BY MENGESHA AMARE
There is a firm ground to say that women can play a crucial role in ensuring peace and stability in a given country as they are close to the young generation, spend much of their time nurturing children, as well as by their very nature, sympathetically molded gesture towards human race let alone the community from where they have come out.
Besides, they are more likely than men to devote time with the youths who can be fertile ground to shape the generation. This helps them contribute a lot to peace and serenity.
This writer approached Selamawit Gurmu, a Sociology and Social anthropology graduate from Addis Ababa University to grasp piece of ideas regarding peace and the role women can play in conflict prevention and resolution as well as in peacekeeping, securing peace.
She said, “No one can argue about the very fact that women can come to the front line to soothe the tenses occurred among the society as they are closer to the youth— who are at fire age to provoke chaos and instability in particular.”
Hence, she said, promoting inclusion of Ethiopian women in the decision-making positions in their respective states as well as in regional and international organizations is of significantly useful in meeting the peace agenda the nation has formulated.
These days, it is widely witnessed across the globe that complex conflicts and humanitarian crises continue ravaging communities and hindering the overall well-being and affluence of societies. Women are often the most impacted by these crises, bearing the brunt of conflict and paying a higher price of the anguish – from augmented gender discrimination and violence, to the waning of gender-sensitive structures. Despite overwhelming evidence showing that women’s involvement in peace building and mediation leads to lasting, positive peace that goes well beyond just the silencing of guns, halting of turmoil and mayhem, women still remain largely excluded from participating in peace processes.
Since there are many women with higher qualifications and fields of studies such as political scientists, sociologists, historians, economists, lawyers, among others, the mission the country has set to device lasting solutions to the heaped problems could be effectively meet with the active participation of women.
Yes, as to her, women involvement in decision making is particularly important in Ethiopia where men and women are building the economic and social foundations of a stable society and resilient institutions.
Selamawit said, “As a woman, mother or sister, I want to contribute to the peace process in my country since the good thing I root today, of course with many of my counterparts, will serve the generation to come and the peace trend will be taken as a culture.”
Interestingly, women in Oromia state for instance have been playing great role in resolving conflicts between communities emanating from pasture areas and cattle straying across parts of the border that were not clearly demarcated.
Women also lead justice ministries, social solidarity and cultural aspects. Across the country, women are carving out a space for themselves at the national, district, and village levels to address domestic violence, economic hardship, and other issues that affect women, children and the society at a larger scale, she stated.
The rationale behind women participation in peace and development in Ethiopia is undeniable. In fact, there is emerging evidence and increased recognition of how intergenerational women leaders are shaping the society and promoting a culture of peace. This trend has to be well nurtured and expanded to other places.
Laws and policies that regulate formal institutions, as well as gender-related socio-cultural norms in the informal sector, continue to limit women’s power of self-determination in the economic and political passage. As socio-cultural factors hinder the equitable participation of women in leadership positions among the communities, the problems in relation to such discriminating trajectory have to be well dealt with, Selamawit underlined.
According to her, the low numbers of women enrolled in secondary education, compared to men, further deepens the gender gap in higher levels of education. As a result, the proportion of women in decision-making roles remains severely limited.
“Women in decision-making positions can also ensure that women’s concerns and interests are taken into account when choices influencing peace and security are made. In different conflict areas, I know that decision makers often fail to include women’s knowledge and interests when making policy. This trend needs to be corrected indeed to make a difference,” she added.
As women direct participation and representation in formal peace processes continues to be the area that lags behind real implementation, Ethiopia is left with a long journey to bring about lasting solutions to the problems it has been encountering, said Selamawit.
Obviously, Ethiopian women have been contributing a lot to the overall growth and development of the country as they are working to boost peace, security, development and prosperity.
The violence and chaos here and there are affecting the lives of women and children apparently. Often as targets of extreme forms of violence, women in Africa in general and in Ethiopia in particular, can put an end to hostilities and wars if effectively utilized.
She said, “Priority has to be given to developing women’s individual and collective capacity to address conflicts and to build stable, peaceful and democratic institutions in Ethiopia. Women generally remain absent from policy dialogue with government on critical issues for peace and security that have fundamental gender dimensions and implications for sustainable stability and durable peace.”
She further stated that women are important agents for creating stability in the lives of their families and to promote appeasement and peace even under very difficult and upsetting circumstances. However, women’s peace building potential has had no significant impact on policies and decision relating to conflicts because of their absence from the decision making processes though hopes are rising.
Wars and conflicts, here and there especially in developing states like Ethiopia, people witness today reach into citizens’ homes and communities. The burden of preventing war and making peace cannot be shouldered by the government and other concerned bodies alone as it requires the combined effort of all.
The end to conflicts and disagreements cannot be forged through only a top down peace process, with only armed actors at the negotiating table. Instead, it requires a more inclusive process—that includes women who have been playing more pivotal roles in building a peace from the bottom up as well as from the top down, engaging multiple stakeholders. Parties must come together not just in the cities but also at the grassroots level where communities have confronted with a lot of critical issues.
Not only is systematic and representative inclusion of women in a broad range of peace and security issues important to ensuring a successful negotiation, but it is also of paramount importance in addressing women’s interests.
She also said that security is linked to the ability of women to sustain peace through leadership roles and to build peace at all levels. Gender equality is a stronger indicator of a country’s peacefulness along with other pointers.
“We still have a long way to go in fully unleashing the potential and power of women in building and sustaining peace.”
Since women play an immeasurable role in preventing or de-escalating conflict, brokering local ceasefires, promoting cultures of peace and coexistence, as well as preventing recruitment of children as combatants, they have to be given ample space to play their irreplaceable role along that line.
Women of all ages are coming together to bridge the intergenerational gaps and collectively work towards tackling issues affecting their peace and security in particular and that of the entire nation in general, as to Selamawit.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 30 JUNE 2022
