respond to gender equality goals:
www.gender-budgets.org
Few things seem more incompatible than the technical rigidity of budgets and the usually fluid approach of gender activists. Yet everyone who has struggled to mainstream gender into public policy recognises that programmed action without money attached amounts to inaction. Gender activists, both inside and outside government, have learned this lesson the hard way. Despite commitments of governments all over the world to gender equality, unequal gender relations prevail. There are countless examples of rhetorical commitments that fall short because they are not backed up by policies. Furthermore, if money is not attached specifically and in a sufficient manner to these policies, they will fail to address in a serious way the differentiated needs of women, men, girls and boys:
www.bridge.ids.ac.uk/dgb12.html
A training manual was produced under a UNFPA/UNIFEM strategic partnership aimed at developing a coordinated approach for effective technical assistance to gender-responsive budgeting (GRB). It is intended to build capacity in the application of gender budget analysis. The manual seeks to build understanding of GRB as a tool for promoting gender equity, accountability to women's rights, and efficiency and transparency in budget policies and processes. The training manual adds value to the wealth of training resources on GRB, first, through a focus on the applicability of gender-responsive budgeting to reproductive health and, second, through a presentation of sector-specific examples and case studies dealing with maternal health, gender and HIV/AIDS, and violence against women.This manual is available in English, Spanish and French:
http://www.unfpa.org/publications/detail.cfm?ID=329
Here you can find an annotated resource list of women‘s and gender budgets: www.bridge.ids.ac.uk/reports/bb9c.pdf
Here is explained what tools and processes make gender budgeting: www.dfid.gov.uk/aboutdfid/organisation/pfma/pfma-gender-budget.pdf
This overview shows gender budget initiatives from Australia to Zimbabwe, their goals and objectives and the role of intergovernmental organisations and donors and much more:
www.internationalbudget.org/resources/library/GenderBudget.pdf
A gender budget is not a separate budget for women; instead it is an approach which can be used to highlight the gap between policy statements and the resources committed to their implementation, ensuring that public money is spent in more gender equitable ways. The issue is not whether we are spending the same on women and men, but whether the spending is adequate to women and men's needs:
www.wbg.org.uk/GBA_What.htm
Gendered Budget Work in the Americas: Selected Country Experiences, Borges Sugiyama, N., 2002. This paper explores how researchers and advocates in Brazil, Mexico, Peru, and Chile have attempted to assess the impact of government spending on women and girls, men and boys:
http://www.siyanda.org/static/sugiyama_budget.htm
The Philippines: Getting Smart With Local Budgets, Flor, C. and Lizares-Si, A., 2002
This case study from the book 'Gender Budgets Make More Cents: Country studies and good practice' examines the Gender Budget Initiative (GBI) in the Philippines:
http://www.siyanda.org/static/flor_budphil.htm
Budgeting For Equality: The Australian Experience, Sharp, R. and Broomhill, R., 2002
This paper looks at the gender budget initiative in Australia, an example of an initiative located inside government:
http://www.siyanda.org/static/sharp_budget.htm
Gender Audit: Whim or Voice, Krug, B. and van Staveren, I., 2002
This paper argues that state policies can have hidden consequences for women, which can be uncovered through gender analysis:
http://www.siyanda.org/static/krug_audit.htm
Small arms
The issue of the proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW) was first raised by the United Nations in a 1995 General Assembly resolution (A/RES/50/70B). In 2001, the United Nations adopted the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects (PoA) – a first step towards developing a global approach to eliminate the illicit trade in SALW. The UN Department for Disarmament Affairs (UNDDA) has undertaken considerable efforts to promote understanding of the importance of gender perspectives in all aspects of disarmament. For the effective implementation of the PoA, such critical gender considerations need to be addressed in all stages of the process: the information gathering, planning, implementation and monitoring processes. disarmament2.un.org/gender.htm
Adopted in October 2000, UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security states that gender perspectives should be incorporated in all areas of peace support operations, including disarmament. Although small arms are not specifically mentioned in the Resolution, 1325 has been used in relation to small arms issues, including disarmament in post-conflict contexts:
www.peacewomen.org/resources/SALW/salwindex.html
A thousand people die every day by gunshot and many more are seriously injured. However, the global gun violence epidemic affects men and women differently. Men are the overwhelming majority of direct victims and perpetrators of gun violence; but women suffer disproportionately given that they are rarely gun purchasers, owners or users. The IANSA Women’s Network believes that effective solutions to the global gun crisis will require a new, gender-sensitive approach. We must develop policies that reflect the different ways women and men are affected by and respond to guns. We must also ensure that women are fully involved in small arms policy and practice – including reform and enforcement of national gun laws, conflict resolution, peacebuilding and development:
www.iansa.org/women/gender-small-arms.htm
On the 23rd of July 2002, the innovative publication Gender Perspectives on Small Arms and Light Weapons: Regional and International Concerns, was officially launched by the Ugandan Minister for Gender, Labor and Social Development, Hon. Zoë Bakoko Bakoru, during the International Womens World Congress, in Kampala/Uganda. The first part, How Is Gun Proliferation and Misuse Gendered? gives international perspectives on how assessments and policies on small arms and light weapons (SALW) should be made more gender-aware. The second section, The Politics of SALW: Mainstreaming Gender in Policy-Making, focuses on the Horn of Africa. Here, the Ugandan Minister for Gender, Labor and Social Development (MGLSD), Hon. Zoë Bakoko Bakoru, offers some "Personal Reflections on Small Arms and Light Weapons." This paper gives an insight into how Ugandan women have been affected by SALW proliferation, and discusses how regional and international agreements could be more effectively used to combat this scourge. In the third section, SALW Proliferation and Gender-Based Violence, Ruth Ojambo Ochieng, Director of Isis - Women’s International Cross-Cultural Exchange (WICCE) Uganda, examines evidence of torture in the war-torn regions of Uganda, focusing in particular on the use of SALW in the perpetration of gender-based violence:
www.bicc.de/press/releases/D2002/pressrel_uganda_genderbrief.php
On Women's Role in Relations between Development and Disarmament, with very good information on small arms:
www.womenwarpeace.org/issues/smallarms/smallarms.htm
The Albanian President, Rexhep Meidani, turned to the United Nations for assistance in disarming the civilian population. In response, the Secretary General fielded an evaluation mission headed by the Under Secretary General for Disarmament Affairs, with the participation of the United Nations Development Programme. The mission assessed arms availability and possession as well as the unique set of circumstances that had brought Albania to the crisis point. It recommended an innovative approach to the security problem combining voluntary disarmament with community development incentives, addressing the armament issue in a community-based holistic context. With the support of many governments the United Nations Development Programme implemented a pilot project in the district of Gramsh. It began in December 1998 and was called the ‘Weapons in Exchange for Development’ project (WED) conceived by the UN Department for Disarmament Affairs (UNDDA). This project was later expanded to the districts of Elbasan and Diber. The inclusion of women in the project has been of key importance for its success:
www.bicc.de/events/unconf/workshop_texts/workshop_kushti.php
Gender and weapons of mass destruction
Gender perspectives on weapons of mass destruction. draw attention to issues of power and inequalities:
disarmament2.un.org/gender/note1.pdf
The Relevance of Gender for Eliminating Weapons of Mass Destruction: Although the linkage between weapons of mass destruction and gender will be unfamiliar for many readers, this paper argues that ideas and expectations about gender are woven through the professional and political discourses that shape all aspects of how weapons of mass destruction are considered, desired and addressed:
www.acronym.org.uk/dd/dd80/80ccfhsr.htm
Women, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Preventing War. A speech by Nobuyasu Abe, Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, United Nations, New York at the Panel on Women, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Preventing War of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom:
disarmament2.un.org/speech/04may2004.htm
Military bases
Italian Women Opposing New U.S. Military Base Lobby Capitol Hill:
In historic Vicenza, Italy, the U.S. has plans to build a new military base, and never did they expect such strong opposition in the city that has been home to the base at Camp Ederle since 1955. Times have changed. As news of the proposal leaked out in May 2006, following years of secret negotiations, the people of Vicenza, led by women, mounted a grassroots campaign the likes of which had never been seen in the hardworking town in the north of Italy. With little or no experience as activists, they organized debates, vigils and protests against the further militarization of their city. What began as a local movement grew to become a national cause in all of Italy, leading to a demonstration on February 17, which saw 200,000 people protest in this town of 120,000:
www.peaceandjustice.it/vicenza-dc.php
www.afterdowningstreet.org/vicenza
In Ecuador on 8 March 2007 the Caravan "Women for Peace" rode from Quito to Manta, a military base located at the Pacific Ocean coast. It was led by Ecuadorean women's groups, Cindy Sheehan and Medea Benjamin, among others. The objective was to stress the impacts of war, military bases and other forms of military presence on women, as well as to highlight women as activists for peace all over the world:
www.no-bases.org
Research on military geographies, including military land use, military environmentalism, militarism and space/place, base conversion issues, gender and identity, including military identities and gender and the armed forces, done by Dr Rachel Woodward:
www.ncl.ac.uk/gps/staff/profile/r.e.woodward
The Korea Women's Network Against Militarism is an independent women's peace network which consists of six organisations and several individuals. Their main goals are: to dismantle militarism and militarised culture, which foster and strengthen the patriarchal system; to protect the rights of women, children and people from militarised violence; the preservation of the ecosystem from military uses; the closure of military bases and economic development for women, specifically, and people in general.The Korea Women's Network Against Militarism, together with women activists from Japan, Okinawa, Philippines, Puerto Rico and the US, held an international meeting in Seoul last year in August on the issue of "militarism and the rights of women". Women from each country who participated in this meeting had either suffered the effects of the foreign military bases and troops stationed in them, or were women activists who work with them. There were discussions and workshops about "women's lives and rights in relation to the US military bases", "Amerasian people", "militarism within our daily lives", "misuse of the environment by military bases and health problems", "treaties of each country" and "base conversion":
www.peacenews.info/issues/2450/245028.html
www.buildingmovement.org/work/engaging/wnam.html
www.vday.org/static/download/amea/PWG_Statement.doc
Women for Genuine Security is a U.S. based organization that promotes a world of genuine security based on justice and respect for others across national boundaries, a world free of militarism, violence and all forms of sexual exploitation. Through educational programs and resources, WGS promotes critical analysis, activist partnerships and greater accountability of the U.S. government for the violence, environmental devastation, and sexual abuse caused by the U.S. military in countries that host U.S. forces and bases. We began in 1996 when women from Okinawa (Japan) appealed to us as women living in the United States to take responsibility and speak up about the impacts of our military in other countries. Women participating in the WGS core group are students, teachers, translators, organizers, policy-makers, writers and mothers:
projects.tactilepix.com/wgs/aboutus/index.html
Negative effects of U.S. militarism on women and children in East Asia include sexual exploitation, physical and sexual violence, and the dire situation of many Amerasian children. Instead of seeing U.S. troops sent home and military bases closed after the collapse of the Soviet Union, East Asians have seen signs that the U.S. military is digging in deeper. The concept of security is too militarized and does not include the human rights of women and children and the protection of the physical environment:
www.fpif.org/briefs/vol4/v4n09wom.html
Landmines
Women and men in some eighty countries live daily with the threat of landmines; women are particularly affected as they comprise the majority of the world’s farmers and gatherers of food, water and firewood. Landmines block access to farmland, food, water and shelter, and act as a major obstacle to the transport and distribution of basic relief supplies, the repair of essential infrastructure, and the rehabilitation of homes, schools and clinics. An essential component of demining operations should be to ensure that those conducting the operations consult with women as they often identify priority areas for clearance, such as transportation routes to fields or markets, that may be different than those identified by military or political authorities. A second implication is that landmine awareness training, campaigns or classes are more successful when women are involved because women multiply vital information throughout their families and communities, particularly about signs of danger and preventing injury:
www.womenwarpeace.org/issues/landmines/landmines.htm
Women in the Middle East, as the nurturers and child rearers, must keep their families going under difficult conditions. Female landmine/UXO casualties make up a markedly lower percentage of victims as compared with males because in most Middle East countries women’s mobility is strictly limited by Muslim law. Yet women bear the burden of mine accidents as they take up support of the family and care for disabled children. In Afghanistan, landmines’ effects are especially dire as, under Taliban law, women are not allowed to work and must turn to begging if a breadwinner is killed or disabled:
maic.jmu.edu/JOURNAL/5.3/focus/Mary_Ruberry/Mary_Ruberry.htm
The international community has paid very little attention to the gender dimensions of landmines. However, we consider that the issue is important, because women and girls, and men and boys are affected differently in conflict and post-conflict situations, including in the case of landmines. How is gender perspective taken into account in mine action? Here are some examples from mine awareness, victim assistance, advocacy, and demining. In the area of mine awareness, we have to ensure that women and girls fully take part in this activity. In a country where there is gender segregation, we need to apply a gender perspective in order to do any community based work, such as mine awareness. Women are often strong communicators and messengers through their children:
disarmament2.un.org/gender/14marunmas.htm
The Swiss Campaign to Ban Landmines announces the launch of an Gender & Mine Action Web-Portal dedicated to encouraging and supporting gender mainstreaming in mine action. The portal is both a source of information, and an interactive space for mine action actors and stakeholders to exchange questions, perspectives and experiences:
www.peacewomen.org/resources/Landmines/
Gender%20and%20Mine%20Action.pdf,
Cambodian women clear mines,
Tamil rebels training women in Sri Lanka to remove landmines,
"Banned" landmines still wreck lives in Angola, see:
www.peacewomen.org/resources/Landmines/landminesindex.html
On a day like any other, Wibonraat was working in the field near her home in Thailand, cutting bamboo cane. Then a landmine went off and Wibonraat’s world was turned upside down. Suddenly, she became a statistic: one of the 15 to 20.000 people who become victims to landmines every year, and one of almost 3-400.000 survivors around the world. In the accident, Wibonraat lost one leg – but she lost a lot more than that: her husband decided to leave her because of her disability. Dramatic though it is, this case is by no means unique. In many societies, disabled women are perceived as “worthless”:
www.icbl.org/layout/set/print/news/8_march_women_and_landmines
Women are disproportionately threatened by land mines. In the tribal areas of Pakistan they are largely responsible for the provision of water for household use. This involves long treks through territory where unmarked mine fields are common, to lakes and springs. So many mines are scattered in the area, sometimes one can see them floating in the water. Women usually get killed or injured while washing clothes in the rivers and streams, as well as stepping on the buried mines:
www.irinnews.org/InDepthMain.aspx?InDepthId=19&ReportId=62820&Country=Yes
How and why are gender perspectives relevant to reducing the scourge of landmines?:
www.oecd.org/dataoecd/3/28/1896552.pdf
Following the screening of "Against the Tide of History" at the Forum on Peace Truth and Reconciliation, the Minister of Women and Family Affairs pledged a grant for the assistance of women landmine survivors. In January 2005, a grant of 5 million CFA (approximately $10,000) was provided to women landmine survivors through the Association of Landmine Victims in Senegal and will be used to create an income-generating development project. This is the first time that a government entity in Senegal has provided assistance to landmine survivors:
www.witness.org/index.php?Itemid=60&id=293&option=
com_content&task=view
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