Brideprice – the money or other gifts provided by a groom and his family to a woman’s family as part of a marriage agreement – is a prevalent cause of instability and violent conflict in some societies. As brideprice rises, some young men are “priced out” of marriage, particularly in places where polygamy and other systemic issues tied to brideprice exist. This incentivizes violence to obtain the requisite resources, with rebel and terror groups exploiting this situation to recruit new members. To demonstrate these principles, the authors dive into two case studies: examining armed groups in South Sudan and Boko Haram in northern Nigeria. They conclude that the rise of brideprice and the overall treatment of women are important early indicators of violent conflict. They also demonstrate that governments and civil society groups can intervene to head off instability, citing examples from Saudi Arabia and other nations. Read the full article here.
This article by Marie-Christine Heinze and Marwa Baabad draws from interview-based research by the Yemen Polling Center, Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient, and Saferworld to discuss the impact of conflict on women and the roles of women in conflict and peacebuilding in two regions of Yemen—Aden and Ibb. This research identifies common, general concerns in both regions with regard to the impact of conflict on women and families, including deleterious economic impacts, increased isolation of women, health consequences, and increased proliferation of arms. Additionally, women play a significant role in peacebuilding efforts in both areas. While generalities exist, it is important to remember that the relationship between women, conflict and peacebuilding is unique to each locale. As such, local, national and international institutions need to build on all women’s contributions to peacebuilding initiatives—even those that seem insignificant—in order to maximize the efficacy of these efforts. Read the full article here.
2013 protests against the Ukrainian government brought forth a new social awareness of women’s roles in conflict and peacekeeping initiatives that challenged the country’s historically patriarchal culture. This U.S. Civil Society Working Group on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Policy Brief—“Building Gender Equality in Ukraine”—discusses how this shift in views on gender equality impacted the development of Ukraine’s first National Action Plan (NAP) on WPS, as well as the plan’s strengths and challenges. As a result, Ukraine’s national government has adopted international conventions on gender equality and elevated women to powerful governmental positions. Still, several factors—including insufficient data to track the progress of gender equality initiatives, and devolution to local governments that have neither the resources nor the interest in the NAP’s implementation—undermine these national efforts. Recommendations for the U.S. and international community to bolster the implementation of Ukraine’s NAP include funding for data collection on critical gender issues, and development of programs and humanitarian relief efforts that incorporate a gender equality framework. Read the full brief here.
This paper, published by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, assesses how formal and informal justice systems function in the country’s ‘stateless’ society. It discusses the multiple, overlapping and contradictory sources of law noting that they create confusing and contentious dispensation of justice in Somalia. Harmonization of these systems is necessary and should include public dialogue and confidence building, capacity building, establishment of a stable political environment and a major increase in international technical assistance and funding. Read the full report here.
In wartime, academics and policymakers often assume that women are strictly the victims of violence and never the perpetrators. However, Dara Kay Cohen’s research on female combatants in Sierra Leone’s civil war reveals that women in organized militias actually actively participated in acts of sexual violence. This phenomenon is not exclusive to Sierra Leone either; the study cites war statistics from Liberia, Haiti, Rwanda, and, importantly, Abu Ghraib, Iraq. Female perpetrators’ involvement ranged from encouraging attacks to assaulting both male and female victims themselves. The study notes that women often join paramilitary groups and perpetuate sexual violence for the same sociopolitical reasons men do. Consequently, “women perpetuating wartime atrocities is surprising only because of the gendered assumptions … often [made] about women’s capacity to commit violence.” Read the full study here.
This article discusses the efforts of activist Hafsat Mohammed to promote the countering of violent extremism of Boko Haram within her community in Nigeria by empowering youth and getting local leaders involved. She notes the importance of working with religious leaders in particular seeing them as change agents. Through ongoing violence, Hafsat Mohammed believes that discussion and ideologies of hope and peace have a profound impact on combatting anger and frustration, especially from young men who are typically more vulnerable to being lured by the group. Women like Hafsat Mohammed, who often have had direct experience with conflict and violent encounters, have become essential voices through their roles in countering violent extremism despite the challenges of cultural backlash and the reality of threats to their own safety. Read full article.
This article discusses the evolution of the global debate concerning security and the role of women in it beginning with the Fourth UN Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995. Hunt highlights the conference’s message of inclusive security, noting its alignment with American thinker Joseph Nye’s “soft power” paradigm that was being developed during the same time period. While business and social science research as well as data concerning women working across lines of conflict support the validity of this security concept, 20 years later, obstacles to fully implementing it still remain. Hunt discusses these challenges as well as steps that should be taken to overcome them such as countries developing national action plans in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. Read full article.
Alexis Okeowo discusses the efforts of the Civilian Joint Task Force (C.J.T.F.), a vigilante group taking active measures to combat Boko Haram. C.J.T.F., which has approximately ten thousand fighters, originated in order to expose members of Boko Haram while preventing innocent people from being punished by the Nigerian military as part of its response to Boko Haram attacks. Although consisting primarily of men, women also play an essential role in the Task Force by confronting and searching women suspected of being connected to Boko Haram. In addition to discussing the C.J.T.F. and women’s involvement in it, the author also addresses the underlying issues contributing to vigilantism in the country. Read full article.
Caleb Weiss discusses extremist group Boko Haram’s, which now calls itself the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWA), increased utilization of women to conduct suicide bombings. Providing a timeline of 34 suicide bombing attacks using women over a 16-month period (Jun 2014 – Sep 2015), he argues that the regularly-employed tactic indicates that the jihadist group is running camps to indoctrinate and train its female recruits. Weiss points to the significance and effectiveness of this tactic by noting the regional government’s response of banning women from wearing burkas, which the ISWA use to mask its suicide bombers. Read full article.
This article discusses the importance of incorporating UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) into military operations highlighting the efforts of the Australian Defense Force and the U.S. Department of Defense to do just that during the bi-lateral military exercise Talisman Sabre 2015 (TS 15). The author highlights the significance of including WPS in military exercises noting that, “[t]raining exercises – or war games – are critical to ensuring military readiness; they represent a principal way to integrate and, eventually, operationalize new ideas” like WPS. In addition to discussing the importance of integrating WPS, this article also discusses the strengths and weaknesses of TS 15 in terms of operationalizing WPS as well as the challenges that lie ahead, particularly for DoD. Read full article.