Ensure Women in Decision Making Processes for peace and Developments

Posted on December 2, 2016 0 Comments708
The first historic resolution on Women, Peace and Security, Security
Council Resolution 1325 (SCR 1325), was unanimously adopted by United
Nations Security Council on 31 October 2000. UNSCR 1325 marked the first
time ever in history of United Nations that the UN Security Council
addressed the impact of armed conflict on women and strongly upheld the
important contribution of women to conflict prevention, peacekeeping,
conflict resolution, and peace-building. It also highlighted the
importance of women in decision-making processes.

Women make up 48.5% of India’s population. Yet, their presence in key
decision-making positions—be it governance, law enforcement or corporate
leadership—is far from proportionate. That was discussed at the book
launch event of Control Arms Foundation of India, held at India
International Centre in New Delhi on 30th November 2016. Launching the
book, Ms Friederike Tschampa, head of Political Section, Delegation of
European Union to India, said that this book is a contribution to the
implementation of the United Nations Resolutions in the agenda on Women,
Peace and Security which is a landmark resolution.

She was speaking at the inaugural session of book release, titled “Where
are our Women in Decision Making? Seminal Studies on United Nations
Landmark Security Council Resolution 1325 Women, Peace and Security with
focus on Northeast India with mentions of Bangladesh and Myanmar”. She
also stated “concerned about the impact of armed conflict on women not
only of a victims perspective but we also need to call for the
participation of women and the full integration of gender equality in
prevention, management and resolution of armed conflicts and would like
to see women as actors and contributors in peace, security and
development”.

Ms Binalakshmi Nepram, Founder, Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network and
Secretary General, Control Arms Foundation of India, emphasised that
women of the Northeast India are separated by ethnicity, community,
region and religion but they are all suffering from the same problem of
double discrimination of ethnicity and gender. She also mentioned that
there are 17 ongoing peace talks with Indian government over the region
but no woman has been included.

“This book is a question on why women are absent in decision making and
moreover it also provides solutions and resolutions to ensure gender
justice in our country and the world”, she further mentioned.

Dr Anuradha Chenoy, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, stated that
women across these regions face discriminations on three identities –
religion, ethnicity and gender and beyond that region, the face
oppression of race, region and the patriarchal structure. Sharing her
experience and learning Dr. Chenoy said, “We should salute the kind of
courage these women have had because they have fought not only against
the armed forces, the might of the state, the biases in life they face
but also against their own community and partners”.

Ms Nivedita Varshneya, Country Director, Welthungerhilfe India, said
that this book launch is a testament to CAFI’s ability to draw from a
diverse pool of persons dedicated to peace building and are inherently
invested in an inclusive and sustainable dialogue. This pressing need
for a National action Plan with women playing an active role in peace
building processes in the region will be analyzed and articulated by
this gathering of strong women leaders and researchers.

The launch was also followed by a panel discussion for sharing key
learning of 3 years of consultations, community meetings and research
all across 8 states of Northeast India.

This book shares new insights, testimonies and “lessons learned” from
the extensive research on status of women in decision making in South
Asia especially in India’s Northeast region with mentions of Bangladesh
and Myanmar. The book contains 15 chapters and 10 Annexes. Broadly,
there are three chapters in total which deal with a comprehensive
analysis of the status of women in whole of South Asia for setting the
context of the book.

India is currently in the 108th position out of 145 countries in
the Global Gender Gap Index and at 130th position in the Human
Development Index (HDI).

India has 24 million child brides, the highest number in the world. A
bride in India comes with a price even if the law prohibits dowry,
independent India continues to see the tragic prevalence of dowry.

Every 22 minutes a woman, girl child and an infant is raped and
there are over officially recorded 100,000 pending rape cases in the
country.

Two-thirds of illiterate in India are women and girls.

Women work-force in Indian economy decreased from 35% to 25%.

In Myanmar, there are only 28 women members out of 580 current
members of the national assembly and only two women among the 36 members
of President’s cabinet.

In Bangladesh, 74% of women were married before the age of 18.

4,563 dowry related cases in were reported in Bangladesh in the
year 2012 and 60 per cent of married women reported that they have
experienced violence at the hands of a spouse and/or in-laws.

Acid attacks are prevalent in Bangladesh with 58 women and 20 girls being the main victims in the year 2012.

The event was attended by government officials, academicians, journalists, researchers and civil society representatives.

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