peace an elusive dream
Peace an Elusive Dream omen the violated,
[i]
the reality is far more nuanced. Peace, then, must be gendered too. Women and men experience war differently; gendered thinking considers the multiple experiences and perspectives of each. Gender mainstreaming is a process of inclusion, enabling sustained peace that considers the needs of all stakeholders, especially women who suffer disproportionately during and after war.
[ii]
Gender mainstreaming requires more than just talking about women's needs; it involves getting women talking. Not mere victims, women can be powerful agents of peace, possessing the collaborative sensibilities needed to bridge social and political divides. Wartime rhetoric too often essentializes women, lumping
"womenandchildren" into one vulnerable mass.
[iii]
To be sure, women are vulnerable to patriarchal rage but they have no one angle: they are victims, they are combatants, they are sometimes both. Perhaps it is within the role of victim that women, so often knocked to the ground, are better able to recognize the root causes of violence,
[iv]
addressing them to foster peace. Only when those voices on the bottom rise to meet more powerful voices on top, can harmony prevail. The women of Liberia have proven their voice; the women of Haiti are still struggling to assert theirs. Both Liberia and Haiti are of unique origin, the world's first independent black republics. Liberia was borne of slaves freed by emancipation, Haiti by revolt.
But freedom did not ensure peace amid social inequity and exploitation. In Liberia,
America's former slaves lorded over indigenous tribes for over a century. Several coups later, in 1989 Liberia found itself at the start of 14 years of civil wars, wars in which both government and rebel forces terrorized civilians with rape, mutilation, and slaughter, decimating the country's infrastructure. Unlike Liberia, Haiti ostensibly fell victim to an external
[i]
the reality is far more nuanced. Peace, then, must be gendered too. Women and men experience war differently; gendered thinking considers the multiple experiences and perspectives of each. Gender mainstreaming is a process of inclusion, enabling sustained peace that considers the needs of all stakeholders, especially women who suffer disproportionately during and after war.
[ii]
Gender mainstreaming requires more than just talking about women's needs; it involves getting women talking. Not mere victims, women can be powerful agents of peace, possessing the collaborative sensibilities needed to bridge social and political divides. Wartime rhetoric too often essentializes women, lumping
"womenandchildren" into one vulnerable mass.
[iii]
To be sure, women are vulnerable to patriarchal rage but they have no one angle: they are victims, they are combatants, they are sometimes both. Perhaps it is within the role of victim that women, so often knocked to the ground, are better able to recognize the root causes of violence,
[iv]
addressing them to foster peace. Only when those voices on the bottom rise to meet more powerful voices on top, can harmony prevail. The women of Liberia have proven their voice; the women of Haiti are still struggling to assert theirs. Both Liberia and Haiti are of unique origin, the world's first independent black republics. Liberia was borne of slaves freed by emancipation, Haiti by revolt.
But freedom did not ensure peace amid social inequity and exploitation. In Liberia,
America's former slaves lorded over indigenous tribes for over a century. Several coups later, in 1989 Liberia found itself at the start of 14 years of civil wars, wars in which both government and rebel forces terrorized civilians with rape, mutilation, and slaughter, decimating the country's infrastructure. Unlike Liberia, Haiti ostensibly fell victim to an external