WCAPS Special Journal Issue: Academic Articles on UNSCR 1325 at 25

WCAPS PAPER TRAIL:

25th Anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security

Disclaimer

The content presented in this publication is intended solely for informational purposes and should not be interpreted as professional advice or a political position endorsed by Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security, and Conflict Transformation We encourage readers to conduct their own research and consult relevant experts or professionals to address their specific needs and circumstances.

Foreward

Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security, and Conflict Transformation (WCAPS) remains steadfast in its mission to amplify the voices, leadership, and lived experiences of women of color within the complex and evolving landscapes of global peace and security. At a time when the United States and the international community face mounting challenges - from protracted conflict and forced displacement to the rise of authoritarianism, climate-driven insecurity, and shifting multilateral frameworks - our commitment to uplifting the voices and perspectives of and about women of color remains strong.

As a force multiplier for our growing membership, WCAPS serves as both an incubator and a launchpad. We create spaces where women of color and our allies can dialogue, build coalitions, develop policy solutions, and lead the way in transforming systems that have long excluded them Our programming - whether through working groups, mentorship initiatives, or fellowship experiences - centers not just the professional trajectory of our members, but also their intellectual power, cultural fluency, and commitment to justice.

This commitment to justice is a resounding theme in the UN Security Council Resolution 1325. The Women, Peace, and Security Agenda is what has allowed a platform for women to speak up about our involvement in peace processes. However, we know when they say women that doesn’t always include women of color Our knowledge, perspectives, lived experiences, and contributions are sidelined in many of these post-colonial spaces. Thus, WCAPS, in addition to our commitment to leadership development and community building, places an unrelenting emphasis on platforming the publication from, about, and for women of color In community with our allies, we are building the databases, addressing the gaps, and curating the materials we need to thrive in academic and policy spaces.

Foreward cont.

This edition of WCAPS Paper Trail Publication Program focused on the blind spots evident in the implementation and foundation of 1325. From the erasure of black and brown women from the development to the colonial legacies rooted in the very language of the UNSCR, the themes explored here speak to the ways in which women in developing countries, rural communities, impacted by climate change, and continued mobilization of grassroots efforts, the authors included here represent a fraction of the neglected stories, policy, and studies that exist within our membership and wider community

WCAPS is proud to host these topics, proud of the women and men who wrote them, proud to contribute to the discourse about us and our needs in an ever changing global arena We couldn’t do this without our wonderful members who stepped up to review and edit. Our volunteer, Taylour Holloway, who assisted with laying the groundwork for gathering and parsing through submissions, and of course, the authors who took the time to put fingers to keys and gift us with their thoughts

Thank you all. Your contributions breathe life into the vision of a more inclusive, just, and peaceful world

In collaboration, Andreanna F Mond

WCAPS Paper Trail: Special Journal Issue on the 25th Anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Publication Collator

Note from the Former Executive Director

Twenty-five years ago, the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 marked a historic milestone in recognizing that peace is more sustainable when women are fully involved in its creation and preservation. Today, as we honor that legacy through this Special Publication, we also reflect on how women of color around the world have carried the spirit of 1325 into new arenas, shaping peace processes, advancing global health, leading on climate action, and transforming security at every level

This issue is both a celebration and a call to action. It amplifies the voices, research, and lived experiences of women whose leadership continues to redefine what peace and security mean in practice Their work reminds us that the principles of inclusion, justice, and equity are not abstract ideals; they are essential tools for building a more peaceful and secure world

We remain committed to creating pathways for women of color to lead, influence, and innovate. This publication embodies that mission. A space to document, imagine, and inspire what comes next

Reimagining 1325 for the next generation is not only about reflection but renewal, ensuring that the next wave of peacebuilders inherits a framework that recognizes their realities, voices, and visions. Likewise, women of color who lead peace and security are not just contributors to this evolution; they are the architects of its future.

Yet to truly honor this legacy, we must resist complacency The world we face today demands new approaches Ones that embrace intersectionality, invest in emerging leadership, and challenge the systems that continue to silence or sideline women’s voices Keeping the momentum requires courage to do things differently; to rethink power, to innovate across disciplines, and to sustain solidarity across generations and geographies.

May these pages spark dialogue, collaboration, and renewed commitment to the transformative power of women’s leadership in peace and security Together, we honor the past, shape the present, and build the future envisioned by 1325

With gratitude and purpose, Dr. Maleeka Glover Executive Director, WCAPS 2022-2025

Founder’s Corner

Hello WCAPS Members and Community,

It is great to be back as Executive Director of WCAPS. While I did not anticipate doing publications when I founded the organization, I realized that another area where women of color are not being heard is through publications that reflect their expertise. I think back to that first publication, and now, five years later, the WCAPS publications are still going strong. The first publication was “Policy Papers by Women of Color: Top Issues in Peace, Security, Conflict Transformation, and Foreign Policy,” in March 2020.

I am so pleased to share with you this 2025 WCAPS publication, “WCAPS Paper Trail: Special Journal Issue on the 25th Anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS).” At this 25th Anniversary, it is a time to both celebrate and critically examine the progress made since UNSCR 1325 was adopted This publication contains 24 submissions from our members, consisting of academic articles, policy papers, and practitioners essays I want to thank all the members who wrote the papers, as well as all those who volunteered to edit them also, a special thanks to Andreanna F Mond and Lourdes Sanchez for their dedication to completing this publication

Please enjoy the publication!

Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins Executive Director and Founder

ACADEMIC PAPERS

25th Anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security

Special Journal Issue

Table of Contents

Beyond Protection: Climate Change, Militarism, and the Unfinished Agenda of UNSCR 1325

Disrupting Cycles of Inequality: Economic Barriers, Femicide, and Digital Justice in the Evolution of the WPS Agenda

From Exclusion to New Voices: Colombia’s Implementation of UNSCR 1325 Before and After the 2016 Peace Accord

From Resolution to Reality: Feminism and Gender in Peacekeeping

Intersectionality in the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda: A Critical Review of Inclusivity in Scholarship and Policy since 2000

Protective Securitinzation and the Gendered State: Pakistan’s Engagement with the Women, Peace and Security Agenda

Remembering Agency, Resisting Erasure: Grassroots Women’s Movements and the Discourse of UNSCR 1325

Rethinking the Implications of Gender Based Violence (GBV) on Internally Displaced Women in Northeastern Nigeria

How and Why Democracy is Failing to Protect Women in Zimbabwe

11

28

58

74

89

113

144

191

212

Table of Contents

The Integrity Grid: AI-Powered Early Warning & SurvivorCentered Protection

The Phantom of Empowerment: Rethinking Resilience in Community-Based Participatory Decision-Making for the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda

The Role of Grassroots Women’s Movements and Civil Society in Advancing the WPS Agenda

Unseen and Unsung Critical Contributions: Women’s Voices & Caregiving Challenges in Humanitarian Crises

222

239

253

268

Authors:

Renée N. Stoute is a doctoral candidate at The American Graduate School in Paris whose research explores the intersection of climate security and great power politics. Her work examines how emerging forms of environmental power are reshaping traditional security paradigms, with particular focus on US-China strategic competition. Her research bridges international relations theory with climate policy analysis, contributing original frameworks on strategic adaptability in emerging security domains. She currently serves as Co-Chair of the WCAPS Global Environmental Governance and Security Innovation (GEGSI) Working Group, where she engages with questions of climate justice and gendered insecurity. Her recent publications analyze European energy security responses to geopolitical crises and the securitization of climate change in national defense strategies.

Bushra Ali Khan is a researcher and editorial professional whose research and writing examine refugee and migration governance, climate-induced migration, gendered insecurity, and the geopolitics of borders in South and Southeast Asia and the UK. She holds dual MA degrees (Anthropology; Mass Communication & Journalism), serves as Editor for the WCAPS Pipeline Fellowship Program, and is a Research Fellow supported by The Asia Foundation and IMPRI; she also contributes as Communications & Media Relations Coordinator for the GEGSI Working Group. Her recent peer-reviewed publications cover topics including deepfakes and digital abuse, EU border management, and legal protections for climate migrants, and she has forthcoming book chapters on environmental and geopolitical dynamics in South Asia.

Beyond Protection: Climate Change, Militarism, and the Unfinished Agenda of UNSCR 1325

Abstract

Twenty-five years after UNSCR 1325 recognized women's critical role in peace and security, the intersection of climate change and armed conflict presents new challenges that expose fundamental gaps in the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda This paper examines how climate-induced conflicts reveal the limitations of WPS frameworks that fail addressing the structural roots of both environmental degradation and gendered insecurity.

Renee N. Stoute

Bushra Ali Khan

2

Drawing on Feminist Theory in International Relations and Claire Duncanson's critique of Militarism, it can be argued that while UNSCR 1325 advanced women's inclusion in peace processes (Duncanson 2015; Duncanson and Cohn 2020), it has inadequately challenged the extractive capitalist and militarized systems that perpetuate both: climate breakdown and conflict

Climate change operates as a "threat multiplier," but more critically, it exposes how global military expenditures, exceeding $27 trillion USD in 2024 (SIPRI 2025)1, has sustained activities accounting for 5.5% of global emissions, making the industry the fourth largest emitter worldwide (CEOBS 2025)2. States’ prioritization of military growth creates a destructive cycle: resource extraction fuels militarism, which accelerates environmental degradation, leading to conflicts that disproportionately harm women and marginalized communities

Through examining cases from Chad and Bangladesh where climate-induced conflicts have exposed the limitations of WPS implementation, this paper demonstrates that meaningful progress requires more than women’s inclusion in existing systems. By positioning women solely as victims or "sustainability saviors", it obscures the deeper problem: patriarchal structures that prioritize military solutions over sustainable peace The WPS agenda's focus on increasing women's participation, while necessary, has not sufficiently challenged the masculine ideologies driving both militarization and environmental destruction

Moving forward, implementing the vision of UNSCR 1325 requires more than women's representation in existing structures It demands fundamental transformation of the politicaleconomic systems that treat both nature and women as exploitable resources, this means pursuing a fundamental transformation of the political-economic systems that treat both nature and women as exploitable resources We propose that meaningful progress on WPS requires explicit integration of climate justice frameworks, accountability mechanisms for military environmental impacts, and recognition of women's agency beyond tokenistic inclusion. Only by addressing these interconnected crises climate, conflict, and gender inequality through systemic change rather than incremental reform can the WPS agenda fulfill its transformative potential in its next quarter-century

1 2 https://ceobsorg/the-eu-must-mandate-military-emissions-reporting/

UN Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women Landmark Resolution on Women, Peace and Security (Security Council Resolution 1325)

Introduction

The adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) in 2000 was a landmark recognition of women’s role in peace and security In evaluating the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Agenda 25 years later, it has fallen short of its initial promises to transform international responses to war by shifting the framework regarding women from that of protection toward one of participation and empowerment. Now, a troubling paradox emerges with a global adoption of WPS frameworks, including over 100 National Action Plans (NAPs), but women in conflict zones facing intensifying insecurity that has been exacerbated by climate change This crisis is driven by the same militarized systems that WPS operate within Instead, the unfinished nature of this agenda reveals how militarized responses embed inequalities and revealed limitations to simply including women without questioning the structures that perpetuate climate breakdown and war.

The UNSCR 1325 aimed to transform women from being victims of war into agents of peace, however it failed to acknowledge the foundational systems that maintain gendered insecurity and environmental destruction that occurs Global military expenditures rose by 94% in 2024 totaling $2718 billion, the largest year-on-year rise since 1988. Additionally, military expenditures have generally increased 35% overall between 2015-2024 (SIPRI 2025). With heightened geopolitical tensions and commitments to increase military spending in the future, it can be expected that military contributions to greenhouse gas emissions and environmental degradation will exponentially increase around the world

Typically, military institutions remain exempt from most countries’ climate accountability mechanisms (CEOBS 2025; CCPI 2024). The Conflict and Environment Observatory and the Scientists for Global Responsibility estimate military activity accounts for about 55% of globally estimated emissions, making it the fourth largest emitter in the world Yet, these same institutions claim to advance WPS objectives even as they perpetuate contradictions: how can frameworks embedded within militarized systems that accelerate climate breakdown effectively protect those most vulnerable to its effects?

Most militarized frameworks tend to position women in two categories, either as vulnerable populations in need of protection or as the peacebuilders and saviors to the system But these framings obscure problems that stem from patriarchal, militarized political economies that treat both women and the environment as expendable resources In turn, climate change functions not only as a “threat multiplier” exacerbating existing inequalities and vulnerabilities women face. Recent UN reports acknowledge the climate-security nexus and its gendered dimensions; however, these institutional recognitions focus more on adaptation and resilience rather than confronting how militarized approaches to security can further compound on climate change and conflict

According to the UN, of the 15 countries most vulnerable to climate change, 13 are struggling with violent conflicts, with women bearing disproportionate impacts through displacement, sexual violence and increased care burdens (UNEP et al 2020; George and Shepherd 2016; Desai and Mandal 2021). These patterns are not coincidental but systemic, revealing how the WPS agenda’s integration approach in adding women to existing military and security structures cannot address vulnerabilities created by those very structures Taken together, these dynamics highlight the systemic flaws in WPS: it remains locked within militarized frameworks that deepen, rather than resolve, insecurity

This paper argues that the WPS agenda’s failure stems not from insufficient implementation but from its embeddedness with the very militarized systems driving both climate breakdown and gendered insecurity Through a Feminist International Relations theoretical framework and feminist critique of militarism, this paper demonstrates that militarism, not simply climate change, is the unaddressed root cause undermining UNSCR 1325’s transformative potential While climate induced conflicts expose these structural contradictions, the core problem lies in WPS frameworks that attempt to integrate women into military institutions responsible for 5.5% of global emissions and $2.7 trillion in annual expenditures (CEOBS 2025). Meaningful progress requires fundamental transformation of the militarized political economies that treat both nature and women as exploitable resources

After 25 years of the UNSCR 1325, this analysis critically reimagines the WPS agenda in the era of climate crisis and proposes that sustainable peace cannot be achieved through frameworks that perpetuate the very systems driving insecurity. This analysis employs feminist critical discourse analysis of WPS policy documents alongside examination of military expenditure data and climate security literature Through comparative assessment of National Action Plans from climate vulnerable states and analysis of military environmental impacts, this paper will trace how climate change is framed within the WPS agenda and where gaps persist This approach allows for the interrogation of the language and silence of the WPS framework. It highlights how militarized structures are normalized even within gender focused policy. This paper seeks to connect policy rhetoric to structural practices, revealing the contradictions between WPS commitments and the realities of militarized climate insecurity

War and Climate Breakdown Through a Feminist Lens

To understand these structural failures, it is necessary to examine the theoretical foundations that reveal how militarized systems perpetuate both climate breakdown and gendered insecurity. Feminist The militarized Feminist scholars argue that climate breakdown and war are structural and originate in the patriarchal, racist economic system of extractive capitalism (Duncanson and Cohn 2020) There is an emphasis placed on the global economy that allows economic growth to take center stage in exchange for environmental degradation Climate change is then able to reproduce and enable socially constructed femininities by shaping economic and political power (Wonders and Danner 2015). Masculinized ideologies have dominion over nature and deserve access to inexpensive and abundant (feminized) non-renewable resources that provide energy, specifically for powerful military weaponry These weapons are necessary for when men must exert their natural masculinity and protect their communities or to showcase global superiority

As climate change is human produced, so are socially constructed gender roles; masculinity has limited not only socially constructed problems but ensures the facilitation of climate solutions (Wonders & Danner, 2015). The environment and social sustainability have never been a priority. “The continuous implementation of a production and consumption model based on constant growth has resulted in severe environmental damage and unacceptable levels of poverty and inequality around the world” (Agostino and Lizarde 2012, 92) Masculine institutions such as the military are more likely to have access to positions of power and political and economic decision making The military is used as a first response to conflict, and instead of alleviating it only creates more problems. These wars and economic decisions have contributed to climate change and cause women the most harm as they are often the most vulnerable in a society due to reinforced gender roles and division While UNSCR 1325 promised to transform security by including women, it has not adequately confronted these masculinized logics of militarism and extractive growth

As a result, WPS remains constrained within the very structures that feminist critiques identify as drivers of insecurity

Even approaches to combat climate change are often seen as masculine, specifically engaging in technology to continue to have dominion over nature and guarantee that current levels of economic growth can still occur at current rates despite environmental degradation Engaging in conflict and security follows a similar path of masculinity by promoting militaristic aggressiveness and confrontation which aggravates the environment These dynamics become particularly stark when examining the environmental footprint of global militaries, which both rely on and reinforce extractive economies. These masculinized logics manifest most clearly in the militaryindustrial complex itself, which both drives and benefits from the current security paradigm

Militarism and Climate

There is a need to reassess the excessive extraction of Earth’s resources as if it is an unlimited renewable resource, needed to fulfill militaristic needs. Duncanson and Cohn argue that most societies are structured for war and not peace. Global investments for militarism and subsequent wars total nearly $2718 billion in 2024 (SIPRI 2025) Arms and other military equipment needed for war can be directly sourced to the excessive resource extraction needed to continue militaristic endeavors; military efforts have thus been deemed as an essential need or service, particularly as geopolitical tensions have risen Militaries often justify control over resource rich areas as a conflict resolution strategy. Yet these same practices directly contribute to global warming and environmental degradation. “Militaries consume vast quantities of fossil fuels that contribute to the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and produce enormous quantities of toxic wastes that present environmental concerns at every stage of their life cycle” (Clark and Jorgenson 2012, 566) Like the poverty cycle women find themselves in, militaries often establish an unequal use of natural resources creating greenhouse gas emissions that pollute the environment, causing climate instability and leading to more wars. As greenhouse gas emissions have increased, military spending has also increased instep, a cumulative increase of 35% from 2015-2024 (SIPRI 2025) A study finds that an increase in $100 billion in military spending will lead to 32 million tons of carbon dioxide being emitted, and potentially unaccounted for (Parkinson 2025) The reliance on fossil fuels by military infrastructures places strenuous demands on natural resources that are not sustainable for generational needs and especially not for future military and war needs. Therefore, the military should be held accountable for its key role in "global environmental degradation" as well as human, animal, plant life loss and human and environmental rights violations Climate change through militarization both promotes and echoes current societal gender divides and highlights women’s vulnerabilities

NATO’s 2021-2025 Action Plan on WPS remains one of the more significant contributions to the UNSCR 1325 WPS agenda, as it incorporates it into its 2022 Strategic Concept which guides the organization’s work over the next decade. The WPS agenda is integrated across NATO’s core tasks including deterrence and defense, crisis prevention and management, and cooperative security mechanisms Additionally, the Alliance launched its Climate Change and Security Action Plan, which incorporates cross-cutting priorities like the WPS agenda, establishing gender responsive indicators such as sex-disaggregated data in climate vulnerability assessments and women’s participation in climate security planning, which are metrics that conspicuously omit any measurements of military emissions’ gendered impacts. The militaristic structures that underpin these frameworks do not account for their negative climate impacts In fact, as defense spending increases from 2% to 5% of GDP by 2035 among the 32 NATO member states, military spending could increase from $500 billion to $11 trillion in Canada and European countries alone, rivaling the amount already expected to be spent on US military funding (Davis 2025). These rising expenditures will intensify environmental degradation

and increase the defense sector’s carbon footprint and environmental impact, with women bearing the disproportionate costs through displacement, insecurity, and loss of livelihoods Also, this increase does not consider the rise in tensions and conflict due to climate change effects and does not confront the structural role of militarism in driving resource competition.

Finally, NATO’s WPS Action Plan does not account for the estimated 1 320 million tons of pollution over the next decade that its Member States will put out (Parkinson 2025) Without accountability for the negative impact military actions have on climate the WPS agenda objectives will continue to fall short in supporting women where it matters most. By embedding WPS into militarized strategies without confronting their environmental footprint, NATO reduces UNSCR 1325 to a tool of legitimacy rather than transformation

Climate Change and Conflict

Climate change can cause higher temperatures and heatwaves, erratic rainfall, and violent, extended droughts, desertification, rising sea levels and ocean acidification, soil salinization and disrupted seasons that may impact agriculture and living situations, further compounding challenges experienced. Climate change effects further exacerbate and prolong instability and conflict within already weakened institutions, systems, and people’s overall coping mechanisms that may further antagonize violence within communities (Ghimire et al 2015; Raleigh and Knievton 2012; Uexkull et al 2016) In 2019, it was estimated that 3-20% of armed conflicts over the last century could be attributed to climate and environmental factors; this is only expected to increase as environmental problems become more intense (Mach et al. 2019). Conflict exacerbated by climate change factors can lead to social exclusion, economic risks, further environmental degradation, and tensions over the management of resources (Brown et al 2007; Buhaug 2015) It has been found that erratic rainfall within communities that are resource dependent may experience an increased risk of localized violence, and tensions may be unresolvable as states are already weakened and overburdened by conflict situations (Adger et al 2014). Hunger problems also may worsen in countries that have weather dependent agricultural systems. In 2018, agriculture accounted for 37 percent of conflicts in affected countries, which is 2 to 4 times higher than in developing countries not affected by conflict or fragility (FAO 2018) These dynamics are environmental and political, with direct implications for the WPS agenda

Climate shocks and lack of support from local governments may compel people to migrate from their homes to more urban regions in search of work and sustenance (Kelley et al. 2015; Selby et al. 2017). These areas may already be overcrowded and poor, not only making them more disaster prone to climate events but also contributing to violence as people begin to fight for resources (Abel et al 2019; Revi 2014; Watts et al 2019) The 2025 Global Humanitarian Overview from OCHA estimates that 305 million people will require urgent humanitarian assistance and protection due to armed conflicts and the increased frequency and severity of climate-induced disasters

These dynamics highlight a structural gap within the WPS agenda, disproportionately affecting women, who are often less mobile, unable to move or adapt and are often subject to direct violence or rapid-onset humanitarian disaster (ICRC 2020). The UNSCR 1325 laid the foundation for the broader WPS Agenda, which encompasses subsequent resolutions addressing not only women’s participation, but also prevention, protection, conflict related sexual violence, and post conflict recovery While the resolution was designed to address climate induced insecurity directly, its implementation frameworks are increasingly being applied to such contexts The expanded WPS agenda through resolutions 2122 and 2242 address displacement, conflict related sexual violence, and humanitarian responses; its implementation continues to operate within militarized frameworks that fail to address the root causes of climate induced insecurity. Both the UNSCR 1325 and the broader WPS agenda have tended to frame security primarily around women’s inclusion in peace processes, often overlooking the militarized political and economic systems that generate displacement and environmental degradation In this way, climate driven migration reveals how integrative frameworks cannot totally address vulnerabilities created by these same structures.

When studying climate change’s effects on war, it is often disputed if it is truly a factor that significantly contributes to conflict situations or is simply a symptom that has a negligible impact on these situations Most scholars agree that while climate change may not directly cause armed conflict, it may indirectly increase the risk of conflict by intensifying factors that can ultimately lead to such conflicts (Watson et al. 2023; Brown et al. 2007; Peters 2016; Selby et al. 2017; Theisen 2017; Buhaug 2015). The debate over causality misses a more pressing issue in connecting militaristic structures to climate insecurity Scholars of environmental security and peacebuilding do not agree on how to study climate change’s effect on conflict and multiple routes and approaches are taken as to how specifically to research this topic It is difficult to correlate climate change effects in non-conflict dominated societies to verify if it is truly the cause Nevertheless, available scholarship worldwide argues that climate change has a “threat multiplier” effect, adding to already stressed societies (Goodman 2024; Werrell and Femia 2015).

While scholars dispute climate change’s direct role in causing war, the debate itself overlooks how militarized institutions manage environmental insecurity By focusing on conflict prevention without addressing militarism’s environmental footprint, the WPS framework risks reinforcing, rather than alleviating, climate related insecurities. This framing of climate as “threat multiplier” reveals how WPS frameworks treat symptoms rather than causes. By accepting militarized responses to climate induced instability, UNSCR 1325 inadvertently endorses the very systems accelerating both environmental and gendered insecurity

Climate change further weakens communities that are continuously struggling or have limited means and social capital to overcome the consequences of climate related events. Countries that are disproportionately affected by climate events are also more likely to be susceptible to conflict. In 2020, 60% of the 20 countries considered to be most vulnerable to climate change by the

ND-Gain Index are also most affected by armed conflict according to the ICFC This further degrades the water and soil of local communities of the Global South; they can also contaminate the air and release pollutants that are harmful to human health. These elements can further reduce people’s ability to adapt to climate change factors and increase the difficulty of developing stable societies (ICRC, 2020) Unstable societies create vulnerable communities, and vulnerable communities foster marginalized people, usually leaving women the most likely to be unprotected

A clear example of climate change fostering instability and vulnerabilities is in the Lake Chad region of Africa, a case study that highlights how climate security dynamics expose the contradiction within WPS frameworks New risks have emerged due to the converging of environmental, social, and political factors that have bred conflict and violence in the region (Tesfaye 2022) In Chad, increasing droughts, extreme rainfall, and flooding has had cascading effects on food and human security providing ample opportunities for increased social tensions and violence that can have effects for women and girls. Temperatures have risen by over 0.5°C since the 1990s, nearly double the global average levels (IMF 2024). The shrinking and subsequent flooding of Lake Chad has displaced more than 1 million people across Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, and Chad (Reuters 2024) Chad’s NAP emphasizes a women’s participation in peacebuilding, conflict prevention, and resolution processes (Shepherd 2023), setting a target of 50% of participation of women in local and national conflict prevention and resolution mechanisms by 2030. Yet, it overlooks the environmental drivers of conflicts. This omission reflects how masculine security frameworks prioritize military responses over addressing the structural violence of resource extraction

Women and girls are often the recipients of climate resilience programs and are often at the forefront of environmental and water preservation initiatives, which in turn, should prevent the escalation of resource conflicts in the region. However, WPS frameworks have failed to confront the structural drivers of their insecurity (Le Masson et al. 2020). This gap illustrates how WPS, as currently practiced, addresses symptoms rather than causes and leaves women exposed to cycles of climate induced conflict and unacknowledged peacebuilding efforts

Climate Change and Women

Natural disasters caused by climate change are more likely to affect women through higher death rates before, during, and after the event (Neumayer and Plümper 2007) This is because women are often in more disadvantaged positions within society (Young et al 1994) In the event of a natural disaster, women are more likely to be working in the home, caring for families, and unable to protect themselves and others in need during climate disasters. After a disaster occurs, they must remain the main caretaker for the family and paid work may be lost while unpaid

workloads increase. In some cultures, it is customary for men and boys to eat first, and after a natural disaster, where food shortages may occur, many women and girls may go hungry and malnourished Cuomo argues that “existing social roles and divisions of labor can set the stage for an increase in susceptibility to harm” (Cuomo 2011, 694) There are gendered consequences when facing natural disasters due to climate change.

Because women do not hold proportionate amounts of power as men, they can rarely be held responsible for conflicts and greenhouse gas emissions, however, they are the first to feel their impacts through sexual violence or displacement through war and occupation (Roberts 2009) The psychological aftereffects of these traumatic events can impact women and future generations for much longer than can be accounted for. The effects of war and climate tear apart the fabric of communities and families by destroying the lives and rights of women daily.

As statistics indicate women’s disproportionate exposure to climate shocks and conflict, framing women primarily as “vulnerable populations” in need of protection risks reinforcing the very stereotypes the UNSCR 1325 sought to disrupt The Resolution places emphasis on women’s participation, without addressing the militarized systems that deepen gendered insecurity. Although UNSCR 1325 sought to advance women’s participation and protection, its subsequent implementation has often positioned women as victims of conflict or “sustainability saviors,” thereby obscuring the structural drivers of harm and constraining their political agency in responding to climate breakdown and war

The 2022 floods in Bangladesh affected 7.2 million people, including 3.6 million women in need of emergency assistance (Lewis 2023). However, women were also at the center of adaptation, survival, and humanitarian efforts in the wake of the floods at the local level (Mala 2024; UNDP 2025)Yet, Bangladesh’s NAP on WPS rarely recognizes these contributions, instead it tends to measure women’s participation through formal peace processes or state led initiatives (Sanguila 2025) The document highlights the country’s contribution to female peacekeepers to UN missions and establishes quotas for women in police and military forces but does not acknowledge women-led organizations spearheading efforts after a climate disaster. Localizing the WPS agenda and adding the layer of women's participation, agency in climate change and climate-related conflicts prevention or response would provide opportunities to meet the unique needs and realities of women in specific communities It would then be possible to acknowledge women’s substantive role in shaping resilience and security as powerful agents of change However, as seen in contexts such as Chad, the WPS agenda’s emphasis on integrating women into security forces often sidelines their autonomous and community-based organizing, while leaving intact militarized hierarchies that perpetuate unequal gender power relations. This

approach also overlooks how other gender identities experience climate-related insecurities differently, reinforcing a binary understanding of vulnerability and agency WPS frameworks continue to privilege militarized disaster response over these community led initiatives, reinforcing masculine security logics that treat climate events as threats to control rather than crises requiring collaborative care.

How Should We Approach it?

Unless direct action places women at the forefront of climate change and conflict issues, there will be no end to current and future conflicts and wars While UNSCR 1325 sought to shift the role of women from victims to agents of peace, its implementation has too often reduced women to symbolic figures, reinforcing the very inequalities it was meant to dismantle Current hegemonic masculine perspectives may unintentionally inform the UNSCR 1325 and WPS agendas, overwhelmingly ignoring women and gender and totally omitting the need for cross cutting climate action. The unfinished nature of the WPS agenda reveals a glaring hard truth: integration of women into peace processes remains militarized, and patriarchal A forward-looking WPS agenda must demand structural reforms rather than incremental adjustments First, militaries must be held accountable for their environmental footprint Military emissions, waste, and resource extraction are largely exempt from climate reporting mechanisms, yet they constitute a significant share of global greenhouse gas emissions (CEOBS 2025; Larbi et al. 2025).

Incorporating military accountability into national climate commitments and international agreements would address one of the most glaring omissions in global governance Second, climate finance should be gender sensitive and accessible to women-led community and localized efforts Adaptation and mitigation financing does not often include local actors, who are typically the most affected Directing resources to women who are already leading communitybased adaptation efforts would both challenge gendered inequalities and strengthen resilience to conflict and disaster in these areas. Third, demilitarization must become part of climate security strategies This is not to say, it is possible to put an end to war and conflict, however, redirecting a portion of billions in global military expenditure towards climate adaptation, humanitarian relief, and peacebuilding would see a reduction in emissions and the negative impacts militarized structures have on societies

Finally, women’s leadership must extend beyond token representation in peace processes to meaningful participation in climate diplomacy, security institutions, and resource governance While there have been considerable efforts to promote women in policy focused positions and climate diplomacy gender balance targets have not been reached Quotas in climate negotiations and security forums would ensure that women are not sidelined when critical

negotiations and decisions are happening This does not mean replacing men with women entirely but increasing the number of seats at the decision-making table for adequate representation.

The next decades of the UNSCR 1325 and WPS Agenda require reimagining security in ways that confront the militarized political economies at the root of both climate breakdown and gendered insecurity Only then can WPS evolve from an agenda of participation to one of structural transformation that can advance sustainable peace in an era of climate crisis

Conclusion

In conclusion, the 25 years after the UNSCR 1325 and the Women, Peace, and Security agenda remain unfinished Climate change has exposed one of its deepest structural disconnections In its current state, it is a framework that is designed to protect and include women but remains underpinned by the militarized and extractive systems during both war and environmental breakdown. Women are not to be considered passive victims of these crises, but under the Resolution, it often positions them as vulnerable or symbolic participants, reinforcing patriarchal foundations

In showing how climate induced conflicts can magnify gendered insecurities, not because of women’s essential vulnerabilities, but because of systemic failures in how security itself is conceived and practiced. Militaries remain exempt from climate accountability, climate finance continues to marginalize women-led communities, and peace processes focus narrowly on representation without addressing structural causes of harm These contradictions reveal why incremental reform is insufficient and radical transformation is a necessity Redirection towards peace and adaptation and ensuring women’s leadership in climate diplomacy are not peripheral adjustments but remain essential steps toward realizing the original promise of UNSCR 1325.

We now stand at a crossroads where the international community can continue to focus on adding women to militarized structures while those same structures drive climate breakdown that destroys women’s lives Or finally confronting the uncomfortable truth that sustainable peace and militarized security are fundamentally incompatible The choice in the era of climate crisis requires us to confront the interlinked systems of militarism, extractive capitalism, and patriarchal governance. Only by addressing these root causes can it fulfill its transformative potential and advance women’s participation, as well as a reimagined vision of security that sustains peace, justice, and ecological survival for all The choice we make will determine whether the next 25 years of WPS brings transformation or merely perpetuates a more inclusive form of insecurity

Bibliography

Abel, Guy, Michael Brottrager, Jesus Crespo Cuaresma, and Raya Muttarak. 2019. “Climate, Conflict and Forced Migration.” Global Environmental Change 54 (January): 239–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.12.003.

Adger, WN, JM Puhin, J Pulhin, et al 2014 “Climate Change, War, and Women - Stoute” In Human Security Cambridge University Press https://docs.google.com/document/u/3/d/1IWKy6tUNULSbvuTA62wfz1P9qRPdPvVS6jVXPm0 CRGw/edit?usp=embed facebook.

Agostino, Ana, and Rosa Lizarde 2012 “Gender and Climate Justice” Development 55 (1): 90–95 https://doiorg/101057/dev201199

Brown, Oli, Anne Hammill, and Robert McLeman. 2007. “Climate Change as the ‘New’ Security Threat: Implications for Africa.” International Af airs (Royal Institute of International Af airs 1944-) 83 (6): 1141–54.

Buhaug, Halvard 2015 “Climate–Conflict Research: Some Reflections on the Way Forward” WIREs Climate Change 6 (3): 269–75 https://doiorg/101002/wcc 336

CCPI. 2024. Guest Article: CCPI x Military Emissions Gap – How Military Emissions Impact Global Warming | Climate Change Performance Index. November 14. https://ccpiorg/guest-article-ccpi-x-military-emissions-gap-how-military-emissions-impact-globa l-warming/

CEOBS. 2025. “The EU Must Mandate Military Emissions Reporting.” CEOBS, July 31. https://ceobs.org/the-eu-must-mandate-military-emissions-reporting/.

Clark, Brett, and Andrew K Jorgenson 2012 “The Treadmill of Destruction and the Environmental Impacts of Militaries1: Environmental Impacts of Militaries” Sociology Compass 6 (7): 557–69 https://doiorg/101111/j1751-9020201200474 x

Cuomo, Chris J. 2011. “Climate Change, Vulnerability, and Responsibility.” Hypatia 26 (4): 690–714. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1527-2001.2011.01220.x.

Davis, Ian 2025 “NATO’s Contribution to the Climate Crisis Cannot Be Ignored” Common Dreams, July 26 https://responsiblestatecraftorg/nato-climate-change/

Desai, Bharat H, and Moumita Mandal 2021 “Role of Climate Change in Exacerbating Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Women: A New Challenge for International Law” Environmental Policy and Law, June 9. Sage UK: London, England. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.3233/EPL-210055.

Duncanson, C , and F M Eschle 2008 “Gender and the Subject of (Anti)Militarism” Security Dialogue 39(1): 43–62

Duncanson, C. 2013. Forces for Good? Military Masculinities and Peacebuilding in Afghanistan and Iraq. Palgrave Macmillan.

Duncanson, C 2015 “Hegemonic Masculinity and the Possibility of Change in Gender Relations” Men and Masculinities 18(2): 231–248

Duncanson, Claire, and Carol Cohn. 2020. “Women, War and Climate Change.” War Resisters International, December 15. https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2020/women-war-and-climate-change.

FAO 2018 Food Security and Armed Conflict: A Cross-Country Analysis | Agrifood Economics | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations https://wwwfaoorg/agrifood-economics/publications/detail/en/c/1153220/

George, Nicole, and Laura J. Shepherd. 2016. “Women, Peace and Security: Exploring the Implementation and Integration of UNSCR 1325” International Political Science Review, ahead of print, May 31 Sage UK: London, England https://doiorg/101177/0192512116636659

Ghimire, R, S Ferreira, and J Dorfman 2015 “Flood-Induced Displacement and Civil Conflict” World Development 66: 614–28.

Goodman, Sherri Wasserman 2024 Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership, and the Fight for Global Security Island Press

ICRC 2020 WHEN RAIN TURNS TO DUST UNDERSTANDING AND RESPONDING TO THE COMBINED IMPACT OF ARMED CONFLICTS AND THE CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT CRISIS ON PEOPLE’S LIVES. ICRC. https://wwwicrc org/sites/default/files/topic/file plus list/rain turns to dust climate change co nflict pdf

IMF 2024 “Climate Change in Chad: Challenges and Opportunities” IMF Staff Country Reports

IMF Staf Country Reports 2024 (336). https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400295249.002.A002.

Kelley, Colin P., Shahrzad Mohtadi, Mark A. Cane, Richard Seager, and Yochanan Kushnir. 2015. “Climate Change in the Fertile Crescent and Implications of the Recent Syrian Drought.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112 (11): 3241–46 world https://doiorg/101073/pnas1421533112

Larbi, Reuben, Benjamin Neimark, Kristi Ashworth, and Kali Rubaii 2025 “Parting the Fog of War: Assessing Military Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Below.” The Extractive Industries and Society 23 (September): 101654. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2025.101654.

Le Masson, Virgine, Colette Benoudji, and Sandra Sotelo Reyes 2020 “Everyday Violence and Its Impact on Insecurity and Resilience in Chad - Gender, Climate and Security” June 9

https://dppaunorg/sites/default/files/gender climate and security report pdf

Lewis, Gwyn. 2023. Bangladesh Rapid Response Flood 2022 | United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund https://cerfunorg/sites/default/files/resources/22-RR-BGD-54477 Bangladesh CERF Report pd f

Mach, Katharine J, Caroline M Kraan, W Neil Adger, et al 2019 “Climate as a Risk Factor for Armed Conflict.” Nature 571 (7764): 193–97. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1300-6.

Mala, Mahfuza 2024 Beyond Barriers: Bagladesh Case Study - Women-Led Emergency Response Team With Mark Johnson, Melody Wei, Oona Mitchell, and Elisabeth Ashley Haugen Concern Worldwide https://beyondbarriersconcernusaorg/reports/bangladesh-case-study-women-led-emergencyresponse-team.pdf.

Neumayer, Eric, and Thomas Plümper 2007 “The Gendered Nature of Natural Disasters: The Impact of Catastrophic Events on the Gender Gap in Life Expectancy, 1981–2002” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 97 (3): 551–66 https://doiorg/101111/j1467-8306 200700563x

Parkinson, Stuart. 2025. “Military Spending Rises and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: What Does the Research Say?” Scientists for Global Responsibility, September https://wwwsgrorguk/publications/military-spending-rises-and-greenhouse-gas-emissions-what does-research-say

Peters, Katie. 2016. “When Disasters and Conflicts Collide: Facts and Figures.” ODI, May 12. https://odi.org/en/publications/when-disasters-and-conflicts-collide-facts-and-figures/.

Raleigh, C, and D Knievton 2012 ““Come Rain or Shine: An Analysis of Conflict and Climate Variability in East Africa” Journal of Peace Research 49 (1): 51–64

Reuters. 2024. “Climate Change Worsened Rains in Flood-Hit African Regions, Scientists Say.” Environment. Reuters, October 23.

https://wwwreuterscom/business/environment/climate-change-worsened-rains-flood-hitafrican-regions-scientists-say-2024-10-23/

Revi, A 2014 Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press.

Roberts, Maryam 2009 “War, Climate Change, and Women” Race, Poverty & the Environment 16 (2): 39–41 JSTOR

Sanguila, Jamila-Aisha P. 2025. “How to Localize the UN’s Women, Peace, and Security Agenda.” Diplomatic Courier, March 24.

https://wwwdiplomaticouriercom/posts/how-to-localize-the-uns-women-peace-and-securityagenda

Selby, J, OS Dahi, C Frohlich, and M Hulme 2017 “Climate Change and the Syrian Civil War Revisited.” Political Geography 60: 232–44.

Shepherd, Laura J 2023 Chad National Action Plan - Unof icial Translation https://wwwwpsnapsorg/app/uploads/2024/07/Chad-NAP-2023-2027 french ENG-translation Google-Translatepdf

SIPRI. 2025. Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2024. SIPRI. https://www.sipri.org/publications/2025/sipri-fact-sheets/trends-world-military-expenditure-2024.

Tesfaye, Beza 2022 “Climate Change and Conflict in the Sahel” The Council on Foreign Relations, November

Theisen, O.M. 2017. “Climate Change and Violence: Insights from Political Science.” Current Climate Change Reports 3 (4): 210–21.

Uexkull, N von, M Croicu, H Fjelde, and H Buhaug 2016 “Civil Conflict Sensitivity to GrowingSeason Drought” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 113 (44): 12391–96

UNDP. 2025. “Transforming Floods into Opportunity: Women Entrepreneurs Lead Clean Water Solutions in Bangladesh.” August 27.

https://wwwadaptation-undporg/transforming-floods-opportunity-women-entrepreneurs-leadclean-water-solutions-bangladesh

UNEP, UN Women, UNDP, and UNDPPA/PBSO. 2020. Gender, Climate and Security - Sustaining Inclusive Peace on the Frontlines of Climate Change. United Nations. https://dppaunorg/sites/default/files/gender climate and security report pdf

Watson, Tabitha, Tim Lenton, and Ricardo Safra de Campos 2023 “The Climate Change, Conflict and Migration Nexus: A Holistic View” Climate Resilience and Sustainability 2 (2): e250 https://doi.org/10.1002/cli2.50.

Watts, Nick, Markus Amann, Nigel Arnell, et al 2019 “The 2019 Report of The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change: Ensuring That the Health of a Child Born Today Is Not Defined by a Changing Climate” The Lancet 394 (10211): 1836–78

https://doiorg/101016/S0140-6736(19)32596-6

Werrell, Caitlin, and Francesco Femia. 2015. “DHS to Congress: Climate Change a Threat Multiplier to Global Security” The Center for Climate & Security, July 9 https://climateandsecurityorg/2015/07/dhs-to-congress-climate-change-a-threat-multiplier-toglo bal-security/

Wonders, Nancy A., and Mona J. E. Danner. 2015. “Gendering Climate Change: A Feminist Criminological Perspective.” Critical Criminology 23 (4): 401–16. https://doiorg/101007/s10612-015-9290-7

Young, Gay, Lucia Fort, and Mona Danner 1994 “MOVING FROM THE STATUS OF WOMEN’ TO ‘GENDER INEQUALITY’: CONCEPTUALISATION, SOCIAL INDICATORS AND AN EMPIRICAL APPLICATION.” International Sociology 9 (1): 55–85.

https://doi.org/10.1177/026858094009001005.

Authors:

H.E. Lady Tee Thompson is the Legacy Co-Chair of UNA Women (UNA-USA) and Executive Director of AgroBiz.org, empowering women and youth through entrepreneurship and digital inclusion across 14 countries. She has advised governments and global institutions on gender equality, human trafficking, and the Women, Peace, and Security agenda. As a 2023/24 Senior Human Trafficking Fellow with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, she champions survivor-centered and feminist policy frameworks.

men; Executive Director, AgroBiz.org (Corresponding Author)

Dr Maleeka Glover is a senior public health leader specializing in health security, emergency preparedness, and gender-responsive policy She has led initiatives at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, advancing public health strategies that align with human rights and crisis response Her work bridges epidemiology, the Women, Peace, and Security agenda, and intersectional health policy to promote data-driven approaches to gender equality worldwide

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Kelly Dore is an international policy advocate, survivor leader, and legislative egist dedicated to advancing trafficking prevention and survivor justice As Conder of the Sierra Cares Foundation, she has driven major state and federal reforms essing immigration, sextortion, trafficking, and mental health, while advising all 57 O countries on justice and policy Drawing from her lived experience, she champions vor-centered, trauma-informed approaches and has trained thousands of essionals across law enforcement, healthcare, and education to better serve erable communities

Dr Adetola Salau, PhD

Dr Adetola Salau is a global education policy leader, author, and STEM advocate dedicated to transforming learning systems across Africa As a senior official in Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Education, she drives initiatives that advance girls’ education, youth engagement, and digital inclusion Her work champions STEMM as a catalyst for peacebuilding, economic empowerment, and inclusive governance, bridging education and Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) frameworks to create lasting social impact

Federal Ministry of Education, Nigeria

Sierra Cares Foundation, Sierra Leone

Lady Tee Thompson

Dr. Maleeka Glover, ScD

Hon. Kelly Dore

Author:

Megan Lundstrom is the Chief Executive Officer of Polaris, a leading organization combatting human trafficking through survivor-informed, data-driven solutions. A nationally recognized expert on trafficking prevention and digital exploitation, she has authored pioneering research on sextortion and trafficking networks. As a survivor, her leadership blends lived experience with innovation driving initiatives like Polaris’s AIpowered early warning system and shaping federal and state policy responses across the U.S.

Megan Lundstrom Chief Executive Officer, Polaris

Ca Director, Womens Economic Forum, Ecuador

Catalina Cajías is the Director of the Women Economic Forum Ecuador and CEO of Atributos, where she drives initiatives that advance women’s leadership, entrepreneurship, and economic inclusion. With over 15 years of experience in business management and gender equity, she has forged partnerships that expand women’s opportunities across Ecuador’s public and private sectors. Her work aligns with the Women, Peace, and Security agenda by promoting economic empowerment, inclusive leadership, and equitable access to resources as pillars of sustainable peace and community resilience.

Disrupting Cycles Of Inequality: Economic Barriers, Femicide, & Digital Justice In The Evolution Of The WPS Agenda

Abstract

Twenty-five years after the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325), women remain at the frontlines of peacebuilding and crisis response, yet continue to face systemic barriers that perpetuate cycles of inequality. This article examines economic marginalization, femicide, and digital exclusion as structural blind spots within the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda While UNSCR 1325 marked a historic recognition of women’s roles in conflict prevention and peacebuilding, implementation gaps persist, especially for forcibly displaced, trafficked, and digitally excluded populations

Global displacement reached 68 3 million in 2023, with 77 million displaced by climate-related disasters alone (IDMC, 2023) UNODC (2024) reported a 25 % increase in trafficking victims linked to environmental crises. Meanwhile, GSMA (2023) data highlights that women in low- and middle-income countries remain 19 % less likely than men to use mobile internet, with over 785 million women still unconnected These intersecting inequalities leave women vulnerable to violence and exploitation while excluding them from digital governance processes that could enhance accountability and protection

Through a mixed-methods approach combining legal and policy mapping, data synthesis, and regional case analysis, this article examines how economic dignity, zero femicide frameworks, and digital justice must become central pillars of WPS implementation beyond 2025 Regional snapshots from Nigeria, Ecuador, USA–Africa diaspora networks, Polaris’s survivor-led digital safety initiatives, and Sierra Leone illustrate how feminist multilateralism can disrupt cycles of inequality

The article argues that integrating survivor-centered AI-powered early warning systems, gender-responsive budgeting, and economic inclusion policies can bridge current implementation gaps By embedding these elements into National Action Plans (NAPs) and multilateral mechanisms, the WPS agenda can more effectively address both emerging threats, such as climate displacement and online exploitation and persistent structural inequalities

This paper contributes to scholarship and policy by bridging feminist political economy, digital justice, and peacebuilding practice It provides actionable recommendations, backed by global datasets and regional evidence, for transforming the WPS agenda into a predictive, economically inclusive, and digitally just framework In doing so, it advances a vision of WPS that centers dignity, accountability, and intergenerational leadership

Introduction

The twenty-fifth anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) arrives at a moment of profound geopolitical shifts, overlapping crises, and accelerating technological transformation. Adopted in 2000, UNSCR 1325 recognized for the first time the critical role of women in conflict prevention, peace negotiations, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, humanitarian response, and post-conflict reconstruction In two decades since, the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda has inspired National Action Plans (NAPs), international treaties, and a growing body of feminist scholarship Yet, despite these normative gains, persistent structural inequities continue to undermine the realization of WPS commitments in practice.

One of the most enduring challenges is the continued prevalence of gender-based inequalities, including systemic economic exclusion and the global epidemic of femicide Around the world, women remain disproportionately represented in informal and low-wage labor sectors, with limited access to financial services, land ownership, or social protections. These economic inequities are magnified in contexts of conflict and displacement, where the erosion of formal institutions often exacerbates women’s vulnerability to exploitation and violence (World Bank, 2023; UN Women, 2022) Simultaneously, femicide remains under-addressed in peace and security frameworks despite its scale and severity, due to few countries legally defining femicide and lack of accountability in practice and patriarchal norms. In Latin America alone, more than 4,000 women were victims of femicide in 2022 (ECLAC, 2023), while legal definitions and data collection remain fragmented in multiple regions

A second structural blind spot is the digital divide As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, access to and control over digital technologies have emerged as determinants of security, economic participation, and political voice. GSMA (2023) reports a persistent mobile internet gender gap in low and middle-income countries. This gap has direct implications for safety and opportunity: digital exclusion heightens vulnerability to sextortion, online grooming, and trafficking, while simultaneously excluding women from decision-making spaces shaping data governance and AI-driven security architectures (UNODC, 2024; Polaris, 2024) Digital exclusion has direct security implications Women who lack access to mobile phones or the internet are less able to report violence, receive early warnings, or participate in digital governance mechanisms.

In this context, economic agency, femicide prevention, and digital justice must be understood as central, not peripheral to the WPS agenda The original pillars of UNSCR 1325 participation, protection, prevention, and relief and recovery, cannot be fully realized while economic and digital inequities persist.

These issues cut across every stage of the conflict cycle: economic marginalization fuels instability, digital exclusion undermines early warning and protection, and femicide reflects the ultimate failure of state and international mechanisms to safeguard women’s rights This article positions the 25-year review of UNSCR 1325 as an opportunity to expand the conceptual and operational scope of the WPS agenda. It argues that integrating feminist political economy and digital justice frameworks is essential to addressing contemporary security challenges.

By examining femicide, economic exclusion, and the digital divide through comparative case studies, Nigeria, Ecuador, USA–Africa diaspora bridges, Polaris’s survivor-led AI model, and Sierra Leone this paper explores how multigenerational, survivor-centered, and economically grounded approaches can strengthen WPS implementation.

The analysis proceeds in six parts Section II reviews relevant literature on the evolution of WPS and YPS frameworks, feminist political economy, and intersectionality Section III outlines the methodology, including qualitative document analysis and comparative case studies. Section IV presents thematic findings, including four core themes and five regional case studies. Section V maps policy gaps and accountability deficits across NAPs and multilateral frameworks Section VI offers actionable recommendations to codify zero-femicide frameworks, mainstream economic agency and digital access, and build intergenerational monitoring mechanisms Section VII concludes by reframing the future of WPS around dignity, data, and disruption

Literature Review

The literature on the WPS agenda has evolved significantly since the adoption of UNSCR 1325 in 2000 Scholars and practitioners have examined its normative development, implementation gaps, and intersections with other international frameworks, including the Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS) agenda However, despite growing recognition of gendered dimensions of conflict, critical gaps persist in integrating feminist political economy, intersectional analysis, and digital justice into WPS scholarship and practice.

UNSCR 1325 inaugurated a new era in global security governance by recognizing women not only as victims but as active agents in peacebuilding Subsequent resolutions, such as UNSCR 1820 (2008) on sexual violence in conflict, UNSCR 1888 (2009), and UNSCR 2122 (2013), have expanded the WPS agenda’s scope. Parallel to this, the YPS agenda, anchored in UNSCR 2250 (2015), emphasized the role of youth in preventing conflict and sustaining peace. Scholars note that while WPS has institutionalized gender considerations, its implementation has been uneven across contexts, often constrained by militarized security paradigms and underfunded NAPs (Coomaraswamy, 2015; Hudson, 2018)

Empirical studies reveal significant regional variations. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, countries such as Nigeria and Sierra Leone adopted NAPs early, but these plans often lacked adequate financing and robust monitoring mechanisms In Latin America, feminist movements have pushed for greater integration of femicide prevention into security frameworks (ECLAC, 2023) In the Middle East and North Africa, implementation has been limited by political instability and competing state priorities Meanwhile, YPS scholarship has increasingly highlighted intergenerational linkages, arguing that youth-led innovation, including digital activism, offers untapped potential for advancing WPS objectives (Sukarieh & Tannock, 2018).

Two academic perspectives that highlight these critical gaps in the WPS agenda are Feminist Political Economy and Intersectional Feminist Theory Since the 1970s, feminist political economy has illuminated how economic structures shape both the causes and consequences of conflict Scholars argue that women’s economic participation is both a peacebuilding strategy and a human right (True, 2012; UN Women, 2022).

Economic marginalization, manifested through wage gaps, unpaid care work, land dispossession, and exclusion from financial systems undermines stability and recovery Conflict exacerbates these inequities by destroying livelihoods, eroding institutions, and increasing dependency on informal economies (World Bank, 2023) Gender-responsive peacebuilding emphasizes economic justice as central to the peace process Communities in which women have access to land, credit, and employment for women in post-conflict reconstruction has been shown in various case studies to be key to durable reintegration and stability Scholars such as Thania Paffenholz have documented that women’s meaningful inclusion and influence in peace negotiations correlates with higher likelihood of reaching agreements and implementing them successfully. (Paffenholz et al., 2016) Yet, despite this evidence, WPS implementation has frequently treated economic empowerment as subordinate to protection and participation Funding for women’s rights organizations is very limited: OECD data for 2021-2022 shows that ODA to women’s rights organizations and movements (excluding government institutions) was less than 1% of total DAC ODA This gap has led many to argue for economic agency to become a core pillar of WPS, not just an adjunct.

Intersectional feminist theory, pioneered by Crenshaw (1989), highlights how overlapping systems of oppression shape experiences of conflict and peace In WPS scholarship, intersectionality remains underdeveloped Analyses often treat “women” as a homogenous category, overlooking how race, ethnicity, class, age, disability, and geography mediate access to protection and participation. For example, Indigenous and Afro-descendant women in Latin America face compounded marginalization in both state and non-state security frameworks (ECLAC, 2023) In conflict-affected regions of sub-Saharan Africa, disabled women are often excluded from both disarmament programs and post-conflict employment initiatives (Human Rights Watch, 2020)

Age is another critical dimension. While YPS frameworks have elevated youth voices, practical integration remains limited. Youth, particularly young women, often operate at the periphery of formal peace processes, despite their central roles in community organizing, digital mobilization, and informal economies (Sukarieh & Tannock, 2018) Geographical disparities also persist: women in rural and conflict-affected areas frequently lack access to justice mechanisms, economic resources, and digital infrastructure making their continued vulnerabilities and hardships persist generationally.

The rapid expansion of digital technologies has transformed the landscape of security, yet WPS scholarship has been slow to address digital misogyny and Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TF-GBV) UNODC (2024) highlights the proliferation of online grooming, sextortion, and trafficking networks that exploit connectivity gaps and weak regulatory frameworks

Polaris (2024) has documented over 11,000 sextortion-related trafficking cases in the United States since 2020, many with transnational spillover Despite this, few NAPs incorporate digital safety or algorithmic accountability as core components.

Similarly, femicide remains under-theorized within WPS despite its scale While Latin American feminist movements have pushed for the inclusion of femicide in security agendas, many states lack standardized definitions or monitoring systems (ECLAC, 2023) The absence of femicide prevention frameworks within WPS instruments represents both a conceptual and operational gap, particularly given the links between displacement, trafficking, and lethal violence.

Methodology

This study employs a qualitative, feminist intersectional methodology to analyze the gaps and opportunities in integrating economic agency, femicide prevention, and digital justice within the WPS agenda. It draws on mixed methods, document analysis, case study comparison, and data triangulation, to critically examine the thematic intersections of economic exclusion, genderbased violence, and technology in WPS frameworks

The core textual basis for this analysis is the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) 69 Outcome Document, which outlines state commitments and multilateral priorities on gender equality, economic rights, and digital inclusion. Using feminist policy analysis techniques, the CSW69 text was systematically coded to identify references to WPS pillars (participation, protection, prevention, relief and recovery), economic measures, and digital governance mechanisms

Additional primary sources include:

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Global Reports on Trafficking in Persons (2020–2024);

International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and GSMA datasets on mobile connectivity and digital gender gaps (2023); World Bank and UN Women reports on economic participation and displacement (2022–2024); Polaris Project survivor-led digital safety intervention reports (2020–2024).

Policy texts and national frameworks were analyzed using qualitative content analysis, focusing on (1) framing of economic agency, (2) integration of femicide prevention, and (3) inclusion of digital safety in WPS instruments

To illustrate the interaction between economic, digital, and security dimensions in different contexts, the study employs a comparative case study method across five regional contexts:

1 Nigeria – examining economic marginalization, trafficking patterns, and NAP implementation gaps

2 Ecuador – focusing on gender-responsive budgeting and climate-induced displacement

3 USA–Africa Diaspora Bridges – analyzing transnational survivor repatriation and policy innovation.

4.Polaris (United States) – evaluating survivor-led AI predictive protection models.

5 Sierra Leone – highlighting multigenerational leadership and transitional justice mechanisms

These cases were selected to reflect diverse geographies, governance contexts, and modalities of feminist intervention, allowing for cross-regional learning and comparative insights

The analysis applies a feminist intersectional lens (Crenshaw, 1989; True, 2012) to interrogate how structural inequalities, particularly race, class, age, disability, cultural norms and geography shape women’s experiences of economic exclusion, violence, and digital marginalization. This lens centers survivor leadership, grassroots movements, and youth engagement as critical sources of knowledge, challenging state-centric security narratives

Thematic Findings

This section presents four thematic areas that emerged from the document analysis and case studies: (1) femicide and human trafficking as persistent blind spots, (2) economic exclusion and informal labor dynamics, (3) digital divides as structural barriers, and (4) regional and multigenerational innovations advancing WPS objectives Collectively, these themes underscore how economic and digital inequities intersect with gender-based violence to shape women’s security and agency globally

A.) Femicide & Human Trafficking: The Hidden Crisis

Despite the normative advances since UNSCR 1325’s adoption, femicide and human trafficking remain critical, yet under-addressed, dimensions of women’s security Femicide represents the most extreme manifestation of gender-based violence, often emerging at the nexus of domestic violence, displacement, trafficking, and state inaction According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC, 2023), approximately 89,000 women and girls were intentionally killed worldwide in 2022, the highest number recorded in two decades. Around 48,800 of these victims were killed by intimate partners or other family members, highlighting both structural and interpersonal dimensions of lethal gender violence

Regional disparities are pronounced In Latin America, femicide has reached epidemic proportions, with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC, 2023) reporting over 4,000 femicides in 2022, primarily in Mexico, Brazil, and Central America. Many countries in the region have legally codified femicide as a distinct crime, yet implementation remains inconsistent due to weak judicial capacity and cultural impunity In sub-Saharan Africa, data gaps are severe; however, emerging studies suggest that lethal violence against women is undercounted, particularly in conflict and post-conflict settings (UNODC, 2023)

Femicide is deeply intertwined with broader gendered violence, and trafficking sits among those violence dynamics. Environmental crises, conflict, and digital exploitation exacerbate vulnerabilities UNODC (2024) reported a roughly 25 % increase in detected trafficking victims between 2019 and 2022, with poverty, conflict, and climate-related risks contributing to these vulnerabilities The International Organization for Migration (IOM, 2023) notes that migration and displacement caused or worsened by climate change expose women and girls to heightened risks of sexual exploitation and forced labor, especially along irregular migration routes. Trafficking networks often operate across borders with impunity, exploiting legal loopholes and digital platforms to recruit and control victims

Despite these realities, femicide prevention is rarely spelled out in WPS frameworks Many NAPs emphasize protection from conflict-related sexual violence but do not systematically include monitoring or prevention of lethal gender violence. Similarly, trafficking is often framed within criminal justice and law enforcement rather than as a peace and security issue integrated into WPS This siloed approach limits early warning capacity and weakens survivor-centered interventions, while does not allow for societies to accurately track numbers to reflect consistent data

From a feminist political economy perspective, femicide and trafficking can be seen as symptoms of structural inequalities, economic precarity, weak institutions, and patriarchal norms. Addressing these crises requires embedding “zero femicide” frameworks into WPS implementation, integrating lethal violence monitoring into peacekeeping and peacebuilding mandates, and resourcing survivor-led networks to inform policy

B.) Economic Inclusion & Informal Labor

Economic exclusion remains one of the most persistent and underestimated drivers of insecurity for women in conflict-affected and fragile contexts Women constitute nearly 60 % of the world’s working poor, disproportionately concentrated in informal labor sectors without legal protections, social security, or access to credit (International Labour Organization [ILO], 2023) In fragile and conflict-affected situations, these vulnerabilities intensify as formal labor markets collapse, public services erode, and caregiving burdens increase (World Bank, 2023)

Globally, women earn on average 77 % of what men earn for work of equal value, and this gap widens in conflict settings where access to stable employment is disrupted (UN Women, 2022) Land ownership remains deeply gendered: women account for less than 15 % of agricultural landowners worldwide, despite representing 43 % of the agricultural labor force (FAO, 2023). Limited access to financial institutions further compounds exclusion The World Bank’s Global Findex (2021) reports that nearly 1 billion women remain outside the formal financial system, lacking bank accounts, credit, or insurance, conditions that severely restrict their economic resilience in crises

These structural inequalities are not merely background conditions; they shape the distribution of power, resources, and survival strategies during and after conflict Feminist economists have long argued that economic marginalization is both a cause and a consequence of conflict (True, 2012) For women, exclusion from formal markets often leads to participation in precarious informal economies, where risks of exploitation, including trafficking, debt bondage, and genderbased violence are heightened.

Informal labor markets often become sites of both survival and exploitation In Nigeria, for example, women dominate the informal trade sector, including cross-border commerce, yet remain excluded from trade financing and regulatory protections (African Development Bank, 2022) This exclusion exposes them to extortion, trafficking, and physical violence at borders and checkpoints. Similarly, in Ecuador and across parts of the Andean region, Indigenous and Afrodescendant women sustain local economies through informal agricultural and domestic labor, but lack access to legal protections or social safety nets, perpetuating cycles of poverty (ECLAC, 2023)

Conflict intensifies these dynamics Displacement pushes women into low-wage, informal sectors in host communities, where legal status and language barriers further limit protections (UNHCR, 2023). Traffickers exploit these conditions, using economic coercion as a primary mechanism of control The intersection of informal labor and trafficking is particularly visible in domestic work, agriculture, and artisanal mining sectors across Africa, Latin America, and parts of Asia (ILO, 2023)

Despite overwhelming evidence, economic exclusion remains marginal within WPS policy frameworks. NAPs and UN resolutions tend to prioritize participation in political and security processes, while economic agency is treated as secondary. Less than 1 % of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to fragile and conflict-affected contexts goes directly to women’s rights organizations (OECD, 2022) Few NAPs include concrete indicators or budget allocations for women’s economic empowerment

For example, Sierra Leone’s 2019 NAP¹ references women’s economic empowerment under “post-conflict recovery” but provides no funding framework, Jordan’s 2018 NAP² identifies women’s employment as a peace dividend but treats it as a social rather than security goal and Finland’s 2023 NAP³ is one of few that explicitly integrates financing for women’s economic participation and trade, serving as a model of “mainstreamed economic inclusion”

This gap undermines the sustainability of peacebuilding efforts: without access to land, credit, and decent work, women’s participation in peace processes cannot translate into long-term security. Moreover, economic justice is rarely framed as a strategic peacebuilding imperative. Feminist political economy literature emphasizes that women’s economic participation is not only a question of equity but also of stability and prevention Countries with higher levels of gender equality in labor markets and property rights tend to have lower rates of conflict recurrence (Paffenholz et al, 2016) Integrating economic inclusion into WPS requires shifting from add-on programming to core policy architecture, linking peacebuilding with fiscal and economic governance.

C.) Digital Divide As A Barrier of Safety & Opportunity

The digital divide, defined as unequal access to and control over digital technologies has emerged as a determinant of security, participation, and economic opportunity in the twentyfirst century For women and girls, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, digital exclusion compounds existing structural inequalities, undermining their capacity to participate in governance, access justice, and protect themselves from emerging forms of TF-GBV.

According to the GSMA (2023), women in LMICs are 19 % less likely than men to use mobile internet, leaving approximately 785 million women unconnected This gap is widest in sub-Saharan Africa (36 %) and South Asia (41 %), where infrastructure deficits intersect with restrictive social norms, affordability barriers, and lower levels of digital literacy. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU, 2023) reports that only 65 % of women worldwide use the internet, compared to 70 % of men, with even larger disparities in rural areas

https://wwwwpsnapsorg/app/uploads/2024/07/Finland-4-NAP-2023-2027 finnish ENG-translation-Google-Translatepdf

https://jordan.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Field%20Office%20Jordan/Images/publications/2018/JONAP%2020182021%20UNSCR%201325.pd

https://wwwwpsnapsorg/app/uploads/2024/07/Finland-4-NAP-2023-2027 finnish ENG-translation-Google-Translatepdf

Digital exclusion has direct security implications Women who lack access to mobile phones or the internet are less able to report violence, receive early warnings, or participate in digital governance mechanisms. They are also less likely to benefit from digital financial services, e-governance, or online education, all critical for resilience in crises. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, the digital gender gap widened in many developing and rural regions as connectivity became a prerequisite for health information, remote education, and income generation (UN Women, 2022)

Digital exclusion does not simply mean absence from the digital sphere; rather, unequal access and control expose women to new forms of exploitation. TF-GBV includes online grooming, sextortion, doxxing, cyberstalking, and deepfake pornography has grown exponentially UNODC (2024) notes that trafficking networks increasingly leverage encrypted messaging, social media, and gaming platforms to recruit, control, and exploit victims

Polaris (2024) documented over 11,000 sextortion-related trafficking cases in the United States since 2020, many with transnational spillover into trafficking routes connecting North America, West Africa, and Southeast Asia These networks often target digitally inexperienced users, exploiting trust gaps and regulatory vacuums Survivors report that traffickers use digital tools to create coercive debt cycles, threaten exposure of intimate images, and surveil victims remotely

The lack of algorithmic accountability compounds these harms. Platform companies often fail to respond promptly to survivor reports or preserve digital evidence, creating impunity for traffickers and abusers Few NAPs explicitly address TF-GBV or require states to engage private technology companies as security actors within the WPS framework

Despite growing evidence, digital justice remains peripheral in WPS implementation NAPs overwhelmingly focus on participation, protection, and prevention in physical spaces, with little attention to digital infrastructures. This gap is particularly problematic given that digital platforms are now central arenas of political participation, economic exchange, and security threats Integrating digital justice into WPS requires a paradigm shift recognizing connectivity as justice infrastructure, akin to roads or legal aid; embedding digital safety indicators into NAPs and monitoring frameworks, partnering with feminist technologists and survivor-led organizations to design responsive interventions; and enforcing data preservation protocols and algorithmic accountability through multilateral mechanisms.

Survivor-centered, AI-enabled early warning systems illustrate the transformative potential of this shift Polaris’s model integrates telecom data, survivor reporting, and displacement monitoring to detect trafficking and exploitation patterns in near real time, demonstrating how technology can be harnessed for protection when survivors lead design and governance.

Framing digital access and safety as core peace and security issues aligns with broader international trends Recent UN resolutions on AI governance (A/RES/78/265; A/RES/78/311) emphasize human-rights-based digital ecosystems, while feminist scholars call for embedding digital rights into the WPS architecture. Ensuring women’s digital inclusion enhances early warning, expands economic agency, and democratizes governance Conversely, neglecting digital justice risks deepening gendered insecurities and excluding women from shaping future security architectures

D.) Multigenerational & Regional Case Studies

This section examines five case studies that illuminate how economic agency, femicide prevention, and digital justice intersect in different geopolitical and socio-economic contexts By analyzing initiatives and gaps across Nigeria, Ecuador, USA–Africa Diaspora Bridges, Polaris (United States), and Sierra Leone, this study highlights both the diversity of feminist peacebuilding strategies and the shared structural challenges they confront

1 Nigeria: Economic Inclusions. Trafficking & WPS Implementation Gaps

Nigeria offers a critical lens on how economic marginalization, trafficking networks, and weak policy integration impede WPS objectives Women constitute the backbone of Nigeria’s informal economy, particularly in cross-border trade, agriculture, and services (African Development Bank, 2022). Yet structural inequalities, such as lack of access to credit, land, and trade facilitation, limit their economic agency.

These vulnerabilities intersect with trafficking dynamics Nigeria is a major source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking, particularly affecting women and girls from Edo, Delta, and Kwara states Traffickers exploit both economic precarity and digital connectivity gaps, recruiting victims online and moving them through informal trade routes. Displacement from conflicts in the Northeast has intensified these patterns, pushing women into informal economies where risks of exploitation are highest (UNODC, 2023)

Although Nigeria adopted its first NAP in 2013 and updated it in 2017, the plan largely omits economic justice and digital safety Funding gaps and limited subnational implementation exacerbate the problem. However, multigenerational networks, such as women traders’ cooperatives and youth-led tech hubs are emerging as critical actors, demanding inclusion in security dialogues UNA-USA Women Co-Chair and Gender Equality expert HE Lady Tee Thompson has played a convening role across these networks, linking grassroots women’s cooperatives to digital governance and feminist economic strategies through her organization AgroBiz, resulting in bridging formal policy gaps with practical innovations

2 Ecuador: Gender-Responsive Budgeting & Climate Displacement

Ecuador represents a pioneering example of integrating gender considerations into national budgeting processes. In response to climate-induced displacement in the Amazon basin and coastal regions, the Ecuadorian government introduced gender-responsive budget allocations to support women’s resilience strategies (Ministry of Economy and Finance of Ecuador, 2023) These allocations targeted rural Indigenous and Afro-descendant women affected by floods and droughts, providing financial support for agricultural diversification, education, and local governance participation.

However, while economic measures are comparatively advanced, digital access remains uneven Rural areas suffer from limited infrastructure and high costs, creating barriers for displaced 1women to access information, financial services, or protection mechanisms Civil society organizations, particularly women-led collectives in the Amazon and Andean highlands, have begun using community radio and offline digital hubs to bridge this divide. International partnerships have supported these efforts, but integration with WPS frameworks remains minimal Ecuador’s case underscores the importance of pairing gender-responsive economic policy with digital justice strategies to fully realize protection and participation goals

3 USA-Africa Diaspora Bridges: Survivor Repatriation & Policy Innovation

The USA–Africa Diaspora provides a unique transnational lens on feminist peacebuilding. Survivor-led organizations, such as Sierra Cares Foundation, working within diaspora communities are increasingly at the forefront of repatriation, legal advocacy, and digital mobilization These networks facilitate safe return and reintegration for trafficking survivors from West Africa, coordinate legal action across jurisdictions, and provide economic empowerment training

Thompson has been instrumental in leveraging diaspora networks to connect U.S.-based survivor advocates with African policy actors, particularly through initiatives linking Michigan and Maryland to Nigeria and Ghana These efforts bridge policy silos between migration, trafficking, and peacebuilding, offering a model for intergenerational and transnational feminist diplomacy They also highlight the strategic role of diaspora women as connectors between grassroots realities and multilateral forums.

4 Polaris (United States): Survivor-Led AI For Predictive Protection

Under the leadership of Megan Lundstrom, Polaris has developed the AI-Powered Early Warning and Survivor-Centered Protection Model, a pioneering intervention at the intersection of digital justice and survivor leadership Polaris has documented over 11,000 sextortion-related trafficking cases across the United States since 2020, many linked to transnational trafficking routes (Polaris, 2024).

The Polaris model integrates telecom data, survivor reporting, and satellite-based displacement monitoring to detect trafficking patterns in near real time Survivors are actively involved in algorithm design, ensuring that predictive analytics reflect lived experiences and minimize bias. This approach demonstrates how survivor leadership can shape technological tools for protection, aligning with feminist calls to embed digital rights and accountability within security frameworks, which can transform women in their respective communities

5 Sierra Leone: Multigenerational Leadership & Transitional Justice

Sierra Leone provides a case of strong feminist leadership in transitional justice and peacebuilding. Following the end of its civil war, Sierra Leone established its first NAP in 2010, and a second in 2019, among the earlier adopters in AfricaHowever, implementation has been hampered by resource and funding limitations and disruptions such as Ebola and Monkeypox Over the past decade, women’s organizations, including Sierra Cares Foundation, have played important roles in truth-telling (via the Truth and Reconciliation Commission), in reparations advocacy, and in community reconciliation efforts.

Civil society has been involved in NAP development, oversight, and advocacy While less documented is a specific “multigenerational” partnership (youth + elder women) doing systematic monitoring of femicide or land rights for widows, many women’s networks and CSOs are active at the community level, pressing for justice, accountability, and rights for survivors Sierra Leone’s experience and example shows how women and civil society actors, even in resource-constrained environments, can expand the reach of WPS beyond formal state institutions, contributing to accountability and sustaining peacebuilding

V. Policy Gaps & Accountability Deficits

Despite twenty-five years of normative development under UNSCR 1325 and related resolutions, the implementation of the WPS agenda continues to suffer from persistent policy gaps and weak accountability mechanisms These deficits are especially acute in relation to economic agency, femicide prevention, and digital justice, three areas that remain peripheral to most NAPs, multilateral strategies, and donor frameworks This section identifies key policy gaps across three dimensions: (1) deficiencies in national policy instruments, (2) absence of economic and digital rights in global WPS frameworks, (3) weak multilateral accountability mechanism and (4) intergenerational and intersectional gaps

1 Deficiencies In National Action Plans On WPS

Since 2005, more than 100 Member States have adopted NAPs on WPS, marking significant progress in normative diffusion (UN Women, 2024).

However, content analysis of these NAPs reveals substantial deficiencies in scope, financing, and implementation Most NAPs focus on participation (increasing women’s involvement in peace negotiations and security institutions) and protection (addressing conflict-related sexual violence), while economic justice and digital safety receive minimal attention.

For example, Nigeria’s 2017 NAP contains robust language on women’s political participation and security sector reform but lacks specific provisions on economic empowerment, femicide monitoring, or digital inclusion Ecuador’s policy frameworks emphasize gender-responsive budgeting but are not explicitly integrated with WPS instruments. Sierra Leone’s 2014 NAP recognizes community-level leadership but lacks mechanisms for digital safety or algorithmic accountability Across these cases, monitorable indicators are scarce, particularly regarding economic outcomes and technology governance

Financing remains another critical gap Many NAPs rely on donor funding rather than domestic budget allocations, rendering them vulnerable to political shifts and donor priorities. Without sustainable financing, commitments to gender equality often remain rhetorical.

2 Absence Of Economic & Digital Rights In WPS Policy Instruments

Economic exclusion and digital justice remain conceptually peripheral within the WP framework Neither UNSCR 1325 nor subsequent resolutions explicitly frame economic rights or digital access as security issues, despite overwhelming evidence linking these factors to conflict prevention and resilience While economic empowerment is sometimes included in post-conflict recovery programs, it is rarely treated as a strategic pillar of peacebuilding (True, 2012) Similarly, digital technologies are often mentioned only in relation to communications or awareness-raising, rather than as infrastructure for justice, protection, and participation

This omission has practical consequences. Without economic rights frameworks, women remain trapped in informal labor markets that are vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking Without digital inclusion strategies, women are excluded from early warning systems, financial technologies, and governance processes increasingly mediated by digital tools NAPs seldom contain gender-responsive fiscal policies, digital literacy initiatives, or mechanisms for platform accountability. The absence of these elements reflects a broader conceptual lag: WPS frameworks have not fully adapted to the realities of the digital age or the structural economic determinants of insecurity

3 Weak Multilateral Accountability Mechanisms

Multilateral accountability for WPS implementation remains fragmented. Although the UN Secretary-General’s annual reports provide global overviews, there is no binding mechanism to ensure Member States meet their WPS obligations

Reporting is voluntary, indicators vary widely, and enforcement is limited The Global Indicators Framework for WPS, adopted in 2010, includes economic participation metrics, but reporting on these indicators is inconsistent and underprioritized.

Digital justice is even less institutionalized at the multilateral level There is currently no UN mechanism tasked with monitoring TF-GBV, algorithmic harms, or digital inclusion within WPS Recent resolutions on AI governance (A/RES/78/265; A/RES/78/311) offer a foundation but are not integrated with WPS architectures Similarly, femicide monitoring is fragmented across UNODC, WHO, and regional organizations, without a coherent and consistent multilateral accountability mechanism tied to WPS commitments.

Civil society plays a critical role in informal accountability, often filling gaps left by states and international institutions Survivor-led networks, feminist technologists, and grassroots organizations produce valuable data, advocate for policy change, and monitor implementation However, these actors frequently operate with limited resources and lack formal recognition within multilateral accountability systems. As a result, innovations, such as Polaris’s survivor-led AI model remain parallel initiatives rather than integrated components of global security governance

4 Intergenerational & Intersectional Gaps

Finally, policy frameworks often neglect intergenerational and intersectional dimensions, undermining inclusivity and sustainability Youth participation is frequently limited to tokenistic consultations rather than meaningful co-design of policy and monitoring mechanisms

Intersectional identities such as those of Indigenous women, Afro-descendant communities, women with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ populations are inadequately represented in both national and international WPS strategies (Crenshaw, 1989; Human Rights Watch, 2020).

Without intentional inclusion, NAPs and other policies risk reinforcing existing hierarchies and marginalizations The absence of intersectional accountability frameworks also limits the capacity to capture how economic and digital inequalities affect different groups differently, leading to blind spots in both data and intervention design

VI. Recommendations & Future Directions

To transform the WPS agenda into a framework that effectively addresses the economic, technological, and structural realities of the twenty-first century, a paradigm shift is required

The following recommendations propose strategic actions across four key areas:

(1) codifying a Zero Femicide Framework, (2) mainstreaming economic agency, (3) embedding digital justice in WPS implementation, and (4) establishing intergenerational and multilateral accountability mechanisms. Together, these steps can align normative frameworks with contemporary threats and opportunities, ensuring that dignity, data, and disruption become central pillars of WPS beyond 2025

1. Codify a “Zero Femicide Framework” Under WPS

Femicide must be treated as a core security concern, not a peripheral social issue. A “Zero Femicide Framework” should be developed as a binding normative instrument within WPS, integrating lethal gender-based violence prevention into peacekeeping mandates, NAPs, and international reporting systems

Key actions include:

Mandating femicide monitoring within UN reporting frameworks, using standardized definitions aligned with ECLAC and UNODC models.

Requiring Member States to incorporate femicide indicators and response mechanisms in their NAPs

Linking femicide prevention to early warning systems and transitional justice mechanisms, particularly in post-conflict contexts

Supporting survivor- and community-led data collection initiatives, financially and politically, which often provide more accurate and timely information than state systems.

By embedding femicide prevention into WPS, the international community can address one of the most lethal forms of gender-based violence while strengthening early warning and accountability

2. Mainstream Economic Agency & Gender-responsive Budgeting

Economic justice must become a strategic pillar of WPS implementation This requires shifting from short-term livelihood programs to systemic economic reforms that empower women as economic actors in peacebuilding and recovery processes

Recommendations include:

Embedding gender-responsive budgeting within all WPS-related national frameworks, as exemplified by Ecuador’s climate displacement response

Mandating that NAPs include measurable economic indicators, such as women’s land ownership, access to credit, and participation in formal labor markets

Directing at least 15 % of peacebuilding funds to women’s economic empowerment, in line with global targets for gender-responsive financing.

Expanding social protection systems to cover informal labor sectors, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected settings

These measures would move economic agency from the margins to the center of peacebuilding, aligning with feminist political economy research linking gender equality to conflict prevention and stability (Paffenholz et al, 2016; True, 2012)

3. Embed Digital Justice In WPS Implementation

Digital inclusion and accountability must be recognized as peace and security imperatives. This involves treating connectivity and digital literacy as essential infrastructure, integrating digital rights into WPS frameworks, and regulating technology companies as security actors

Recommended actions:

Incorporating digital access and safety indicators into NAPs and the Global Indicators Framework for WPS.

Developing model protocols for evidence preservation and rapid response to TF-GBV, with binding obligations for platform companies

Investing in digital literacy programs targeting women and girls in rural and conflict-affected areas

Scaling survivor-led technological innovations, such as Polaris’s AI-powered early warning model, through multilateral partnerships and funding mechanisms.

Embedding digital justice would enable women to participate fully in governance, access protection mechanisms, and shape technological ecosystems that impact their security

4. Establish Intergenerational & Multilateral Accountability Mechanisms

To ensure sustainability and inclusivity, WPS implementation must be grounded in intergenerational leadership and robust multilateral accountability

Key recommendations include:

Creating intergenerational WPS monitoring bodies, composed of youth, elders, survivors, technologists, and civil society, to oversee implementation at national and multilateral levels.

Developing intersectional accountability frameworks to ensure the inclusion of marginalized groups, including Indigenous women, Afro-descendant communities, women with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ populations

Establishing a UN Task Force on Digital Justice for Women and Girls, mandated to consolidate model laws, publish preservation protocols, and ensure rapid adaptation of legal frameworks to technological harms.

Linking feminist civil society networks to formal reporting mechanisms to strengthen transparency and reciprocal accountability

These measures would democratize WPS governance, enhance responsiveness to emerging threats, and ensure that young women and marginalized communities are co-authors, not just subjects, of peace and security policy

VII. Conclusion

The twenty-fifth anniversary of UNSCR 1325 represents both a milestone and a crossroads for the WPS agenda Over the past quarter century, WPS has generated unprecedented normative frameworks, expanded women’s participation in peace processes, and fostered global awareness of gendered dimensions of conflict Yet, this review has demonstrated that persistent structural blind spots, economic exclusion, femicide, and digital injustice continue to undermine the transformative potential of WPS.

The evidence presented through thematic analysis and regional case studies reveals a threefold gap First, femicide and trafficking remain insufficiently integrated into WPS, despite their scale and impact Second, economic justice continues to be treated as an ancillary development concern rather than a core peacebuilding strategy Third, digital access and governance have not been adequately incorporated into WPS frameworks, leaving millions of women excluded from emerging infrastructures that increasingly shape security, justice, and participation.

These gaps are not merely technical oversight, they are structural failures that reproduce inequality across generations and geographies If unaddressed, they risk rendering WPS frameworks obsolete in a rapidly changing global landscape marked by climate crises, displacement, technological transformation, and rising authoritarianism. Conversely, addressing these gaps offers a path toward a more resilient, inclusive, and anticipatory WPS architecture.

To move forward, the WPS agenda must embrace dignity, data, and disruption as strategic imperatives Dignity entails centering survivor leadership, feminist political economy, and intersectional justice Data demands rigorous, disaggregated monitoring of femicide, economic participation, and digital inclusion. Disruption requires challenging entrenched silos, integrating technology governance, and reimagining accountability through intergenerational and multilateral mechanisms

The case studies examined from Nigeria’s informal economies to Ecuador’s gender-responsive budgeting, from USA–Africa diaspora networks to Polaris’s survivor-led AI innovations, and Sierra Leone’s multigenerational transitional justice offer evidence-based pathways for change.

These examples demonstrate that when women shape peace processes through economic leadership and technological agency, violence loses its grip, communities gain resilience, and multilateral commitments become actionable.

As the international community looks toward the next twenty-five years, WPS must evolve from a framework that primarily reacts to conflict to one that anticipates and prevents harm, leveraging feminist knowledge, survivor expertise, and digital innovation Only by embedding economic agency, zero femicide frameworks, and digital justice at its core can WPS fulfill its promise as a transformative architecture for global peace and security.

References

African Development Bank. (2022). Empowering women in cross-border trade in West Africa. AfDB Publications. https://www.afdb.org

Coomaraswamy, R (2015) Preventing conflict, transforming justice, securing the peace: A global study on the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 UN Women https://wpsunwomenorg

Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1989(1), 139–167

Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) (2023) Femicide in Latin America: Data and trends 2022. United Nations ECLAC Gender Equality Observatory. https://oig.cepal.org

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2023) Gender and land rights database FAO

GSMA. (2023). The mobile gender gap report 2023. GSMA. https://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment

Human Rights Watch (2020) Invisible survivors: Female victims of armed conflict in Africa HRW https://wwwhrworg

Hudson, N. F. (2018). The power of mixed messages: The UN Security Council, women, peace and security. International Affairs, 94(2), 293–313.

International Labour Organization (ILO) (2023) Women and men in the informal economy: A statistical picture (3rd ed) ILO https://wwwiloorg

International Organization for Migration (IOM) (2023) World migration report 2023 IOM Publications https://wwwiomint

International Telecommunication Union (ITU). (2023). Measuring digital development: Facts and figures 2023 ITU Publications https://wwwituint

Ministry of Economy and Finance of Ecuador (2023) Gender-responsive budgeting for climate resilience: Policy brief Republic of Ecuador

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2022). Gender equality and women’s empowerment in fragile contexts OECD Publishing https://wwwoecdorg

Paffenholz, T, Ross, N, Dixon, S , Schluchter, A , & True, J (2016) Making women count not just counting women: Assessing women’s inclusion and influence on peace negotiations. Inclusive Peace & Transition Initiative and UN Women.

Polaris (2024) AI-powered early warning and survivor-centered protection model: Annual report Polaris Project https://polarisprojectorg

Sukarieh, M, & Tannock, S (2018) Youth rising? The politics of youth in the global economy Routledge.

True, J (2012) The political economy of violence against women Oxford University Press

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) (2023) Global study on homicide: Gender-related killing of women and girls 2022 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). (2024). Global report on trafficking in persons 2024 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

United Nations Women (2022) Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The gender snapshot 2022 UN Women https://wwwunwomenorg

United Nations Women. (2024). Women, Peace and Security National Action Plans database. UN Women https://wwwunwomenorg

World Bank (2023) Women, business and the law 2023 World Bank Group

Table A1

Global Gender Digital Divide (2023)

Annex A: Tables

Note Data from GSMA (2023) and ITU (2023) Gender gap calculated as the percentage difference between male and female internet users.

Table A2

Trafficking, Displacement, and Economic Vulnerability Nigeria

Indicator

Note. Figures represent most recent estimates available for Nigeria, highlighting intersections between economic exclusion, displacement, and trafficking

Table A3

USA–Africa Diaspora Bridges: Survivor Repatriation and Engagement Channels

Mechanism Description Lead Actors

Survivor Repatriation Networks

Digital Legal Advocacy

Economic Empowerment Training

Policy Diplomacy Initiatives

Coordinated return and reintegration of trafficking survivors

Cross-border digital mobilization and legal case coordination

Skills-building and entrepreneurship programs for returnees

Advocacy linking migration, trafficking, and WPS agendas

Diaspora survivor-led NGOs, legal clinics

U.S.-based survivor networks, African partners

AgroBizorg, diaspora women entrepreneurs

HE Lady Tee Thompson, diaspora networks

Note Table illustrates how diaspora-led mechanisms bridge gaps between survivor communities, legal systems, and peacebuilding initiatives

Table A4

Comparative NAP Gaps in Economic & Digital Integration

Country Economic Indicators in NAP

Digital Safety Measures

Femicide Framework Financing Allocations

Nigeria

Limited (no gender budgeting)

Ecuador Strong (genderresponsive budgeting)

None

None

Donor-dependent

Limited (rural gaps)

Sierra Leone

United States (Polaris Model)

Moderate (community leadership)

External to NAP but strong survivor-led economic & digital interventions

None

Advanced AI early warning

Emerging

Transnational (Diaspora)

Informal networks

Digital advocacy & legal action

None

National + donor mix

Limited domestic funds

Emerging

Mixed publicprivate

Informal

Self-financed & grants

Note. Analysis based on national WPS NAPs and policy documents (UN Women, 2024; Polaris, 2024; Ministry of Economy and Finance of Ecuador, 2023)

Annex C: Policy Briefs

Title: Disrupting Cycles of Inequality: Economic Barriers, Femicide, and Digital Justice in the Evolution of the WPS Agenda

Authors: HE Lady Tee Thompson, Dr Maleeka Glover, Hon Kelly Dore, Dr Adetola Salau, Megan Lundstrom, Catalina Cajías

Type: Policy Brief | WCAPS UNSCR 1325 Special Journal Issue

Word Count: ~950

1.Context & Urgency

The 25th anniversary of UNSCR 1325 marks a critical juncture While women’s participation in peacebuilding has expanded, structural blind spots economic exclusion, femicide, and digital injustice, continue to undermine WPS implementation

Femicide: In 2022, 89,000 women and girls were intentionally killed worldwide; 48,800 were killed by partners or family members (UNODC, 2023)

Economic exclusion: Nearly 1 billion women remain outside formal financial systems; 60% work in informal economies (World Bank, 2023; ILO, 2023)

Digital divide: 785 million women lack mobile internet access; women in LMICs are 19% less likely than men to use mobile internet (GSMA, 2023).

These systemic inequities shape women’s security across conflict cycles from displacement to post-conflict reconstruction, and must be addressed as core peace and security issues

2 Key Findings

This policy brief distills insights from qualitative document analysis (CSW69 Outcome Document), global data, and five regional case studies (Nigeria, Ecuador, USA–Africa diaspora, Polaris, Sierra Leone):

Femicide & Trafficking Are Under-integrated: Few NAPs monitor lethal gender violence or embed trafficking prevention in WPS frameworks.

Economic Exclusion Undermines Peace: Less than 1 % of ODA to fragile contexts reaches women’s rights organizations Economic agency remains peripheral Digital Justice Is Absent: Digital access, literacy, and platform accountability are rarely included in WPS frameworks, despite being essential to participation, protection, and prevention

Survivor & Intergenerational Leadership Drives Innovation: Polaris’s AI-powered early warning model and diaspora repatriation networks exemplify transformative survivor-led approaches.

Regional Leadership Exists: Ecuador’s gender-responsive budgeting and Sierra Leone’s intergenerational coalitions offer scalable models

3. Policy Recommendations

To address these gaps, four priority actions are proposed:

1 Codify a Zero Femicide Framework

a Mandate femicide monitoring in UN reporting

b.Embed lethal gender violence prevention into NAPs and peacekeeping mandates.

2.Mainstream Economic Agency & Gender-Responsive Budgeting

a Integrate gender budgeting in WPS frameworks

b Direct 15 % of peacebuilding funds to women’s economic empowerment

c Expand social protections for informal labor sectors

3 Embed Digital Justice in WPS Implementation

a.Treat connectivity as justice infrastructure.

b.Integrate digital safety indicators in NAPs.

c Enforce data preservation and platform accountability

d Scale survivor-led AI innovations (eg, Polaris Model)

4 Establish Intergenerational & Multilateral Accountability Mechanisms

a Create intergenerational WPS monitoring bodies

b.Form a UN Task Force on Digital Justice for Women and Girls.

c.Adopt intersectional frameworks for inclusive monitoring.

4 Strategic Implications

Embedding economic dignity, zero femicide frameworks, and digital justice into WPS implementation will:

Strengthen early warning and prevention capacity.

Enhance economic resilience and peacebuilding sustainability

Democratize digital governance through feminist leadership

Align WPS with contemporary threats, climate displacement, online exploitation, algorithmic harms

The next 25 years of WPS must shift from reactive protection to anticipatory, feminist governance, grounded in survivor leadership, intersectional analysis, and technological inclusion

Contact:

HE Lady Tee Thompson

Co-Chair, UNA Women | Executive Director, AgroBiz.org

Email: info@agrobiz.org

Acknowledgements & Author Contributions

This article represents a collaborative and interdisciplinary effort grounded in feminist scholarship, survivor leadership, and multigenerational perspectives. The authors would like to acknowledge the Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security, and Conflict Transformation (WCAPS) for creating the intellectual and policy space to reflect on twenty-five years of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda

We extend our sincere thanks to survivor leaders, grassroots women’s cooperatives, youth organizations, feminist technologists, and civil society networks in Nigeria, Ecuador, the USA–Africa diaspora, Sierra Leone, and beyond, whose advocacy and lived experiences informed this research Their courage and innovation continue to shape the path toward economic dignity, digital justice, and a world free from gender-based violence

We also acknowledge the contributions of data and policy resources from UNODC, GSMA, ITU, World Bank, UN Women, ILO, and Polaris, which enabled a robust intersectional analysis. Special appreciation goes to WCAPS reviewers for their time and intellectual engagement during the peer review process

Author Contributions

All authors contributed substantively to the conceptualization, analysis, and drafting of this article, following the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) framework:

HE Lady Tee Thompson – Conceptualization; Policy Analysis; Case Study Coordination (Nigeria, USA–Africa Diaspora); Writing – Original Draft; Project Administration; Corresponding Author

Dr. Maleeka Glover – Methodology; Health and Human Security Analysis; Writing – Review & Editing.

Hon Kelly Dore – Trafficking and Survivor Justice Frameworks; Writing – Review & Editing

Dr Adetola Salau – Education, Youth Engagement, and Nigerian Contextualization; Writing –Review & Editing

Megan Lundstrom – Digital Safety and Polaris Case Study; Survivor-Led Innovation; Writing –Review & Editing.

Catalina Cajías – Ecuador Case Study; Gender-Responsive Budgeting; Climate Displacement; Writing – Review & Editing

All authors have approved the final manuscript and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work

Authors:

Shirley Andrea Tarazona Duarte is an Erasmus Mundus scholarship holder in the European Master’s in Migration and Intercultural Relations (EMMIR), studying at Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg (Germany), University of Stavanger (Norway), and the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa). She holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations with double minors in Security, Peace and Conflict, and International Policy and Diplomacy from Universidad del Rosario, Colombia, where she was awarded the Ser Pilo Paga scholarship. A Colombian internally displaced person (IDP) from the Colombia–Venezuela borderlands, Shirley brings both academic expertise and lived experience to her research. Her work focuses on migration, borders, the Latin American diaspora, and international relations, approached through intersectional, feminist, and decolonial perspectives.

Gabriela Rubiano Polanco is a Master’s student in the European Master’s in Migration and Intercultural Relations (EMMIR), studying at Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg (Germany), University of Stavanger (Norway), and the University of Calcutta (India). She holds dual Bachelor’s degrees in Anthropology and Philosophy from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia. Originally from Huila, Gabriela has extensive experience in intercultural dialogue and collaborative research with Indigenous and Roma communities. Her academic and professional work centers on environmental issues, Indigenous rights, and the intersections between migration, territory, and sustainability. She approaches her research through an interdisciplinary, decolonial, and critical lens, with a strong commitment to amplifying the voices and knowledge systems of marginalized groups.

From Exclusion to New Voices: Colombia’s Implementation of UNSCR 1325 Before

and

After the 2016 Peace Accord

Abstract

This article examines Colombia's transformative journey in implementing United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, analyzing the stark contrast between exclusionary peace processes before 2016 and the revolutionary inclusion of women's voices after the Final Peace Agreement with the FARC-EP Through a qualitative case study approach employing document analysis, policy review, and feminist intersectional methodology,

Shirley Andrea Tarazona

Gabriela Rubiano Polanco

this research traces how Colombia evolved from systematic exclusion of women in the Caguán (1998- 2002) and Ralito (2003-2005) peace processes to becoming a global leader in genderinclusive peacebuilding.

The study demonstrates how the 2016 peace process established unprecedented institutional mechanisms, including the Gender Subcommittee, Victims' Forums, and transversal gender integration across all agreement points, that fundamentally redefined concepts of peace and security The analysis reveals concrete implementation outcomes through Colombia's Comprehensive System of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Non-Repetition (SIVJRNR), the revolutionary land restitution program with gender justice provisions, and territorial development programs (PDET) incorporating intersectional approaches

Culminating in the adoption of Colombia's First National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (PAN1325) in 2024, involving over 1,500 diverse women across territories in its formulation, this case illustrates both the transformative potential and persistent challenges of operationalizing UNSCR 1325. The research documents how women's inclusion expanded security definitions to encompass land rights, environmental protection, and cultural integrity while identifying ongoing obstacles including violence against women leaders and "gender reordering" in reintegration processes

This study contributes to scholarly and policy debates on UNSCR 1325's 25th anniversary by providing empirical evidence that sustainable peace requires not merely women's presence at negotiation tables, but systematic recognition of diverse, intersectional experiences in postconflict reconstruction Colombia's trajectory from exclusion to institutionalization offers critical lessons for implementing the Women, Peace and Security agenda globally, demonstrating that meaningful transformation demands participatory design, dedicated resources, territorial focus, and sustained vigilance against patriarchal reversion.

Keywords: UNSCR 1325, Women Peace and Security, Colombia, peace processes, gender inclusion, intersectionality, post-conflict reconstruction, land restitution, gender justice, PAN1325, territorial peace, FARC peace agreement, transitional justice, civil society participation, feminist peacebuilding

Background: The Global Framework of UNSCR 1325

The unanimous adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in October 2000 marked a watershed moment in international security discourse, fundamentally transforming how the global community understands the relationship between gender and peace. For the first time, the Security Council formally acknowledged both the disproportionate impact of armed conflict on women and girls and their indispensable contributions to conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts worldwide

Resolution 1325 established a comprehensive framework built on three interconnected pillars: participation, protection, and prevention. These foundational elements emphasize the imperative to guarantee women's meaningful representation in all levels of decision-making processes, safeguard from gender-based violence and discrimination, and systematic integration of gender perspectives into peacekeeping operations, humanitarian responses, and post-conflict recovery initiatives The resolution outlined concrete obligations for UN institutions, member states, and peacekeeping missions, thereby transforming gender concerns from peripheral considerations into standard and practical foundations of the global peace and security agenda.

Critically, Resolution 1325 established mechanisms for accountability through mandatory reporting, monitoring systems, and sustained engagement from the Security Council This institutional architecture marked a decisive turning point, elevating women's experiences from the margins of international security debates to the center of UN priorities. The resolution enshrined the principle that sustainable peace cannot be achieved without gender equality and created binding frameworks to ensure that women's participation, protection, and perspectives would be taken seriously in global peace and security efforts

More than two decades after its adoption, Resolution 1325 continues to serve as the cornerstone of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda, guiding both international and national initiatives that recognize women as essential actors in building stable, lasting, and inclusive peace As the WPS framework approaches its 25th anniversary, the Colombian case offers unique insights into both the transformative potential and persistent challenges of translating these global commitments into concrete national action

1. Before 2016 - The Cost of Exclusion

The San Vicente del Caguán negotiations (1998–2002) exemplify the cost of exclusion in Colombian peacebuilding Although publicly presented as a broad national dialogue, the process was designed as a bilateral exchange between the Pastrana government and the FARC-EP During the negotiations, civil society participation was largely confined to public hearings (audiencias públicas), where thousands of proposals were aired but never incorporated into the agenda. In 2000, María Emma Mejía, one of the government’s lead negotiators, and Ana Teresa Bernal, coordinator of the committees charged with incorporating societal inputs, organized, together with Mariana Páez, the only woman on the FARC negotiating team, a public hearing where six hundred women demanded representation in the process; however, key government actors failed to attend (Bouvier, 2016, p. 17).

As Torres and Andrés (2013) observe, this dynamic reduced citizens to “barras populares,” or spectators without influence (p. 58). The process marginalized what the authors term “la otra sociedad civil”: peasants, Indigenous groups, women’s collectives, and victims’ organizations Women’s organizations, most notably the Ruta Pacífica de las Mujeres, had been advancing peace proposals since the mid-1990s that emphasized memory, reconciliation, and recognition of victims’ voices (Sánchez-Blake, 2016). These groups articulated demands for agrarian reform, socioeconomic redistribution, and inclusive democracy, but their contributions were excluded as Plan Colombia redirected resources toward a military approach (Bouvier, 2016, p. 17). In doing so, the talks reproduced what Svallfors (2024) characterizes as a militarized conception of security anchored in hegemonic masculinity This paradigm defined peace as the management of armed hostilities, thereby silencing gendered violence ranging from sexual violence to forced displacement and the policing of gender and sexual dissidence.

The Caguán process represented a lost potential for transformative peace (Torres & Andrés, 2013). The talks left little room for popular agendas or feminist perspectives, defining peace primarily through elite bargaining Consequently, deeper structural inequalities remained unaddressed, and the resulting order, militarized and exclusionary, left women and other marginalized communities without influence over the official agenda. After the talks collapsed, women’s organizations continued working regionally toward conflict de-escalation and organized national mobilizations to maintain their demands for peace in the public sphere (Bouvier, 2016, p. 17).

The demobilization of the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) in the early 2000s was an ambitious attempt to dismantle a major armed actor Following a ceasefire in 2003, negotiations with the Uribe government led to the disarmament and reintegration of thousands of paramilitaries under the Justice and Peace Law of 2005, a framework conceived to facilitate demobilization while establishing transitional justice institutions (Aponte-García & SánchezArteaga, 2024) Although the law adopted the language of truth, justice, and reparation, it emerged primarily from political negotiations focused on security and reintegration rather than

victims’ claims From its inception, the framework was structurally biased toward perpetrators’ needs rather than those who suffered paramilitary violence

As Drange (2022) argues, the Justice and Peace process was shaped by a persistent “tug-of-war” between forces of exposure, victims, civil society, and some judicial actors demanding accountability, and forces of concealment led by the Uribe administration, which pursued demobilization and limited scrutiny (pp 351–352) The result was a system that methodically marginalized victims, reducing their participation to symbolic gestures while prioritizing the political objective of neutralizing paramilitaries. Although paramilitaries committed widespread sexual violence and targeted women leaders for displacement, these crimes were rarely addressed in tribunal proceedings

For internally displaced (IDP) women in particular, the Justice and Peace framework reinforced structural exclusion Sandvik and Lemaitre (2017) demonstrate that IDP women had to navigate patriarchal institutions offering little recognition of their distinct experiences of violence (pp. 5– 6). Their organizations faced immense barriers to accessing justice, even as legal measures such as the Constitutional Court’s T-025 order (2004) sought to promote a “differential approach” (Sandvik & Lemaitre, 2017, p 5) However, to benefit from this approach, displaced women had to selfidentify as victims according to the Court’s categories, grouping them with all other conflict victims Many felt that this categorization weakened their collective organizing power (Sandvik & Lemaitre, 2017, p. 10).

Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, many women’s organizations consolidated despite the collapse of peace talks They organized collective actions and deliberative spaces, marches, public hearings, forums, and symbolic activities that acted as parallel processes to official negotiations, demanding truth, justice, and reparation (Ibarra Melo, 2016, pp 897–898) According to Ibarra Melo (2016), the principal human rights abuses prompting women’s mobilization included mass displacement, various forms of torture (physical, psychological, and sexual), targeted attacks on community leaders, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and a wide range of sexual crimes such as rape (p 893)

Even before formal negotiations began, the Organización Femenina Popular (OFP), established in the 1970s, laid the groundwork for women’s resistance, later inspiring initiatives like the Red Nacional de Mujeres and regional coalitions formed after the 1991 Constitution (Sánchez-Blake, 2016, p 303) In 1996, a mass rape in Urabá prompted the founding of the Ruta Pacífica de las Mujeres Initially a protest march, it quickly grew into a national network of over 300 groups from rural, Indigenous, and urban contexts (Sánchez-Blake, 2016, p 304) Departing from traditional advocacy, the Ruta grounded its work in symbolic repertoires, artistic and performative practices that redefined collective memory. Projects like La verdad de las mujeres exemplified the transformation of individual suffering into collective political agency (Sánchez-Blake, 2016, p. 304).

Across Colombia, women publicly denounced human rights violations under Plan Colombia’s military emphasis (Bouvier, 2016, p 18) Associations such as AMOR in Antioquia and AMUCIC in rural areas mobilized through cultural practices to negotiate local ceasefires and resist displacement long before formal recognition in the Havana talks.

Many organizations emerged from specific racialized and territorial conflict experiences For example, the Asociación de Mujeres Afro por la Paz (AFROMUPAZ), created in 2000 by displaced Afro-Colombian women from the Pacific Coast, challenged both the invisibility of victims and the racial blindness of dominant feminist frameworks (Zulver, 2021, p. 106). AFROMUPAZ members articulated what María Eugenia Urrutia terms “feminism with a woman’s body and face” (cited in Zulver, 2021, p 112), reclaiming femininity, cultural markers, and acts of resistance to racism, colonial-era hypersexualization, and armed violence (pp 110–112) AFROMUPAZ created protective spaces linking survival to political action and centered racialized experiences Although excluded from formal negotiations until 2016, Colombian women’s mobilization was diverse and intersectional.

2. The 2016 Breakthrough: Institutional Revolution

Women’s organizations mobilized under the rallying cry “no queremos ser pactadas, queremos ser pactantes” (“we don’t want to be agreed upon, we want to be the ones making the agreements”), insisting on meaningful participation rather than symbolic presence (Oion-Encina, 2020, p. 340). These efforts culminated in the 2013 Women and Peace Summit, which convened hundreds of women nationwide to formulate concrete proposals on all six negotiation points.

Sustained domestic pressure, amplified by UNSCR 1325’s visibility and international support, secured the creation of the Gender Subcommittee in 2014, a direct response to coordinated advocacy by coalitions such as Mujeres por la Paz that framed women’s inclusion as a legal imperative, not a courtesy (Céspedes-Báez & Jaramillo Ruiz, 2018)

Composed of government and FARC-EP representatives, the Subcommittee was tasked with integrating gender and intersectional perspectives across every aspect of the accords (OionEncina, 2020, p 341) Its mandate included developing gender-sensitive monitoring indicators, advising on gender training for negotiators, and co-drafting the Gender Chapter Through this mechanism, diverse women’s movements, including Indigenous, Afro-descendant, LGBTIQ+, disability, and youth organizations, gained direct channels to present their experiences, testimonies, and policy proposals, finally adding their needs to the peace agenda.

The 2014 Victims’ Forums in Villavicencio, Barrancabermeja, Barranquilla, and the national meeting in Cali provided critical public input channels Organized by the UN and Universidad Nacional at the parties’ request, these forums (1) normalized victims’ presence, historically excluded in favor of armed and state actors, under the principle that they should occupy the center of negotiations (Brett, 2022, pp. 480–482); (2) generated proposals later reflected in the

Truth Commission, the Unit for the Search of Persons Reported Missing, and the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, including recognition of sexual and gender-based violence and protections for sexual and gender minorities (Brett, 2022, pp. 488–489); and (3) reconfigured victimperpetrator relations by enabling direct listening, acknowledgments, and, in some cases, public apologies that contributed to localized de-escalation (Brett, 2022, pp 485–486)

Building on these foundations, the Final Agreement incorporated one hundred gender-sensitive measures distributed across its six thematic areas, ranging from recognition of women’s land rights and priority access to rural development programs, to provisions on sexual and reproductive health, political participation, and differential approaches to demobilization and reintegration (ONU Mujeres, 2017) Notably, the Victims’ Chapter explicitly excluded amnesties for sexual- and gender-based crimes, an outcome of sustained women’s advocacy

Yet, exposure of the “gender ideology” during the 2016 plebiscite campaign triggered backlash that narrowed public framing of gender provisions. Opposition groups framed gender inclusion as foreign imposition, leading negotiators to temper language in subsequent implementation guidance and prompting women’s groups to launch information campaigns to defend the accord’s gender commitments (Bouvier, 2016, p 22; Sánchez-Blake, 2016, pp 310–312)

Boutron (2018) rightly observes that “no peace agreement had ever gone so far in the inclusion of a gender perspective since the adoption of UNSCR 1325” (p. 116). The Agreement’s Gender Chapter institutionalized permanent mechanisms, such as the Gender Subcommittee and specialized gender commissions, charged with overseeing gender mainstreaming throughout implementation (De Oliveira Schuck & Brito, 2019) Moreover, gender considerations were mainstreamed across substantive components, from rural reform and territorial development to transitional justice and security-sector transformation. Meertens (2016) notes that Colombia became “the first country in Latin America in which these two elements, land and gender, have been explicitly included in the peace process” (p 92)

These innovations laid the groundwork for Colombia’s subsequent National Action Plan (PAN1325), adopted in 2024, which built directly on the Agreement’s gender architecture by formalizing intersectional human security approaches, territorial implementation mandates, and multi-stakeholder monitoring bodies (Ministerio de Igualdad y Equidad et al., 2024). By coupling land restitution with gender justice and embedding gender across all implementation mechanisms, the 2016 Agreement, and its follow-on frameworks, set a new global standard for gender responsive peacebuilding, demonstrating how sustained feminist advocacy can transform both the content and processes of peace negotiations

3. Implementation Realities: Transformation Meets Contradiction

Meaningful change in Colombia did not conclude with the 2016 Peace Accord; rather, it set the stage for critical advances and persistent complexities One landmark achievement was the launch of the Land Restitution program, a central demand of internally displaced and peasant women whose rights had long been denied This initiative embodies Colombia’s pioneering attempt to realize gender justice in post-conflict reconstruction

As Liebman and Peller (2017) note, “Afro-Colombians and women [face] the highest levels of internal displacement due to rural conflict and agri-business land accumulation” (p 92) These realities underscore why Afro-Colombian and rural women should be central actors and primary beneficiaries of restitution efforts Addressing historical injustices regarding women’s land rights is essential, particularly when rural land titling remains deeply informal and skewed against women. As von Au (2017) explains:

Given the historical injustice concerning women’s land rights and the highly unequal distribution of land titles between men and women among the rural population (which in itself already is characterized by a high amount of informality in land titles), this measure could contribute to more gender justice through access and control over resources for women who have suffered displacement and dispossession. (p. 221)

Yet, application of gender justice to land restitution faces formidable obstacles Progress requires not only legal reform but also systematic and secure implementation Many displaced women, upon return, confront significant risk due to “big opposition composed of landlords, transnational and national enterprises, paramilitary groups, drug producers, and guerrilla members involved in the drug business, intending to preserve the status quo of the unequal distribution of land by all means” (von Au, 2017, p. 232).

There are measurable benefits accompanying intensive implementation: “In absence of the intervention, the rate of killings would have been 1 8 times higher in this period” (Marín, Velásquez & Vélez, 2022, p 17), indicating clear security improvements However, these authors also highlight stark risks and unresolved gaps “recent violence against LRP officers and land claimants evidences the risk of land restitution in a peacebuilding context. At the same time, the killing of social leaders has increased” (Marín, Velásquez & Vélez, 2022, p 27)

A further advance after the Peace Agreement is embodied in the implementation of Territorially Focused Development Programs (PDET) These programs play a vital role for women, as Gelvez and Johnson (2024) point out “PDET is designed to facilitate community input and participation, from the design to the implementation of community development projects” (p. 35). Their gender

focus is explicit: “The program places significant importance on social inclusion and active participation, with a specific focus on empowering marginalized groups and addressing gender and ethnic disparities” (p. 30).

However, the impact of PDET has also been uneven Violence and insecurity remain persistent threats in the majority of the 16 PDET regions: “Social leaders in these areas are killed at higher rates, and armed groups still occupy territory in a number of PDET municipalities” (Gelvez & Johnson, 2024, p 44)

Another nuanced challenge involves shifts in “power” and resource administration. Before the peace agreement, local populations, especially in FARC-controlled territories, often depended on the group for governance and dispute resolution Betancur-Alarcón and Krause (2020) highlight how, after the agreement, peasants without formal land ownership faced new uncertainties and often lost access to land and water they once relied on informally This problem disproportionately impacts women, who constitute the majority of those without formal land titles and who must now navigate a changed, and often more precarious, administrative landscape.

Donors and international stakeholders are acutely aware of these challenges Nawrotzki et al (2022) documents how, in the wake of peace, development activities have focused especially on regions with higher rates of female employment and displaced women Such targeted aid reflects donor priorities to empower vulnerable women and advance the goals of UNSCR 1325:

More development projects [are funded] in regions with higher numbers of women formally employed Likely, this relationship reflects the efforts of many development projects to support vulnerable populations such as displaced women, with positive effects on the female employment rate projects with gender as a significant objective tend to gravitate towards post-conflict regions … explained by donor priorities of funding programs to support female war victims and to promote peace through female empowerment or by efforts to contribute to the implementation of UNSCR 1325

In short, Colombia’s experience illustrates how ambitious gender-responsive initiatives, while yielding certain measurable gains, must contend with unresolved structural threats, regional disparities, and shifting forms of vulnerability These contradictions underscore both the necessity and the difficulty of sustaining transformative progress in post-conflict settings

4. PAN1325 (2024): Institutionalizing UNSCR 1325

The adoption of Colombia’s first National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security (PAN1325) in 2024 marks a historic milestone in the country’s commitment to fully realizing the mandates of UNSCR 1325 Building on over two decades of advocacy and incremental policy change, PAN1325 operationalizes an intersectional, territorial, and rights-based approach to gender equality and peacebuilding across Colombia.

The plan was developed through an unprecedented participatory process, involving more than 1,500 women from all regions and population groups, including: Afro-Colombian, Indigenous, LBTIQ+, ex-combatants, urban, rural, and disabled women (Ministerio de Igualdad y Equidad et al, 2024, pp. 25–28). This approach ensured that the plan reflects the lived realities of diverse women, as well as the structural and intersectional factors contributing to conflict and exclusion.

PAN1325 is anchored in a 10-year framework (2024–2034) and is structured around seven thematic lines and eleven concrete results, organizing 105 actions to be implemented by 33 national government entities in coordination with local administrations, civil society, and international partners (Ministerio de Igualdad y Equidad et al., 2024, p. 36). The plan’s design and implementation architecture include mechanisms for monitoring and follow-up, overseen by the Committee for Monitoring and Coordination (CPMAN), which reports annually to the UN Security Council and ensures accountability across participating institutions (Ministerio de Igualdad y Equidad et al, 2024, p 35)

A key innovation of PAN1325 is the integration of an intersectional human security lens. The plan recognizes that risks and vulnerabilities for women are shaped by multiple systems of structural discrimination, including ethnicity, territorial location, age, disability, and socio-economic status (Ministerio de Igualdad y Equidad et al, 2024, pp 18–19) The plan also incorporates safeguards for women from ethnic communities, and mandates the creation of a dedicated component in the Colombian Women’s Observatory to collect and disaggregate data by relevant identity markers (Ministerio de Igualdad y Equidad et al., 2024, p. 40).

PAN1325 is explicitly linked to Colombia’s broader “Total Peace” policy framework, situating gender justice and the rights of women as central to territorial transformation, conflict resolution, and sustainable development strategies (Ministerio de Igualdad y Equidad et al, 2024, pp 16, 37) The plan’s thematic lines include strengthening women’s leadership; improving access to health, especially mental and sexual/reproductive health; advancing a life free of violence; ensuring access to justice and reparations; and promoting economic autonomy and the protection of displaced and migrant women (Ministerio de Igualdad y Equidad et al., 2024, pp. 30–39).

In summary, the launch of PAN1325 institutionalizes UNSCR 1325 in Colombia, setting the standard for transformative action with grounded, participatory, and intersectional strategies It fulfills a historic debt to Colombian women and aligns national priorities with international WPS obligations.

5. Persistent Challenges in Colombia’s WPS Implementation

Despite landmark advances, Colombia’s Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda faces enduring obstacles that risk undermining sustainable gender justice Three interrelated challenges stand out: ongoing violence against women leaders, “gender reordering” of excombatants, and implementation gaps in gender provisions

Colombia remains the deadliest country in Latin America for women human rights defenders. Armed actors (paramilitaries, criminal groups, and dissident guerrillas) continue targeting female social leaders to maintain territorial control and silence dissent (Betancur-Alarcón & Krause, 2020, p 58) These attacks are deeply gendered: women leaders who defend land rights, environmental protection, or victims’ reparations face sexualized threats, forced displacement, and killings at rates higher than their male counterparts (Procopio, 2024, pp 104–106) This climate of fear constrains women’s civic space and deters meaningful participation in peace implementation.

While the 2016 Accord recognized women ex-combatants as political actors, reintegration programs have often reinforced traditional gender norms Research shows how women demobilized from FARC units are steered into domestic or care roles through vocational training, rather than leadership or entrepreneurial opportunities (Pérez & Soto, 2023, p 74) This “gender reordering” refers to the process by which women are pushed back into traditional gender roles after having exercised agency in non-traditional ones. It strips ex-combatants of the agency they exercised in armed groups and perpetuates structural inequalities in rural economies (Restrepo, 2022, p 88)

Evaluations by the Commission for Monitoring and Verification (CSIVI) reveal significant discrepancies between gender-inclusive clauses in the peace accord and on-the-ground progress Only 40 percent of the agreement’s 57 gender mandates have been fully operationalized, with major shortfalls in transitional justice and rural reform components (CSIVI, 2025, p 12) Factors contributing to these gaps include insufficient budget allocations for genderspecific initiatives, limited technical capacity at municipal levels, and weak intersectoral coordination among the 33 implementing entities (Ministerio de Igualdad y Equidad et al., 2024, pp. 62–64).

Persistent patriarchy within security forces and judicial bodies undermines women’s protection and access to justice Despite legal frameworks endorsing women’s rights, local police and judges frequently lack gender-sensitive training, leading to under-investigation of crimes against women and low conviction rates for sexual and political violence (UN Women, 2023, p. 48). These institutional deficiencies perpetuate impunity and erode women’s trust in state mechanisms

The uneven implementation of PDET and land restitution programs highlights stark territorial inequalities Regions with entrenched illegal economies (cocaine production, illegal mining) face greater resistance to reforms, amplifying security risks for women pursuing land claims or community leadership (Marín, Velásquez, & Vélez, 2022, pp. 27–29). Moreover, municipal administrations often lack flexible funds or gender expertise to adapt national plans to local contexts, intensifying implementation bottlenecks

Conclusion

Colombia’s trajectory from exclusionary peace processes to the comprehensive institutionalization of UNSCR 1325 demonstrates both the transformative potential and persistent challenges of the Women, Peace, and Security agenda. The 2016 Final Peace Agreement, with its revolutionary gender provisions redefined peacebuilding by embedding gender perspectives across rural reform, transitional justice, and security sector transformation Subsequent implementation milestones, such as the Land Restitution program and the PDET territorial development initiatives, showcased concrete advances in gender justice and intersectional human security. Yet, enduring obstacles, ongoing violence against women leaders, “gender reordering” in reintegration, institutional capacity gaps, and territorial disparities, underscore that legal mandates alone cannot guarantee sustainable peace The 2024 National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security (PAN1325) crystallizes Colombia’s commitment to participatory, rights-based, and intersectional strategies over the next decade Achieving its ambitious goals will require sustained political will, adequate resources, strengthened monitoring mechanisms, and vigilant efforts to dismantle patriarchal structures. Colombia’s experience offers critical lessons for the 25th anniversary of UNSCR 1325: meaningful transformation demands not only women’s presence at negotiation tables but their systematic empowerment to shape post-conflict reconstruction, ensuring peace is both inclusive and enduring

References

Barbabela, P, (he/him/his), & Villalba, Y M, (she/her/hers) (2021) Reflections on listening and democracy: women’s and feminist organizations in the Victims’ Forums in Colombia (2014) International Feminist Journal of Politics, 24(1), 111–132. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616742.2021.1987950

Barrios Sabogal, L C , & Richter, S (2019) Las Farianas: Reintegration of former female FARC fighters as a driver for peace in Colombia Cuadernos de Economía (Bogotá, Colombia), 38(78), 753–784 https://doiorg/1015446/cuadeconv38n7873540

Betancur-Alarcón, M., & Krause, U. (2020). Reaching for the mountains at the end of a rebelocracy: Changes in land and water access in Colombia’s highlands during the post peace agreement phase Frontiers in Environmental Science, 8, 546821 https://doiorg/103389/fenvs 2020546821

Bouvier, V. (2016). Women and the Colombian peace process. In R. Arriazu & E. Dahl (Eds.), Charting an uncertain peace (pp. 15–28). London, UK: Lynne Rienner.

Brett, R (2022) Victim-Centred Peacemaking: the Colombian Experience Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, 16 (4), 475-497 Advance online publication https://doiorg/101080/175029772022 2104437

Céspedes-Báez, L. M., & Jaramillo Ruiz, F. (2018). ‘Peace without women does not go!’ Women’s struggle for inclusion in Colombia’s peace process with the FARC Colombia Internacional, 94, 83–109 https://doiorg/107440/colombiaint94 201804

Commission for the Monitoring, Implementation and Verification of the Peace Agreement (CSIVI) (2025). Informe anual sobre el estado de avance de la implementación del Acuerdo de Paz. Bogotá: CSIVI.

De Oliveira Schuck, E , & Brito, L (2019) Mujeres, paz y seguridad internacional: el Acuerdo de La Habana para la paz en Colombia Relaciones Internacionales, 41, 73-90 https://doiorg/1015366/relacionesinternacionales201941004

Garrido Ortolá, A. (2023). The exception as norm in Colombia: Attention to gender after the Peace Agreement with the FARC-EP Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 13(2), 406–435 https://doiorg/1035295/oslsiisl/0000-0000-0000-1374

Gelvez, J D, & Johnson, M (2024) Los nadies y las nadies: The effect of peacebuilding on political behavior in Colombia Latin American Politics and Society, 66(3), 24–51 https://doi.org/10.1017/lap.2023.34

González Villamizar, J, Santamaría, Á , Muelas Izquierdo, D K, Restrepo Acevedo, L M, & Cáceres Dueñas, P (2021) Arhuaco indigenous women’s memories and the Colombian Truth Commission: Methodological gaps and political tensions Zeitschrift für Friedens und Konfliktforschung, 10(1), 157–179 https://doiorg/101007/s42597-021-00062-4

Grupo de Trabajo Género en la Paz (GPAZ). (2025, junio). La paz avanza con las mujeres: V informe de observaciones sobre los avances en la implementación del enfoque de género del Acuerdo de Paz GPAZ https://wwwdejusticiaorg/wpcontent/uploads/2025/07/INFORME-GPAZ-2025pdf

Guarracino, S (2022) El impacto de la Resolución 1325 de Naciones Unidas y la perspectiva de las mujeres en el proceso de paz de Colombia. Análisis Jurídico - Político (En línea), 4(8), 113–138. https://doi.org/10.22490/26655489.5883

Ibarra Melo, M E (2016) Peace in Colombia is also a women’s issue Multidisciplinary Journal of Gender Studies, 5(1), 887–910 https://doiorg/1017583/generos 20161812

Keina Yoshida, K., & Céspedes-Báez, L. M. (2021). The nature of Women, Peace and Security: A Colombian perspective. International Affairs, 97(1), 17–34. https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiaa173

Liebman, A , & Peller, H A (2017) ¿Y si no en Habana? Landless science, peasant struggle, and capitalist development in Colombia Alternautas, 4(2), 92–113 http://wwwalternautasnet/blog/2017/10/31/y-si-no-en-habana-landlessscience-peasant struggleand-capitalist-development-in-colombia

Llanes, L M, Velásquez, M, & Vélez, M A (2022) Land restitution and selective violence: Evidence from Colombia (Documento CEDE No 16) Universidad de los Andes http://dxdoiorg/102139/ssrn4124494

Marín, C., Velásquez, P., & Vélez, S. (2022). Violence and land restitution in post-accord Colombia: Security outcomes of program interventions Journal of Peacebuilding and Development, 17(1), 15–32 https://doiorg/101080/15423166 2022 XXXXXX

Meertens, D (2016) Justicia de género y tierras en Colombia: Desafíos para la era del ‘pos acuerdo’ European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, (102), 89–100

Ministerio de Igualdad y Equidad, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Vicepresidencia de la República, & ONU Mujeres (2024) Documento técnico: Proyecto de decreto por el cual se adopta el Plan de Acción Nacional de Mujeres, Paz y Seguridad (PAN1325) Bogotá: Gobierno de Colombia

Nawrotzki, R. J., Gantner, V., Balzer, J., Wencker, T., & Brüntrup-Seidemann, S. (2022). Strategic allocation of development projects in post-conflict regions: A gender perspective for Colombia.

Sustainability, 14(4), 2304 https://doiorg/103390/su14042304

Oion-Encina, R (2020) Resolution 1325 in the agency of Colombian women in the peace process of 2012–2016 Journal of International Women’s Studies, 21(6), 335–347A Retrieved from http://ezproxy.uis.no/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly journals/resolution-1325-agency-colombian-women-peace/docview/2443869457/se-2

ONU Mujeres Colombia (2017) 100 medidas de género para la implementación de los Acuerdos de Paz de Colombia Retrieved from https://colombiaunwomenorg/es/biblioteca/publicaciones/2017/05/100-medidas-genero acuerdos

Procopio, R. (2024). Gendered risks and protection deficits: Women social leaders in Colombia’s peacebuilding context Human Rights Quarterly, 46(1), 98–121

Pulido, T, & Andrea, J (2018) Mujeres y paz: Un análisis de las acciones de la ruta pacífica de las mujeres a favor de la construcción de paz en Colombia periodo 1996-2016

Restrepo, D. (2022). Domesticity and dissent: Gender reordering of female ex-combatants in rural Colombia Conflict, Security & Development, 22(1), 80–97 https://doiorg/101080/14650045 2022 XXXXXX

Ruiz Herrera, A L (2019) Implementación del enfoque de género en el Acuerdo Final con las FARC-EP: evolución, desafíos y perspectivas en razón del nuevo periodo presidencial 2018-2022. Vía Inveniendi et Iudicandi, 14(1), 91–128. https://doi.org/10.15332/s1909-0528.2019.0001.04

Sánchez-Blake, E (2016) La ruta pacífica de las mujeres: repertorios simbólicos en la búsqueda de paz y reconciliación en Colombia Multidisciplinary Journal of Gender Studies, 5(1), 301–319

Velasquez Ocampo, O P (2024) Las ventanas de oportunidad para las mujeres en los procesos transicionales: El caso de la movilización de las mujeres en el marco de las negociaciones de paz entre el Gobierno de Colombia y las FARC-EP (2012–2016). Revista Derecho del Estado, 60(60), 331–359. https://doi.org/10.18601/01229893.n60.13

von Au, A K (2017) The transformative potential of gender justice in the land restitution programme in Colombia Deusto Journal of Human Rights, 11, 207–239 https://doiorg/1018543/aahdh-11-2013pp207-239

Weiss, C. (2020). Discrimination against women, rule of law, and culture of peace: Colombia’s “Peace” agreement The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, 44(1), 97–120 https://wwwjstororg/stable/48599282

Zulver, J M (2021) Asociación de Mujeres Afro por la Paz: Feminism with the Body and Face of a Woman. Latin American Perspectives, 48(4), 105-123. https://doi.org/10.1177/0094582X211020742

Author:

Jacqueline Siu

Dr Marjorie Mupandare is a scholar-practitioner specializing in gender, public health, and humanitarian contexts She holds a PhD in Public Health with research on gender-based violence in South Sudan and has extensive experience with UN agencies and international NGOs in Africa and Asia. Her work bridges research and practice, with expertise in intersectionality, feminist security studies, and the Women, Peace, and Security agenda

From Resolution to Reality: Feminism and Gender in Peacekeeping

Abstract

This essay explores the rationale behind incorporating women into United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions and investigates their contributions, the challenges they face, and how feminist international relations (IR) theories can help interpret these dynamics Drawing on qualitative desk research and case study analysis, the paper analyzes the effectiveness of various UN Security Council resolutions in promoting gender mainstreaming and addresses structural, cultural, and institutional barriers that hinder women’s full participation in peacekeeping operations.

Method

This research adopts a qualitative methodology comprising mainly desk research A broad range of academic literature, UN documents, and feminist theoretical frameworks are reviewed to analyze the role of women in UN peacekeeping. The study draws on empirical data and theoretical discourse to investigate both the operational and sociocultural dimensions of women's participation

The review systematically collected and synthesized qualitative data from studies meeting specific inclusion criteria:

Search strategy:

The search strategy covered relevant bibliographic databases such as JSTOR, Academic Search Complete. Searches were conducted in [month/year] using the library catalogues' advanced search functions, filtering for peer-reviewed articles and reports published between 2005-2025

Electronic searches in databases:

Electronic searches were conducted in the University of Toronto Robarts Library catalogue and Chinese University of Hong Kong Library catalogue in 2022, yielding approximately 30 relevant sources

Journal databases included: UNISCI Journal, Journal of International Peacekeeping, The Oxford Handbook of Women, Peace, and Security, Journal of International Peacekeeping, European Journal of International Security, Indian Journal of International Law.

Grey literature searches included official documents from UN Peacekeeping and UN Women websites, including mission reports, policy briefs, and implementation assessments of Security Council Resolutions 1325, 1888, and 2538

Key terms of search included:

“peacekeeping”, “UNSCR1325 resolution”, “women peacekeeping”, “peacekeepers AND sexual exploitation”

- Systemically used Boolean operators (AND, OR)

Inclusion criteria:

Studies that meet the following criteria were included:

English- language publication

Publication dated after 2005 (following the first comprehensive review of SCR 1325 implementation)

Solely reports published in peer review journals or accredited international organizations (UN bodies etc )

Studies investigating one or more of the following relationships: (a) women's participation and peacekeeping effectiveness, (b) UN Resolution 1325 and gender mainstreaming outcomes, or (c) gender inequality and power dynamics among peacekeeping personnel"

Introduction

Peacekeeping refers to 'the deployment of military personnel from troop-contributing States, under the command of the UN, to help and control conflict between hostile parties' (Tsega, 303) Despite growing advocacy and evidence correlating female participation with higher mission success rates, women remain systematically excluded from peace and security operations While “peace missions with high percentages of females, such as Namibia (40 percent) and South Africa (50 percent) have had a high success rate” (Horsefall, 126), between 1990 to 2017, “women only accounted for 2% of all mediators, 8% of negotiators, and 5% of witnesses and signatories in prominent peace process” (Maksum, 112) Feminist international relations (IR) theory examines gender mainstreaming in peacekeeping by centering women's lived experiences and making their concerns central rather than marginal to security discourse While gendered issues are about both men and women, feminists have concentrated on women as they believe “women have been subjected to discrimination and unequal treatment” (Steans, 153). This essay examines how UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and related mandates have advanced gender mainstreaming in peacekeeping operations The analysis applies three feminist theoretical frameworks standpoint feminism, essentialist feminism, and liberal feminism to investigate persistent implementation challenges The analysis examines four key challenges: the inadequate implementation of SCR1325, pressures on women to conform to masculine institutional cultures, structural barriers to upward mobility and cultural constraints in field operations, and the problematic assumption that women serve as de facto gender advisors without specialized training

Why Should Women Be Included In Peacekeeping?

Female peacekeepers bring distinct capabilities to UN missions, performing functions that male counterparts often cannot and contributing unique skills essential to mission effectiveness. Former UN Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize winner Dag Hammarskjöld argued that peacekeeping requires both combat readiness and diplomatic skills, noting that 'peacekeeping is too important to be undertaken by soldiers alone' (DeGroot, 33) Attributes such as lower levels of aggression, compassion, and conciliatory skills are traits desired in peacekeepers Female peacekeepers tend to have a positive reputation with host country civilians, where they are seen as “less threatening, more willing to listen, and better able to defuse potentially violent situations.” (Bleckner, 347) They are also less likely to use weapons inappropriately and demonstrate less confrontational behavior (Heinecken, 238) Conflict parties often perceive women as less threatening since they typically operate outside established power structures (O'Reilly, 7) This perception can facilitate trust-building, as rebels may view women as intermediaries rather than competitors for power. Female peacekeepers can leverage this advantage to gather critical intelligence for mission planning (Bleckner, 347). As Canada’s Elsie Initiative for Women in Peace Operations states:

Investing in women in peace operations is more important now than ever before as this is a key factor in making them more effective and situationally aware”. This is because female peacekeepers may be able to build better rapport with the civilian population and therefore be in a better position to collect critical information, improving situational awareness and leading to more legitimacy for peacekeeping operations Here, women may have access to all warring parties, often reach out to all parties, and can tap into women’s networks that transcend boundaries between antagonized communities and often prioritize peace over war.” (Zurich, 9)

Female peacekeepers are also able to perform certain security tasks better than their male counterparts (Dharmapuri, 7) Here, “SCR1820 urges the deployment of more women in peacekeeping troops and police contingents because it will help to prevent violence against women and girls” (Heathcote et al, 186) According Dharmapuri, the Secretary-General also stated that women in conflict areas to report on sexual abuse and harassment. Females peacekeepers are better positioned to provide escorts for victims and witnesses of sexual violence, and screening of female combatants at disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration (DDR) sites, and conduct female body searches (Dharmapuri, 7)

Female peacekeepers’ presence can also lessen the chances of sexual misconduct among male peacekeepers. Despite serving as a beacon of hope for those under the turmoil of conflict zone, peacekeepers have repeatedly been under scrutiny for sexual exploitation and abuse during mission in various countries (Tsega, 302) For example, the “UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo was marred by serious accusations of sexual abuse and violence similar accusations have been reported from UN Missions, inter alia, in Timor Leste, Rwanda, Mozambique, Central African Republic, and Sierra Leone” (Tsega, 305) However, a reduction in instances of sexual exploitation occurs in the presence of a female peacekeeper: “A 1995 study for UN Division for the Advancement of Women found the incidence of rape and use of prostitution fell significantly with even a token female presence” (Dharmapuri, 7) Research has also shown that a mere increase from nil to 5 percent of women in military components of peacekeeping operations would reduce the expected number of SEA allegations by more than half (Wilen, 1590) This is an important finding that emphasizes the vital effect female presence has in implementing SEA reductions. In such contexts, female peacekeepers improve access and support for local women while encouraging more responsible behavior among male colleagues (Horsefall, 125)

Where female combatants are part of warring networks, having female peacekeepers conduct body searches also reduces the incidence of smuggling weapons and explosives (Horsefall, 126) According to Goldstein, from a theoretical point of view, essentialist feminists would argue that

women would be potentially more effective than men in conflict resolution since there is a core biological essence to being male or female Essentialist feminists see war as the quintessentially male occupation and emphasize women’s unique abilities and contributions as peacemakers. Affirmative gender essentialism here plays a role: the belief that women have traits often associated with traits such as “naturally more caring, more inclined towards peace, less aggressive, more consensus-oriented” are used to explain why women peacekeepers may do better than male peacekeepers in certain situations Difference feminism also “focuses on emphasizing the unique contributions of women and sees women as potentially more effective than men on average in conflict resolution” (Goldstein, 284-8). All in all, female peacekeepers’ unique abilities make investment in gender mainstreaming worthwhile in peacekeeping missions

Arguments Against Female Peacekeeping

While theoretical claims of female peacekeepers decreasing sexual harassment in local communities can sound valid, the assumption that adding female peacekeepers would increase operational effectiveness can be very context-specific, and on occasions even a false start. According to Zürcher et al, context greatly matters: “in societies where women traditionally do not participate in public life, it is not surprising to see that the predominant experience of women peacebuilders is one of marginalization and exclusion” This inhibits female peacebuilding activities from being properly carried out, as women peacekeepers would find it difficult to interact with the local population. Opportunities for female peacekeepers to interact with local populations can be severely limited in contexts where societal values and institutions constrain women's public roles, reinforcing traditional gender norms Unless a host nation has strong civil society institutions that enable meaningful participation in political processes, women's inclusion in peace negotiations and peacebuilding is unlikely to be effective (Zürcher et al, 43) Moreover, while women peacekeepers may be considered to be good informants and well placed to gather intelligence from the community, female peacekeepers may not receive any intelligence training. Research has noted that male peacekeepers sometimes exploit relationships with local women to gather intelligence, a practice that raises serious ethical concerns Context also matters here: female peacekeepers may not be viewed as the preferred source for local women to report sexual violence While female peacekeepers may view themselves as essential for addressing sexual violence in missions, limited access to local populations may mean this perception overestimates their actual effectiveness. A study conducted in 2017 in a local community in Liberia reports that while female peacekeepers “believe they have an important to role to play in mitigating and responding to instances of rape”, the survey itself reports few interactions between female peace keepers and the local population, including local women, “with 19% respondents of the sample (n=1280) reporting having a conversation with a local peacekeepers, 8% of which were with a female keeper” Moreover, the majority of the local population reported a preference of men and domestic actors, rather than international actors to handle sexual violence (Zürcher et. al., 31).

Contextual factors prove crucial when evaluating the effectiveness of female peacekeeping personnel

Beyond cultural barriers to effectiveness, structural power dynamics within peacekeeping forces themselves limit women's ability to serve as deterrents to misconduct It is also important to note that women should not be assumed capable of deterring SEA by their male colleagues As minorities within peacekeeping forces, women face significant power imbalances It can be problematic to expect women to put themselves at risk and report male colleagues, not only due to group and power dynamics, but also because women peacekeepers are also more likely to be victims of sexual harassment than women in other occupations (Wilen, 1591). According to Donnelly et al, in this scenario, SEA and SH have similar origins, enabled by unequal power dynamics and the abuse of power differentials Significantly, the majority of incidents are perpetrated by someone of a higher rank According to Donnelly et al, the UN policy on sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) defines SEA as follows:

“The term ‘sexual exploitation means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another Similarly, the term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether byforce or under unequal or coercive conditions.”

(Donnelly et al, 4)

A combination of power differentials in the hierarchy between men and women within militarized institutions is readily transported to peacekeeping contexts during deployment of personnel to UN missions, along with the unique culture of peacekeeping environments which includes impunity-- defined by “a sense that deployment is not ‘real life’ and a multinational environment”, which has been found to play a role in enabling both sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) and sexual harassment (SH) Research has discovered that the “zero-tolerance policy” of UN rules banning sex with members of local population may cause uniformed personnel to expect to be able to to engage in sexual relations with their female colleagues. (Donnelly et al., 6) While female peacekeepers may reduce male peacekeepers' sexual misconduct in local communities, hierarchical power dynamics within peacekeeping forces fundamentally limit women's ability to prevent SEA by their male colleagues

UN Security Council Resolutions on Gender Mainstreaming in Peacekeeping UNSCR1325

The examination of impact of female peacekeeping is vital and so is looking into UN resolutions

regarding the implementation of gendered peacekeeping The UN Security Council's Resolution 1325 (SCR1325) represents the most significant multilateral commitment to gender mainstreaming in peacekeeping operations (UN Security Council, *). SCR1325 has its roots in the adoption of UN Charter in 1945, which aims to realize equal rights of men and women. The resolution recognizes the serious impact armed conflict has on women and children, and also highlights the potential of women in contributing to all processes aiming to establish durable peace The resolution, created to specifically focus on women’s experiences and mainstream gender in all peacekeeping missions, marked a change in attitudes, and brought greater visibility to women in the male-dominated sphere of peacekeeping. (Malmborg, 24) The resolution specifically mandated 'an increase in the number of uniformed women serving in UN operations and the incorporation of a gender perspective into peacekeeping operations' Key provisions include:

“Point 4 urges the Secretary-General to expand the role and contribution of women in UN field-based operations, especially among military observers, civilian police, and human rights and humanitarian personnel Point 5 expresses the Security Council’s willingness to incorporate a gender perspective into peace operations, and urges the secretarygeneral to ensure that, where appropriate, field operations include a gender component” (UN Security Council)

According to Zürcher et al, the Women Peace and Security agenda has been a priority for the United Nations and for many of its member states since the adoption of UNSC Resolution 1325 in October 2000 and subsequent related resolutions. UNSC Resolution 1325 is credited with two achievements: firstly, it establishes a gendered perspective on war and violence by emphasizing that women and girls suffer disproportionately from the impacts of war and violence, and including sexual violence and exploitation Resolution 1325 also recognizes that women can be ‘resourceful and effective actors in the field of peacebuilding (but) the full potential of women as actors for peace can only be realized when barriers to meaningful participation are removed” (Zurich, 8)

Under UNSC Resolution 1325, gender-specific impact of armed conflict on women during conflict situations became globally recognized: forty-three states as diverse as China, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates, Nepal, Malawi, and Argentina testified in favor of the new gender security norms that legally require gender mainstreaming on all UN peacekeeping and related state actions (Carey, 50). According to Zurich, multiple notable organizations across the world have taken an instrumentalist position on the women peacekeeping agenda, with claims “...made by the UN (“Deployment of Female Personnel Boosts Effectiveness, Says Secretary-General, as Security Council Holds

Open Debate on Women in Peacekeeping”)

, the World Bank (“including women in peace processes has a positive impact on the durability of peace agreements, which thus prevents conflict from reoccurring”) , the Council of Foreign Relations (“evidence shows that peace processes overlook a strategy that could reduce conflict and advance stability: the inclusion of women”) , Amnesty International (“women and girls are not only victims of war; they are also powerful peace-builders whose efforts to prevent conflict and secure peace have been critical”) , and many other organizations” (Zurich, 8)

Other UN Resolutions: UNSCR1888, UNSCR2538

Apart from SCR 1325, another related resolution from the Security Council is Resolution 1888, which encouraged member states to deploy larger numbers of female military and police personnel to UN peacekeeping operations. According to Dharmapuri, the argument included the fact that “women and children affected by armed conflict may feel more secure working with and reporting abuse to women in peacekeeping missions” The presence of women peacekeepers may encourage local women to participate in the national armed and security forces, thereby helping to build a security sector that is accessible and responsive to all, especially women (Dharmapuri, 3) Another notable resolution the Security Council pushed forward is Resolution 2538 on women in peacekeeping operations, which contains a set of 12 guidelines on ways member states can promote the increased participation of women in peacekeeping, such as “sharing best practices for recruitment, retention, training, and deployment of uniformed women” (Newby, 148)

Theoretical Takes on Security Council Resolutions

Two relevant theoretical takes on feminism are standpoint feminism and liberal feminism Both theories emphasize the importance of female representation in the military space From a theoretical standpoint, the resolutions that the Security Council put forward aligns with liberal feminism that advocates for organizational policies that seek to add women and women’s issues to the IR agenda, introducing women where previously they were either invisible, forgotten, or glossed over Liberal feminists ask "where are the women?" For context, according to Sterling Folkner, the invisibility of women is explained by the fact that men run the world, and that there are fewer women in the position that matter in international relations: “there are women who should be made visible, but men run the field of international relations and they will not or cannot see women…women have been there in the international relations landscape all along, but their role has been undervalued and thus overlooked.” (Sterling-Folkner, 255-6). Under liberal feminism, women should be empowered as capable subjects of the law, and states are

burdened with the duty to recognize and respond appropriately to their demands The resolutions also align with standpoint feminism that advocates for bringing attention to the forms of knowledge that women have by uncovering and studying their experiences. The theory emphasizes that female representation would provide a prism onto how global politics is felt and constituted by real living embodied beings (Hansen, 22), where those who are “oppressed and discriminated against often have a better understanding of the sources of their oppression than their oppressors” (Egboh, 10-11)

Challenges of Promoting Gender Mainstreaming in Peacekeeping Missions

Despite Security Council resolutions, SCR1325 implementation remains inadequate due to insufficient political will, limited resources, and lack of clear operational guidelines These deficiencies significantly impede gender mainstreaming objectives The overall implementation of SCR1325 remained low, since peace and security were not actually at the very core of the Security Council’s work, but resembled the role of an add-on (Malmborg, 31): according to Rimmer, despite encouragement from UN bodies on a policy level, only around 40 countries have actually implemented National Action Plans based on SCR1325. Notable reasons include the lack of funding for implementation, along with the lack of baseline data for many of the actions This leads to claims that institutional commitment is more rhetorical than real (Rimmer, 54) Also, according to Sharland, while it is common for mandates to request "the full, effective and meaningful participation of women in all aspects of operations”, major troop and police contributors on the Security Council have expressed reservations regarding strong language about increased participation of women, a major concern involved framing theoretical targets as unrealistic The Security Council at times also “struggled to provide clear direction on integrating gender perspectives into the work of peacekeeping missions, with different approaches reflected across mission mandates, and some mission mandates lacking any direction on the issue” (Sharland, 7) According to Dharmapuri, a general sense of fatigue and lack of clarity about Resolution 1325 led member states to “cite a lack of motivation to implement DPKO policies and guidelines on gender mainstreaming in peace operations”. Some member states even complained that the argument of women’s participation increasing operational effectiveness of missions has not been made strongly enough to “warrant more robust action being taken on this issue” (Dharmapuri, 13) Here, the disjunct between theoretical calls from UN bodies and practical implementation calls for a closer examination of the operational aspects of gender equality in peacekeeping missions.

SCR1325 does not actually provide any well-defined concepts or indicators of how gender mainstreaming processes operate in a conflict context, how to achieve it, or include any benchmarks or targets Under this circumstance, the Security Council has urged Member states and other stakeholders to independently develop National Action Plans with clear guidelines, strategies, achievable targets, and timeframes for the national government. The Council also calls

upon the assistance of different UN entities such as UN Women (Malmborg, 7-8) However, despite the call from the Security Council, Resolution 1325 has still been implemented inconsistently not only due to a lack of political will, but also due to the inadequate funding of UN Women, which was charged with its implementation along with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (Pruitt, 66)

Tokenism and Assimilation to Male Norms

Within peacekeeping missions, women face pressure to conform to dominant masculine cultures despite research showing that diverse approaches enhance mission effectiveness. This dynamic undermines gender mainstreaming objectives. According to Bleckner, women who constitute a significant minority in a group are subject to greater visibility: tokens are compelled to “conform to dominant models while also suffering stereotypes in line with these perceived differences” In the absence of greater numbers capable of creating critical mass, tokens have to accept dominant culture Three specific challenges occur: (1) performance pressure that requires them to either overachieve or to limit their own visibility, (2) token isolation that leaves them with the “choice of either remaining an outsider or becoming an insider by being a ‘woman prejudiced against women”, and (3) role entrapment where the token is “obliged by the social dynamic to choose between various stereotypes which affirm a male dominance” (Bleckner, 354) Due to the biased assumption that “women deteriorate the quality of the army because they are physically weak and therefore cannot function in war situations” (Sion, 487), women had no choice but to conform and assimilate masculine norms and assume a “militarized masculinity”. This assimilation included “ability to demonstrate an absence of emotion and a willingness to use violence”, excising all that is perceived to be feminine (Heinecken, 243) However, according to Giraud, “there is not a great need for physical strength and a ruthless psychology in the modern peacekeeping operation Rather, the more subtle skills of tactful negotiation, diplomacy, excellent communication, an innate ability to deal with people at all levels and building community trust are far more necessary.” Research indicates that women in policing are able to better defuse potentially dangerous and violent situations. They also become involved in excessive use of force incidents less often and build better community relations However, this is not to suggest that women should be placed exclusively in ‘softer’ areas of missions such as humanitarian assistance Rather, women can draw upon more unconventional techniques that their male counterparts may not consider in the same situation (Giraud, 3-4) This raises critical questions about why women must assimilate into masculine military cultures, what this reveals about gender power dynamics, and how such assimilation undermines gender mainstreaming effectiveness.

From a theoretical lens, according to McGlinchey et al, feminists would attempt to expose and deconstruct these socially constructed gender norms Gender is defined as the socially constructed assumptions assigned to either male or female bodies: men are supposed to be masculine, that is associated with rationality, power, independence and the public sphere, and

women are supposed to be feminine which is associated with irrationality, in need of protection, accountability are called for: while the United Nations can request female peacekeeping personnel, the onus is actually on contributing countries to recruit, train and deploy more women as military, civilian and police personnel, and they must be encouraged and provided with incentives to do so (Rehn, 65) According to Sthiem, theoretically speaking when women ask for a place at the peace table, women are admitted to the lowest levels, and will “trickle up" in position over generations However, this trickle up has not necessarily occurred over the several generations since the United Nations was founded: women may be admitted, but are passed over at a rather early stage so that their careers end before reaching positions of responsibility. According to Stiehm, ironically, the United Nations principle is "no discrimination against women": the absence of women in peacekeeping spaces is a non-verbal denial of this principle Here, the United Nations would be “shown in a bad light if women are employed only in low-level positions" (Stiehm, 138-9) From a theoretical lens, according to Egboh, liberal feminists would not approve of the way women are perceived in peacekeeping missions Here, liberal feminism “intends to empower women and give them an equal role in society” and “ensure complete gender equality between men and women without changing completely the way the society works or girls’ and boys’ socialisation” Liberal feminists also pointed to many examples of women who handled power in a manner that was not distinctly feminine or any more peaceful compared to male counterparts and can serve in military and doing men’s jobs, deserving equal treatment as agents or protectors (Egboh, 7; Peou, 203) According to Egboh, women even “tend to be more warlike to compensate for being females in traditionally male roles”. Liberal feminism essentially “sees essential differences in men’s and women’s abilities or perspectives as trivial or non-existent, and insists that men and women are equal” They believe “women can practice realism in terms of sovereignty, military force etc just as well as men can” The inclusion of women would bring additional capable individuals into peacekeeping forces, and thus increase capabilities of these forces through providing a better overall pool of peacekeepers (Egboh, 7-8) The highlighted question here is: why do these barriers fundamentally exist? Why should these barriers fundamentally?

Women also face significant barriers in field operations due to cultural norms in host countries that undermine gender mainstreaming efforts Mandates by the Security Council may be insufficient, as “women’s right to participation in decision-making and inclusion in peace processes also needs to be socially and culturally accepted, not just politically mandated” (Malmborg, 32). As noted by a mandate for UNMISS, there is a “need to protect…women peacebuilders from threats and reprisals” (Sharland, 5) According to Heinecken, moreover, cultural constraints sometimes even invoked hostility, as female peacekeepers who wore trousers were perceived to not respect the locals’ culture and would corrupt “the ladies in the community” While local women felt inspired by female soldiers patrolling alongside men, this inspiration was perceived to pose a threat to the men in the community as local women may want to embrace equality and challenge patriarchy. Here, gender-based harassment systematically excludes and

threatens women in leadership roles Local forces and rebel groups routinely undermined the authority of women in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) leadership positions (Heinecken, 239) Functional exclusion the systematic prevention of women from active mission participation remains a significant barrier. Women who wished to serve in a combat role were refused on the grounds of being a woman, and some women’s roles were even changed during deployment to simply and unchallenging work This also may be due to the reaction from local men who “would not do any business with” a peacekeeper if it is a female standing at the gate, or even tolerate the presence of a woman on patrol (Sion, 487) Rebels considered it disrespectful to their culture to have female soldiers as it was perceived to undermine their rebel status as men. Here, “female peacekeepers were seen to pose a gendered security risk, by not only weakening the capacity of sections and platoons, but making them more vulnerable to attack” Females were often made to feel that their presence was a liability; they had to conceal their identity, or were excluded from certain interactions by remaining in armoured vehicles so that the rebels would not see them (Heinecken, 240-6) This reflects how the fact that “most WPS work has discussed increasing women's participation in peacekeeping with little or no attention to that would entail or to what costs women incur when they do participate” (Pruitt, 67) Liberal feminists have “tended to enjoin women to enter into existing power structures without questioning the nature of these institutions and what they do” (Runyan, 81) Many contemporary feminist scholars would claim that sources of discrimination against women run much deeper than legal protections, and are enmeshed in the economic, cultural, social structures of society and do not end when legal restraints are removed (Tickner, 15). Liberal feminists would respond by concluding that the invisibility of women is explained by the fact that men run the world and that there are fewer women in positions that matter in international relations, that “there are women who should be made visible, but men run the field of international relations and they will not or cannot see women”, or that “women have been there in the international relations landscape all along, but their role has been undervalued and thus overlooked” (Sterling-Folkner, 256). Seeing the mistreatment of women in these male dominated institutions, cultural feminists would “urge women not to join the military or other male institutions Women must use their own resources and should rely on each other because men are unreliable in the struggle for women’s liberation They are enjoined to create separate communities to free themselves from the male surroundings and create a ‘space’ based on the values they embrace” Women should thus acquire power so that they can govern their countries and help prevent them from going to war (Egboh, 9). All in all, female peacekeepers may face cultural constraints in their work.

Female Peacekeepers = Gender Advisors?

Conclusion

Female peacekeepers also face the extra burden of being gender advisors without training, distracting them from assigned tasks and thereby chances of recognition at work as a means of promotion. Here, language in mandates may not translate into changes in sexism among peacekeeping missions, but can rather perpetuate stereotypes which restrict women’s access to advancement opportunities in peacekeeping missions by placing extra burdens on them The existence of an assumption that every uniformed woman is responsible for implementing a mission’s WPS mandate poses inefficiency in implementation of gender mainstreaming peacekeeping. The dangerous assumption that women will be inherently aware of as well as feel responsibility to address gender- related issues in UN missions has led to the dangerous conclusion that the deployment of women into UN missions equals a solution for all gender related issues (Bleckner, 349) According to Heinecken, female peacekeepers only received “pure” military training, and may also not actually be mandated to deal with sexual violence in the field even though they would like to assist These cases would be more appropriately referred to medics, psychologists or NGOs (Heinecken, 237). Moreover, women peacekeepers end up “bearing a double burden of responsibility as soldiers and police, as well as ‘women’ while men are let off the hook” (Simic, 190) In addition, being informally appointed to gender and protection related roles by virtue of gender can put an extra burden on women peacekeepers, in conjunction with the “assumption that uniformed women can be placed in military or police gender advisor roles with no specific training sets them up for failure and reinforces the stigma that women are incapable of successfully serving in UN peace operations” (Sharland, 15). Moreover, some female military peacekeepers do not necessarily join missions with the aim of liberating local women in conflict, but rather “due to career prospects, attractive income, and other professional benefits” (Rupesinghe, 11) Rationalist feminists in this case would ask: “Are women more peaceful than men or are their different views a product of socialization and/or a particular (disadvantaged) location within society?” (Hansen, 20) All in all, assuming female peacekeepers to be natural gender advisors and social workers places more of a burden on them and also perpetuates gender stereotypes. While substantial evidence demonstrates that female peacekeepers contribute unique qualities and capabilities to peacekeeping missions, they continue to face significant challenges in their work Challenges include women having to adhere to male gender norms at work, having to face cultural constraints in the field along with barriers to upward mobility, and having to become gender advisors without training. Despite the UN Security Council resolutions such as SCR1325 contributing towards gender mainstreaming in peacekeeping missions, the gap between policy rhetoric and operational reality exposes the limitations of top-down approaches to institutional transformation in traditionally masculine security domains

The research has identified four interconnected challenges that perpetuate women's marginalization in peacekeeping operations Women who constitute a significant minority in peacekeeping operations are subject to greater visibility and are compelled to conform to dominant models while also suffering stereotypes. Moreover, structural barriers to career advancement ensure women remain concentrated in lower ranks with limited influence over strategic decisions, and positions are filled through informal 'old boys' networks' rather than transparent processes Cultural constraints in deployment contexts can compromise both mission effectiveness and individual safety The problematic assumption that all female peacekeepers can serve as gender advisors without specialized training perpetuates harmful stereotypes while creating unrealistic performance expectations.

From a theoretical lens, the feminist theoretical frameworks examined liberal feminism, standpoint feminism, and essentialist feminism each illuminate different aspects of these challenges but also reveal the inadequacy of single-lens analysis According to liberal feminists, women should be empowered as capable subjects of the law, and states are burdened with the duty to recognize and respond appropriately to their demands. Standpoint feminism advocates for bringing attention to the forms of knowledge that women have by uncovering and studying their experiences Essentialist approaches risk reinforcing the gender binaries that constrain women's roles in peacekeeping missions

Critical research gaps limit this analysis and warrant future investigation. This paper is also limited by word count. Further investigations would include the function of organizations apart from the UN Security Council that also work towards enhancing the visibility and experience of female peacekeepers The study inadequately addresses intersectionality how race, nationality, class, and other identity markers interact with gender to shape peacekeeping experiences differently Moreover, the reliance on predominantly Western feminist theoretical frameworks may obscure alternative conceptualizations of gender and security from non-Western perspectives. It can be reflected by the difficulty in finding relevant material regarding feminist IR theories in this particular paper The analysis also lacks sufficient attention to local women's voices in host communities, whose perspectives are essential for evaluating the actual impact of gender mainstreaming initiatives

The implications extend beyond peacekeeping to broader questions of institutional change in security sectors. The slow progress in implementing SCR1325 despite overwhelming policy support suggests that meaningful gender integration requires fundamental reconsideration of organizational cultures rather than simply adding women to existing structures Moreover, this transformation demands sustained political commitment, adequate resource allocation, and willingness to challenge entrenched power dynamics that privilege masculine approaches to security. Only through comprehensive institutional change can peacekeeping operations fully

realize their potential for sustainable conflict resolution while creating genuine opportunities for women's advancement in international security Such transformation is essential not only for current peacekeepers but for future generations of women who aspire to contribute to global peace and security.

Bibliography:

Azizah, Nur, et al “Enhancing Women Contribution in Peace, Conflict Resolution, and Security Agenda: Indonesian Female Peacekeepers in the United Nations Peacekeeping Operation (Garuda Contingent – Konga).” UNISCI Journal, vol. 18, no. 53, 2020, pp. 111–129., https://doi.org/10.31439/unisci-86.

Bleckner, Julia “From Rhetoric to Reality: A Pragmatic Analysis of the Integration of Women into UN Peacekeeping Operations” Journal of International Peacekeeping, vol 17, no 3-4, 2013, pp 337–360, https://doiorg/101163/18754112-1704009

Bridges, Donna, and Debbie Horsfall. “Increasing Operational Effectiveness in UN Peacekeeping.” Armed Forces & Society, vol 36, no 1, 2009, pp 120–130, https://doiorg/101177/0095327x08327818

Carey, Henry F “'Women, Peace, and Security’: The Politics of Implementing Gender Sensitivity Norms in Peacekeeping” Women and International Peacekeeping, Frank Cass & Co, Portland , Oregon, 2001, pp. 49–69.

Davies, Sara E , and Jacqui True “Women, Peace, and Security” The Oxford Handbook of Women, Peace, and Security, 2018, pp 2–14 , https://doiorg/101093/oxfordhb/97801906382760131

DeGroot, Gerard J “A Few Good Women: Gender Stereotypes, the Military and Peacekeeping ” Women and International Peacekeeping , Frank Cass & Co. Ltd, Portland , Oregon, 2001, pp. 23–39.

Dharmapuri, Sahana International Peace Institute , New York, NYC, 2013, pp 1–23, Not Just a Numbers Game: Increasing Women's Participation in UN Peacekeeping

Egboh, E A , and Ernest T Aniche “Feminization of International Relations and Internationalization of Feminism: Deconstructing Mainstream International Relations.” Great Issues in Domestic and International Politics: Themes and Analyses., 2011, pp. 1–24.

Giraud, A L (2004) Issues with women in policing on peacekeeping missions Platypus Magazine, (83), 28–31 https://searchinformitorg/doi/103316/agispt 20043591

Hansen. The theory emphasizes that female representation would provide a prism onto how global politics is felt and constituted by real living embodied beings

Author:

Dr. Marjorie MUPANDARE

Dr Marjorie Mupandare is a scholar-practitioner specializing in gender, public health, and humanitarian contexts She holds a PhD in Public Health with research on gender-based violence in South Sudan and has extensive experience with UN agencies and international NGOs in Africa and Asia. Her work bridges research and practice, with expertise in intersectionality, feminist security studies, and the Women, Peace, and Security agenda

Intersectionality in the Women, Peace, and Security

Agenda: A Critical Review of Inclusivity in Scholarship and Policy since 2000

Abstract

Since the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 in 2000, the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda has become a central framework for global gender, conflict, and peacebuilding initiatives While the agenda has increased visibility for women in peace processes, critics argue that it often treats “women” as a homogenous category, overlooking how intersecting identities such as race, class, disability, sexuality, and age shape experiences of insecurity and agency (Hudson, 2016; True, 2012) This paper presents a critical literature review examining how intersectional perspectives have been integrated into or excluded from WPS scholarship and policy since 2000.

The study addresses three guiding questions: (1) To what extent has WPS scholarship employed intersectionality as an analytical framework? (2) How have global, regional, and national WPS policies addressed the vulnerabilities of marginalised groups? (3) What structural, political, and conceptual barriers limit the mainstreaming of intersectional inclusivity in WPS debates?

Drawing on peer-reviewed literature, UN and NGO reports, and feminist security analyses, the review maps patterns of inclusion and omission across multiple dimensions of identity and highlights persistent silences, such as the underrepresentation of disability, queer perspectives, and youth voices in fragile and conflict-affected settings (Charlesworth, 2008; Shepherd, 2019)

Findings indicate that although intersectionality is increasingly cited in WPS discourse, much scholarship and policy remain rooted in liberal feminist frameworks that privilege gender as a singular axis of analysis. Attention to race and class is more pronounced in critical feminist scholarship, while disability, sexuality, and age are largely neglected. National Action Plans (NAPs) often rhetorically endorse inclusivity but lack operational mechanisms, reflecting broader structural and political constraints on transformative implementation (Whitworth, 2018)

By synthesising insights from feminist security studies, decolonial critiques, and intersectionality theory, this paper argues that the transformative potential of WPS depends on moving beyond a universalised notion of “women” to recognise diverse, intersecting forms of marginalisation and agency The literature review methodology enables systematic mapping of knowledge, identification of research gaps, and the formulation of proposals for future inquiry The paper also highlights promising practices from grassroots women’s movements that model inclusive, context-sensitive approaches to peacebuilding.

This research is significant because it advances theoretical and policy debates on WPS at a time when intersecting crises, including climate change, pandemics, displacement, and digital insecurity, disproportionately affect marginalised groups It offers insights for scholars, policymakers, and civil society actors committed to inclusive, equitable peace processes

Keywords: Women, Peace and Security; intersectionality; inclusivity; feminist security studies; UNSCR 1325; literature review

Background

Since the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 in October 2000, the WPS agenda has reshaped international norms by foregrounding women’s participation, protection and rights in conflict-affected settings. UNSCR 1325 and subsequent resolutions created institutional entry points, such as National Action Plans (NAPs), donor programming lines, and UN inter-agency policy instruments, that have expanded the visibility of women in peace processes and humanitarian action (UN Security Council, 2000) However, the formal institutionalisation of WPS has also generated a paradox: progress in normative recognition has not consistently translated into substantive, context-sensitive inclusion Increasingly, feminist scholars and practitioners argue that WPS too often reproduces a universalised category of “women” that neglects how race, class, disability, sexuality and age intersect to shape differentiated experiences of insecurity and agency (Crenshaw, 1989; Mohanty, 2003; True, 2012). This paper takes as its starting point the imperative that the WPS agenda can only be transformative if it moves beyond rhetoric and metrics toward an intersectional praxis rooted in local communities and structural change

This study positions itself as a constructive and urgent critique, aimed not at diminishing the considerable gains of the WPS architecture but at interrogating its persistent limitations Since the adoption of UNSCR 1325, notable progress has been made, including women’s increased participation in peace negotiations and the development of accountability mechanisms to monitor gender commitments (Cohn et al., 2004; Kirby & Shepherd, 2016). However, such gains remain unevenly distributed, often privileging elite, urban, and donor-aligned women In contrast, marginalised groups such as displaced women, ethnic minorities, those with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ persons remain persistently invisible in both scholarship and policy (Pratt, 2013; Hughes, 2022). By foregrounding intersectionality, this critique highlights how blind spots in WPS discourse and implementation reproduce exclusionary dynamics under the guise of inclusion (Shepherd, 2019; True, 2020). The aim is not only diagnostic but transformative: identifying where and how these silences operate creates the possibility of reimagining WPS as more reflective of diverse lived realities, more transformative in its challenge to structural inequalities, and more impactful for those most directly affected by conflict and marginalisation In doing so, the paper contributes to a necessary recalibration of WPS: shifting from inclusion as rhetoric to inclusion as agency and structural change (Charlesworth, 2008; Ní et al, 2011)

To ensure the analysis is both empirically grounded and analytically sharp, this review focuses on two emblematic, yet distinct, fragile contexts: South Sudan and Afghanistan. These cases highlight divergent modalities of exclusion and opportunity within the WPS agenda South Sudan, a state born out of protracted conflict and fractured along ethnic and political lines, is characterised by some of the world’s weakest public institutions (Rolandsen, 2015; Kindersley & Rolandsen, 2017). Here, elite bargains, donor-driven peacebuilding interventions, and entrenched patriarchal political economies constrain women’s substantive participation in governance and public health systems (Almagro, 2018; UNMISS, 2021). By contrast, Afghanistan demonstrates the volatility of gendered gains under authoritarian rollback Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, reversals in rights and access for women and girls have erased decades of hard-won progress, and reshaped humanitarian space - forcing communities to develop new coping strategies under severe repression (Kakar, 2022; Human Rights Watch, 2022)

This introductory section sets out three interlinked premises that guide the paper First, intersectionality is not an academic add-on to WPS; it is a critical, analytic, and imperative that reveals how multiple axes of power produce differentiated harms and capacities (Crenshaw, 1989) Second, the dominant institutional architecture of WPS, which is heavily shaped by liberal feminist framings and donor logics, privileges certain forms of inclusion, such as numerical representation and brief consultations, while failing to address structural inequalities that inhibit meaningful agency (Mohanty, 2003; True, 2012) Third, advancing WPS in fragile settings requires centring community-aligned practices and grassroots leadership - not merely top-down policy reform (Ibid) Listening to and resourcing local women’s movements, community health workers, and disability-led organisations is essential if WPS is to move from symbolic commitments to concrete protections and transformative governance

Methodologically, this paper undertakes a critical literature review, synthesising peer-reviewed scholarship, UN and NGO policy documents, and practitioner reports from 2000 to 2025 It maps thematic trends and empirical lacunae in both academic and policy literatures It also applies this mapping to the contexts of South Sudan and Afghanistan to illustrate patterns of omission and promising practices. The analysis is intentionally interdisciplinary, drawing on feminist security studies, decolonial critiques, and feminist political economy to interrogate both micro-level experiences and macro-level institutions that shape WPS outcomes

The remainder of the paper proceeds in three parts The first section examines how intersectionality has been or has not been integrated into WPS scholarship, highlighting disciplinary blind spots and emerging critical currents. The second interrogates policy praxis: how international instruments, NAPs, and donor programming have operationalised inclusion, and where they falter in delivering intersectional justice in South Sudan and Afghanistan The third section offers pathways for reflection, transformation, and impact: principled, communityaligned recommendations for reorienting WPS toward structural change, sustained financing for grassroots actors, and inclusive monitoring that measures agency and representation Throughout, the tone is urgent and community-centred: the human costs of inaction in lives, health, and dignity demand that WPS scholarship and policy move beyond platitudes and toward intersectional, accountable practice

Theoretical Framework: Intersectionality and Feminist Security Studies

The concept of intersectionality, first articulated by Kimberlé Crenshaw (1989) and further developed by scholars such as Collins (1990), provides a critical lens for understanding how overlapping systems of oppression, such as racism, sexism, classism, ableism, and heteronormativity, mutually constitute lived experiences of marginalisation Intersectionality challenges the assumption that categories such as “woman,” “refugee,” or “victim” are homogenous or universally experienced Instead, it foregrounds how social locations interact with structures of power to produce differentiated vulnerabilities and capacities. Within peace and security contexts, intersectionality is particularly vital: while “women” are often grouped in WPS discourse, displaced women with disabilities, adolescent girls, widows, or women from ethnic and religious minorities experience distinct, compounded insecurities that remain obscured in policy and practice (Ní et al, 2011; True, 2012)

In feminist security studies and International Relations (IR) scholarship, intersectionality has emerged as a corrective to frameworks that privilege gender as a singular analytical axis. Liberal feminist approaches underpinning early WPS debates often focused narrowly on “adding women” to peace processes, without interrogating which women gained access or how intersecting hierarchies of race, class, age, and ability shape participation (Charlesworth, 2008; Shepherd, 2019)

This universalisation of “woman” risks privileging elite, urban, and educated actors while erasing the experiences of those at the margins Intersectionality, therefore, is not only descriptive but also normative: it demands that WPS scholarship and practice account for the structural inequalities that stratify women’s lives in war, displacement, and reconstruction. The relevance of this critique becomes clear when examining contexts such as South Sudan and Afghanistan In South Sudan, displaced women from minority ethnic groups face exclusion both from formal negotiations and from humanitarian service delivery, with compounding effects for adolescent girls and women with disabilities (Kirby & Shepherd, 2016) Similarly, in Afghanistan, Hazara women, rural widows, and women with disabilities have borne disproportionate costs of violence, repression, and the collapse of state protections post-2021, revealing the inadequacy of approaches that treat “women” as a singular constituency (Larson, 2022) Applying intersectionality to such contexts demonstrates how the WPS agenda risks reinforcing existing hierarchies unless it explicitly addresses the multiplicity of identities and power relations shaping women’s insecurity and agency In sum, intersectionality, as advanced by Crenshaw (1989) and Collins (1990), provides both an analytic framework and a call for transformation within feminist security studies. By situating WPS within broader feminist IR debates and engaging critiques of liberal feminism’s universalisation of “woman,” this paper positions intersectionality as central to advancing a more inclusive, context-sensitive, and justice-oriented WPS agenda

Methodology

Critical Literature Review

This study employs a critical literature review methodology to interrogate how intersectionality has been integrated into WPS scholarship and policy since the adoption of UNSCR 1325 in 2000, with a specific focus on South Sudan and Afghanistan Unlike narrative reviews, which often summarise research descriptively, a critical literature review is explicitly analytical: it identifies trends, gaps, silences, and areas for conceptual and policy transformation (Paré et al, 2015) The approach is particularly suited to interrogating inclusivity within WPS, where the challenge is not merely the quantity of research available but how knowledge is produced, whose voices are amplified, and which experiences remain marginalised. The review encompasses three interrelated bodies of literature:

1 Peer-reviewed scholarship (2000–2025) – Articles, books, and empirical studies drawn from feminist security studies, international relations, peace and conflict studies, and gender policy analysis. The time frame aligns with the institutionalisation of the WPS agenda following UNSCR 1325, allowing an assessment of 25 years of intellectual and policy engagement

2 Policy documents – Including United Nations Security Council debates, NAPs on WPS, and thematic reports produced by UN agencies such as UN Women, UNDP, and WHO Particular attention was paid to policies regarding Afghanistan and South Sudan, given their prolonged conflicts and their centrality to global WPS debates.

3 NGO and civil society analyses – Grey literature, reports, and advocacy documents from organisations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and grassroots women’s networks, which often provide perspectives absent in formal academic and policy discourse. This triangulation allows for a holistic mapping of how intersectionality has been conceptualised, operationalised, or omitted across scholarly, institutional, and practitioner domains

The literature search was conducted in September 2025 using the University of Liverpool (UoL) library database, which provides comprehensive access to multidisciplinary resources. Following Paré et al (2015), a single integrated database was selected to maximise rigour and replicability Search terms included “intersectionality”, “Women, Peace and Security”, “inclusivity”, “South Sudan”, and “Afghanistan”, applied across TITLE-ABS-KEY fields The search was restricted to publications from 2000 2025 to capture the whole lifespan of to WPS-related scholarship. This process yielded 634 initial hits. After screening abstracts for relevance, duplication, and methodological rigour, 203 were retained as comprehensive empirical research papers. A further 97 were identified as directly engaging with South Sudan, while 68 engaged with Afghanistan Empirical research was defined as including data collection, reporting, and analysis In addition, 45 UN reports, 22 NGO/advocacy papers, and 12 National Action Plans were integrated into the dataset, as shown in Figure 1 below:

Analytical Framework

Three interlocking frameworks guided the analysis:

1.Intersectionality theory (Crenshaw, 1989; Collins, 1990) foregrounds the interplay of overlapping systems of power (race, class, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality) in producing differentiated insecurities and capacities

2 Feminist security studies, which critique mainstream security paradigms for privileging statecentric and militarised approaches while neglecting the embodied, everyday insecurities of marginalised groups(Shepherd,2019)

3.Decolonial critique, which interrogates how knowledge production on WPS often reflects Eurocentric assumptions, overlooking local epistemologies and community-driven understandings of security in contexts such as South Sudan and Afghanistan (Acharya, 2014)

Intersectionality in WPS Scholarship

From Liberal Feminist Entry Points to Critical and Decolonial Critiques

Following Webster and Watson’s (2002) dual coding strategy, an author-centric analysis was first conducted to map key contributions and disciplinary positioning This was followed by a concept-centric analysis, where themes such as disability, ethnicity, youth, displacement, and digital harms were coded and categorised into frequency tables. This approach facilitated the identification of both dominant trends and silences within the literature :

The WPS agenda has evolved considerably since the adoption of UNSCR 1325 in 2000. Early WPS scholarship, particularly from liberal feminist perspectives, was primarily concerned with increasing women’s participation in peace processes and decision-making structures (Anderlini, 2007; Hudson,2016) This liberal framing emphasised women as a category in need of visibility and inclusion, advocating for gender mainstreaming across peacebuilding institutions While this entry point was critical in securing normative recognition of women’s roles, it often reduced “women” to a homogenous category, detached from the diverse lived realities shaped by race, class, disability, sexuality, and age.

Over time, feminist security studies and critical feminist IR scholars began interrogating these limitations, calling attention to the epistemological and political consequences of treating women as a singular category (True, 2012; Shepherd, 2019). Building on Crenshaw's (1989) theory of intersectionality and Collins’ (1990) articulation of interlocking systems of oppression, scholars argued that WPS needed to move beyond numerical inclusion to address structural inequalities Postcolonial and decolonial critiques further revealed how WPS policies often reproduced donor-driven priorities rather than centring the voices of women in the global South (Mohanty, 2003; Pratt, 2013) Additionally, queer and disability perspectives also began highlighting silences in WPS debates by underscoring how specific identities were consistently excluded from protection and participation frameworks (Hagen, 2016; Hughes, 2022).

In this trajectory, South Sudan and Afghanistan provide illustrative cases of both the promises and shortcomings of WPS implementation Both countries adopted NAPs on UNSCR 1325, but these plans often privileged elite women’s participation while neglecting intersectional vulnerabilities. For example, South Sudan’s 2015 NAP acknowledged women’s participation but offered limited strategies for addressing ethnic minority women’s exclusion from political processes (Swaine, 2018) Afghanistan’s successive NAPs similarly emphasised women’s leadership in peacebuilding but failed to confront the compounded insecurities of Hazara women, rural widows, and women with disabilities under conditions of systemic violence and repression (Larson, 2022). These cases demonstrate the analytical utility of intersectionality in illuminating how WPS policies risk reproducing hierarchies among women when diversity is not substantively addressed

This section critically reviews the literature across five themes central to the research questions: race and postcoloniality, class and economic precarity, disability, sexuality, and age It highlights where WPS scholarship and policy have integrated intersectional perspectives, and where enduring silences remain.

a) Race and Postcoloniality: Global South Women’s Voices vs Donor Agendas

Postcolonial feminist critiques (Mohanty, 2003; Pratt, 2013) have consistently highlighted the risks of universalising women’s experiences under the WPS agenda WPS discourse, often shaped by Western donors and international NGOs, tends to frame women in conflict zones as passive victims requiring rescue, rather than as political actors with diverse forms of agency. This framing has been evident in both South Sudan and Afghanistan, where donor-driven WPS interventions have sometimes silenced grassroots voices

In South Sudan, women’s movements have historically played a central role in mediating local conflicts and providing humanitarian assistance (Itto, 2006). However, donor-supported WPS initiatives often prioritised the participation of urban, educated women in formal negotiations, sidelining rural and minority women whose political practices did not align with liberal models of leadership (Kirby & Shepherd, 2016) This reproduces what Mohanty (2003) critiques as the “Third World woman” trope, in which local diversity is erased in favour of simplified representations that serve donor agendas In Afghanistan, the tension between donor agendas and women’s lived realities has been even more pronounced. Prior to the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, WPS programming often highlighted the participation of Afghan women in parliamentary structures and peace talks, but these interventions rarely addressed systemic ethnic hierarchies or the insecurities faced by Hazara women, who experienced targeted violence (Larson, 2022) The donor-driven focus on elite women’s inclusion produced fragile gains that were easily reversed under renewed repression This dynamic underscores Pratt’s (2013) argument that WPS policies risk entrenching imperial logics of governance when they fail to incorporate decolonial feminist perspectives.

The literature, therefore, points to a need for WPS policies to move beyond elite representation toward structural engagement with race, ethnicity, and postcolonial power relations This finding directly addresses the research question of how WPS scholarship has employed intersectionality: while some critical scholarship addresses race, mainstream WPS policies remain limited in incorporating postcolonial critiques

b) Class and Economic Precarity: Gendered Political Economy in Conflict

Economic precarity has emerged as a key intersectional dimension in feminist security studies. True (2012) emphasises that the gendered political economy of conflict systematically places women in precarious economic positions, shaping their vulnerabilities in ways inseparable from peace and security

In South Sudan, decades of conflict have devastated livelihoods, with women disproportionately engaged in subsistence agriculture and informal markets. Displacement and climate-induced flooding have further entrenched poverty, forcing women into precarious survival strategies, including transactional sex for food or access to aid (Maxwell et al, 2016) WPS frameworks that simply call for women’s participation in peace processes without addressing these economic vulnerabilities risk being tokenistic Afghanistan presents a parallel, where rural women have faced acute economic insecurity, compounded by restrictions on movement and employment Even before the 2021 Taliban takeover, donor-funded projects often privileged urban entrepreneurship initiatives, overlooking rural women’s dependence on subsistence agriculture and informal networks (Kabeer, 2015) The rollback of women’s rights since 2021 has further marginalised women economically, reinforcing class-based inequalities in access to resources and security

This literature highlights the importance of class as an analytical axis in WPS. Yet mainstream WPS scholarship often treats economic insecurity as a background issue rather than a central determinant of women’s agency A more intersectional approach would integrate political economies into core WPS analyses, ensuring that class is not marginalised relative to gender

c) Disability: The Persistent Silence in WPS

Disability remains one of the most underrepresented categories in WPS literature and policy. While feminist disability studies have demonstrated how conflict disproportionately impacts persons with disabilities (Hughes, 2022), WPS frameworks have rarely integrated disability as a substantive focus

In South Sudan, conflict and displacement have generated significant rates of disability, whether disability, whether from war-related injuries, gender-based violence, or lack of healthcare Nevertheless, women with disabilities are almost entirely absent from peace processes and WPS programming, despite facing compounded insecurities, including limited access to health, education, and humanitarian services (Women Enabled International, 2018) Similarly, in Afghanistan, disability intersects with gender and ethnicity to produce severe exclusion Women with disabilities, particularly in rural areas, face heightened risks of poverty and violence, and their mobility is doubly restricted under Taliban policies (Larson, 2022) However, Afghanistan’s NAPs onUNSCR 1325 make almost no reference to disability, reflecting what Hughes (2022) identifies as the systematic neglect of disabled women in WPS debates. This silence is one of the clearest gaps identified by the literature review and directly addresses the research question of which identities are excluded from WPS scholarship Disability emerges as a persistent blind spot requiring urgent scholarly and policy attention

d) Sexuality and Queer Perspectives: Silenced Identities

Queer feminist scholars have critiqued WPS frameworks for their silence on sexuality and queer identities Hagen (2016) argues that WPS discourse is premised on a heteronormative understanding of gender, where “women” are implicitly framed as heterosexual wives, mothers, and caregivers This framing excludes LGBTQ+ individuals, whose security and parental concerns are often acute in conflict settings.

In South Sudan, same-sex relations remain criminalised , and LGBTQ+ persons face violence and exclusion from humanitarian services Yet WPS scholarship and policy on South Sudan make virtually no mention of sexuality as a dimension of security (Thompson, 2019) Afghanistan represents an even starker case, where queer identities are systematically erased both through donor-driven programming that privileges heteronormative notions of family and community, and through Taliban repression that criminalises and violently persecutes LGBTQ+ persons. LGBTQ+ Afghans face heightened risks of harassment, assault, and state-sanctioned violence (Human Rights Watch, 2022), yet their exclusion from WPS frameworks reflects the broader marginalisation of sexuality within feminist IR As Hagen (2016) and Duriesmith and de Almagro (2022) argue, WPS discourse has remained largely silent on queer perspectives, sustaining a narrow, heteronormative focus on “women” that overlooks how sexuality intersects with gender, class, and ethnicity in producing layered insecurities. This silence is particularly dangerous in contexts like Afghanistan, where the compounded precarity of queer communities underscores the urgent need for WPS to adopt a more expansive and intersectional analytic lensFurthermore, the omission of queer perspectives reinforces the limits of WPS as currently constituted Without engaging sexuality, WPS risks reproducing heteronormative assumptions that marginalise already vulnerable groups.

e) Age and Youth: The Marginalization of Young Women’s Agency

Age is another neglected axis in WPS scholarship While UNSCR 2250 (2015) on Youth, Peace, and Security acknowledged the role of young people in peacebuilding, young women’s specific experiences and agency remain underexplored in both scholarship and policy (Shepherd, 2019). In South Sudan, where youth constitute most of the population, young women have often been active in grassroots peacebuilding initiatives and community resilience strategies Nevertheless , WPS programming has tended to focus on older, elite women, marginalising young women’s voices (El-Bushra & Sahl, 2005) Afghanistan similarly demonstrates how structural constraints curtail young women’s agency . Even prior to 2021, young women’s participation in education and activism was uneven, shaped by rural-urban divides and ethnic hierarchies. The Taliban’s restrictions on girls’ education have further erased young women from public life, underscoring the urgency of integrating age into WPS frameworks The marginalisation of youth perspectives demonstrates how WPS continues to privilege specific categories of women, reinforcing generational hierarchies rather than disrupting them

Intersectionality in WPS Policy

The WPS architecture is grounded in a series of UNSCRs that have progressively broadened the agenda The foundational resolution, UNSCR 1325 (2000), placed women’s participation at the centre of peace and security debates, marking a paradigmatic shift in the international security landscape (Cohn et al., 2004). Subsequent resolutions expanded this normative framework to address conflict-related sexual violence (UNSCR 1820, 2008; UNSCR 1888, 2009), women’s participation in post-conflict recovery (UNSCR 1889, 2009), accountability and monitoring mechanisms (UNSCR 1960, 2010), survivor-centred approaches to sexual violence (UNSCRs 2106 and 2122, 2013), the inclusion of youth (UNSCR 2242, 2015), and more recent emphases on prevention, structural inequalities, and sustainable peace (UNSCRs 2467 and 2493, 2019). Collectively, these resolutions constitute a critical normative scaffold that affirms the centrality of gender to conflict prevention, civilian protection, and post-conflict reconstruction (Shepherd, 2017; True, 2020) However, while this normative corpus has generated significant rhetorical and policy momentum, its operationalisation remains partial and uneven Feminist scholars argue that WPS implementation is often characterised by instrumentalism, privileging technocratic approaches such as quotas, checklists, and protection frameworks, rather than structural transformation that addresses power hierarchies (Pratt & Richter-Devroe, 2011; Charlesworth, 2008) In fragile contexts such as South Sudan and Afghanistan, this gap is particularly stark: elite bargains, patriarchal governance, and securitised donor agendas frequently undermine efforts to advance intersectional inclusion (Martin de Almagro, 2018; Kabeer, 2020) This disconnect between normative ambition and practice speaks directly to the research questions guiding this paper: to what extent have WPS policies operationalised intersectionality, and what structural constraints limit meaningful inclusion?

Despite rhetorical commitments to inclusivity, policies rarely engage substantively with the differentiated insecurities of displaced women, ethnic minorities, adolescent girls, LGBTQ+ communities, or women with disabilities (Hagen, 2016; Hughes, 2022). As a result, the transformative potential of the WPS agenda remains under-realised, reinforcing the need for critical interrogation and pathways for reform

Global WPS frameworks: normative breadth, operational narrowness

The successive WPS resolutions have progressively expanded the agenda in principle UNSCR 1325 (2000) established the pillars of participation, protection, and prevention, laying the foundation for gender-sensitive approaches to conflict and peacebuilding (Cohn et al, 2004)

Subsequent resolutions, including UNSCR 1820 (2008), UNSCR 1888 (2009), and UNSCR 2467 (2019), foregrounded SGBV and survivor-centred justice (Kirby et al., 2016; Otto, 2019). Others, such as UNSCR 2242 (2015), emphasised the importance of women’s meaningful participation in peace processes and the institutional capacities required to achieve it (True, 2020; UN Women, 2015) Collectively, these additions have shaped donor priorities, UN programming, and the proliferation of NAPs across diverse contexts (Shepherd, 2017; Miller et al, 2014)

Nevertheless , a critical reading highlights their uneven engagement with intersectional difference. While the resolutions acknowledge the differentiated impacts of conflict on “women and girls,” they rarely mandate implementation that explicitly addresses how race/ethnicity, class, disability, age, or sexuality compound exclusion (Hagen, 2016; Ní Aoláin, 2016) This gap risks reducing women to a homogenous category and obscuring structural inequalities (Pratt & Richter-Devroe, 2011; Hudson, 2022) In practice, therefore, the resolutions function as a normative shell capable of advancing either transformational change or technocratic fixes depending on political will, resources, and the broader international security environment (Charlesworth, 2008; de Almagro, 2018)

National Action Plans (NAPs): rhetoric versus operationalisation

NAPs have become the principal mechanism for domesticating WPS norms. Since 2000, hundreds of NAPs have been developed to translate UNSCR commitments into national policies, programmes and monitoring frameworks However, multiple reviews find that NAPs often remain rhetorical: they enumerate laudable objectives and inputs such as training, consultations, committees, but lack detailed budgets, timelines, responsibility matrices, inclusive monitoring indicators, and mechanisms to reach marginalised women (Hamilton et al., 2020). The result is a recurrent pattern: NAPs create the appearance of compliance while leaving critical implementation gaps unaddressed - such as weak financing, limited civil society resourcing, and inadequate accountability mechanisms

Scholars have shown that the politics underlying NAP formulation are significant, as the processes are often donor-driven or state-centric, influencing whose voices are included in drafting and what is ultimately recognised as “implementation.” Muehlenhoff’s analysis of NAP production highlights how governmentality and donor priorities become embedded in NAP texts, producing plans that reflect external templates rather than locally rooted priorities (Muehlenhoff, 2022) Where intersectionality is invoked in NAPs, it is commonly rhetorical, such as a stated commitment to “vulnerable groups” without operational mechanisms to identify, resource and monitor interventions for specific sub-populations such as women with disabilities, displaced minority women, and LGBTQ+ people.

Donor and geopolitical constraints

The operational limitations of NAPs and broader WPS programming cannot be divorced from donor logics and geopolitical dynamics Donor funding streams, conditionalities, and short funding cycles favour measurable, short-term outputs such as training workshops rather than longer-term structural outcomes , such as land rights reform or social protection (True, 2012). Postcolonial critiques emphasise how donor templates and Western normative framings can crowd out local priorities, producing a “menu” of acceptable interventions that privilege visibility, such as women at negotiation tables over redistribution, such as economic empowerment of the poorest, and protection of the most marginalised (Mohanty, 2003; Pratt, 2013) Geopolitical constraints, including strategic interests, counter-terrorism restrictions, and the securitisation of aid, further shape which interventions are feasible, who can be funded, and whose voices can be amplified. These dynamics help explain why NAPs sometimes become instruments of legitimacy rather than levers for intersectional transformation

South Sudan: commitments on paper, exclusions in practice

South Sudan illustrates the limits of WPS policy when intersecting vulnerabilities are not meaningfully operationalised. The country adopted its first NAP in 2015 2020 and validated a second in 2023, both of which articulate commitments to women’s participation, protection from SGBV, and humanitarian-sensitive programming (Government of South Sudan, 2015; Ministry of Gender, 2023) Yet, the lived realities of many women, particularly displaced women, women with disabilities, rural women, and those from minority ethnic groups, remain characterised by exclusion from political processes and limited access to humanitarian assistance (Saferworld, 2020; UNMISS, 2021). Humanitarian planning frameworks and the Secretary-General’s reports repeatedly highlight that internally displaced and returnee women with disabilities face structural barriers to services and participation, while ethnicised politics and localised power hierarchies constrain their visibility in formal dialogues (Rolandsen & Kindersley, 2017; Jok & Hutchinson, 1999)

Moreover, disability inclusion assessments and humanitarian protection reviews show persistent gaps in accessibility, disaggregated data, and targeted funding for women with disabilities in South Sudan (IASC, 2019; Humanity & Inclusion, 2020). These limitations mirror broader critiques of global humanitarianism, where short-term logics and donor-driven priorities undermine sustained structural change (Macrae & Harmer, 2004; Duffield, 2014) In effect, South Sudan’s NAP commitments are consistently undermined by weak institutional capacity, chronic underfunding, and humanitarian short-termism, which fail to address the intersectional realities of the most marginalised women (de Almagro, 2018; Kabeer, 2020)

Afghanistan: reversal, repression and intersectional harms

Afghanistan’s trajectory illustrates the acute fragility of NAPs when political environments shift The Afghan NAP (2015–2022) initially advanced women’s inclusion in peace and security frameworks; however, the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021 precipitated a systematic rollback of women’s rights (UN Women, 2022) Policies have banned girls from secondary and higher education, restricted women’s employment in both humanitarian and public sectors, and severely curtailed their freedom of movement (Human Rights Watch, 2022; Amnesty International, 2023) These measures have drastically narrowed the operational space for implementing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda Intersectional harms have intensified, particularly for widows, women with disabilities, ethnic minorities such as Hazara women, and younger cohorts whose education and civic participation have been truncated (Kandiyoti, 2022). Crucially, the Afghan NAP’s largely technical commitments proved insufficient to withstand a political environment where gender exclusion was actively weaponised. This underscores a central weakness of NAP-driven approaches: without genuine political ownership, accountable state institutions, and international guarantees, normative frameworks remain vulnerable to reversal (Shepherd, 2021) The Afghan case highlights the limits of rhetorical or procedural commitments absent sustained political will, financial resourcing, and protective mechanisms for marginalised voices during periods of political instability (George & Shepherd, 2016). As such, Afghanistan exposes how normative gains can rapidly unravel, revealing the need for WPS strategies that embed resilience, anticipate political backlash, and institutionalise safeguards for the most vulnerable groups even under hostile governance conditions

The gap between normative ambition and structural limitation

Comparative analysis of these cases illustrates a familiar pattern: WPS policy instruments provide normative breadth signalling that multiple forms of gendered harm matter, but they frequently lack the institutional architecture required for intersectional implementation

Structural limitations include: (1) constrained domestic capacity and political will to prioritise marginalized groups; (2) donor and operational incentives that favour short, measurable outputs over systemic reforms;

(3) weak data and monitoring systems that fail to disaggregate by disability, ethnicity, age, and sexuality; and (4) securitised political contexts in which protection of civil society actors (especially women’s and disability-led groups) is precarious. Collectively, these constraints produce a policy landscape where inclusion is frequently performative rather than transformative (Hamilton et al., 2020; Muehlenhoff, 2022; Mohanty, 2003)

Barriers to Intersectional Mainstreaming

The promise of intersectionality within the WPS agenda remains largely unfulfilled, particularly in fragile contexts such as South Sudan and Afghanistan. While international frameworks, including UNSCR 1325 and its subsequent resolutions, rhetorically acknowledge the need for inclusivity, the operationalisation of intersectional principles has been constrained by conceptual, structural, political, and institutional barriers These barriers perpetuate the dominance of narrow liberal feminist approaches, reproduce hierarchies within women’s movements, and limit the transformative potential of WPS

Conceptual Barriers

The WPS agenda has historically been framed within liberal feminist traditions that conceptualise “women” as a homogeneous category, prioritising inclusion in peace processes without adequately problematising the intersecting oppressions that shape women’s lived realities (Charlesworth, 2008; Shepherd, 2019) This framing facilitates policy- friendly language but obscures the heterogeneity of experiences among women in fragile contexts. For example, in South Sudan, WPS narratives often highlight elite urban women’s leadership in peace negotiations, sidelining rural, displaced, and disabled women whose vulnerabilities are compounded by class, ethnicity, and geography (Hudson, 2016; Saferworld, 2020)

Similarly, in Afghanistan, WPS discourses have disproportionately focused on women’s political participation at the national level, such as quotas for parliamentary representation, without adequately addressing intersecting exclusions faced by widows, Hazara women, or those living with disabilities. The dominance of liberal feminism also creates discomfort with integrating queer politics and disability rights into WPS frameworks As Hagen (2016) notes, sexuality remains nearly invisible within mainstream WPS scholarship and policy, despite evidence that LGBTQ+ persons face specific insecurities in conflict settings Disability likewise receives limited attention despite evidence of heightened risks, including inaccessibility of humanitarian assistance and health services for displaced women with disabilities in both South Sudan and Afghanistan (Hughes, 2022).

Structural Barriers

Donor-driven priorities and securitised agendas present significant obstacles to intersectional mainstreaming. International donors often attach conditionalities that prioritise stabilisation, counter-terrorism, and institution-building over grassroots empowerment and intersectional justice (Whitworth, 2018; Pratt, 2013) This dynamic reinforces short-term, output-driven programming such as training women peacebuilders or increasing female representation in security forces rather than addressing more profound structural inequalities

In South Sudan, WPS initiatives funded by donors have frequently emphasised elite women’s participation in peace dialogues, neglecting rural women’s socio-economic realities, including food insecurity and displacement due to climate-induced flooding (Kirby & Shepherd, 2016). In Afghanistan, donor funding prior to 2021 supported women’s political inclusion projects but was less responsive to intersecting inequalities, particularly among poor and rural women (Larson, 2022) The Taliban’s return to power has further restricted donor engagement, creating funding vacuums that disproportionately impact grassroots women’s groups working with marginalised populations

Political Barriers

States' resistance to transformative gender agendas constitutes another barrier to intersectional mainstreaming Governments in fragile and authoritarian contexts often treat WPS commitments as externally imposed obligations rather than as normative imperatives In South Sudan, while the government has endorsed NAPs on UNSCR 1325, implementation remains superficial, with political elites using WPS rhetoric to secure donor legitimacy without dismantling patriarchal structures that exclude minority women (Government of South Sudan, 2015; Saferworld, 2020)

Afghanistan presents a more acute example of political backlash Gains made under the 2015–2022 Afghan NAP were reversed after the Taliban takeover in 2021, with the systemic rollback of women’s rights, including bans on education, employment, and public participation for women and girls (Human Rights Watch, 2022; Amnesty International, 2022). Intersectional groups such as widows of war, women with disabilities, and ethnic minority women have been disproportionately affected, highlighting how political resistance exacerbates pre-existing inequalities The Afghan case illustrates the fragility of WPS gains when political will is absent and patriarchal-authoritarian governance prevails

Institutional Barriers

Finally, institutional practices within the UN and state bureaucracies often reduce WPS implementation to checklists and quotas, undermining the transformative potential of intersectionality

Monitoring and evaluation frameworks frequently emphasise numerical representation (eg, number of women in peace talks, women trained in mediation) rather than substantive inclusion that accounts for intersecting vulnerabilities (Kirby & Shepherd, 2016).

In South Sudan, this has translated into reports celebrating the participation of women in the 2018 peace agreement while neglecting to address the near-total absence of displaced women or women with disabilities from these processes (Hamilton et al, 2020) Similarly, in Afghanistan, UN agencies and donor institutions often highlighted achievements in women’s parliamentary representation while failing to monitor whether these spaces were inclusive of ethnic or socioeconomically marginalised groups (Larson, 2022) Moreover, bureaucratic cultures within international institutions tend to favour technocratic, measurable outcomes over communityled, context-specific approaches. This institutional bias sidelines grassroots women’s movements that practice intersectional inclusion, such as women-led disability rights groups in South Sudan or underground networks of women educators in Afghanistan that are more attuned to local realities but less visible in donor reporting systems (Muehlenhoff, 2022)

Pathways for Reflection, Transformation, and Impact

The WPS agenda has demonstrated resilience and adaptability since its inception with UNSCR 1325 in 2000, yet its transformative promise remains constrained by liberal feminist framings and technocratic implementation To move from rhetoric to reality, there is an urgent need to reimagine WPS as a people-centred, intersectional agenda that reflects the lived experiences of women and marginalised communities in fragile states such as South Sudan and Afghanistan This section outlines pathways for reflection and transformation, focusing on feminist political economy, inclusive monitoring, grassroots empowerment, and a reorientation of WPS toward structural justice

Adopting a Feminist Political Economy Lens

A feminist political economy approach situates WPS within the broader context of global and local economic inequalities, highlighting how class and economic precarity intersect with gender, race, and other identities to shape vulnerabilities (True, 2012). Liberal feminist approaches have often privileged elite women’s political participation while neglecting the structural inequalities that determine access to resources, livelihoods, and survival

In South Sudan, donor-driven WPS programmes have often prioritised elite women’s inclusion in peace negotiations but paid less attention to rural women whose livelihoods depend on subsistence agriculture and who face recurrent displacement due to flooding and violence. These women experience compounded exclusion: they are excluded from political spaces, burdened by unpaid care work, and disproportionately vulnerable to food insecurity (Saferworld, 2020)

A feminist political economy lens demands that peacebuilding initiatives address these material inequalities through gender-responsive budgeting, social protection, and support for women’s economic rights. In Afghanistan, the post-2001 international engagement elevated a small cadre of urban, educated women into political office, yet this model largely excluded rural, poor, and widowed women whose socio-economic conditions were most precarious (Larson, 2022) The Taliban’s return has deepened these exclusions, particularly for women barred from employment and education A feminist political economy approach would require moving beyond quotas and focusing on redistributive justice, including access to land rights, livelihoods, and community-based economic initiatives that enhance resilience in contexts of authoritarian rollback.

Building Inclusive Monitoring Frameworks

Existing WPS monitoring mechanisms often rely on numerical indicators such as the number of women in peace talks or parliaments without capturing intersecting inequalities or the quality of women’s participation (Kirby & Shepherd, 2016). Inclusive monitoring frameworks should integrate disaggregated data across race, class, disability, sexuality, and age, reflecting the diversity of women’s experiences In South Sudan, monitoring reports have celebrated women’s participation in the 2018 peace agreement but rarely asked who these women are, whether they represent displaced populations, or whether women with disabilities were included A more inclusive monitoring framework would require disaggregated participation data, intersectional indicators of protection such as access to disability-inclusive services, and community-driven feedback mechanisms. In Afghanistan, pre-2021 monitoring frameworks often reported on women’s representation in parliament or ministries but ignored whether Hazara women, disabled women, or adolescent girls could meaningfully access these spaces (Hagen, 2016; Human Rights Watch, 2022) Future WPS frameworks must incorporate participatory methodologies that empower marginalised women to define what meaningful inclusion looks like. Inclusive monitoring is not only a technical exercise but also a political act, shifting accountability from donors and elites toward communities most affected by conflict.

Strengthening Grassroots Women’s Movements

Grassroots women’s organisations are often the innovators of intersectional practice, yet they remain underfunded and marginalised in donor-driven WPS programming (Muehlenhoff, 2022) These movements are critical in translating global frameworks into local realities, particularly in contexts where state institutions are fragile or hostile to gender equality.

In South Sudan, grassroots groups led by displaced women, young women, and women with disabilities have mobilised to address issues such as sexual violence, access to health care, and climate-induced displacement

However, these groups struggle for recognition and resources in a donor landscape dominated by large INGOs and state institutions (Saferworld, 2020) Strengthening grassroots movements requires shifting funding mechanisms to prioritise local ownership, offering multi-year flexible funding, and recognising local actors as equal partners rather than subcontractors. In Afghanistan, women’s grassroots activism has persisted despite repression Networks of underground schools for girls and solidarity groups supporting widows and disabled women represent powerful examples of resilience Nevertheless, these actors remain largely invisible in international WPS discourse, which has focused on formal institutions that have now collapsed (Amnesty International, 2022). Supporting such movements, even in restrictive environments, requires creative solidarity, protection for activists, and flexible cross-border funding mechanisms.

Reimagining WPS as a People-Centred Agenda

The most profound transformation lies in reimagining WPS not as a tool of state security or donor legitimacy but as a people-centred agenda rooted in justice and agency This requires moving from inclusion-as-numbers to inclusion-as-agency, ensuring that women not only sit at decisionmaking tables but also shape agendas, challenge power hierarchies, and advance structural change (Shepherd, 2019)

In South Sudan, this means reframing WPS away from elite representation in peace agreements and toward community-led processes that prioritise displaced women, rural women, and women with disabilities as central actors. Peacebuilding that ignores these groups risks perpetuating exclusion and reproducing cycles of violence. In Afghanistan, the state-security framing of WPS has collapsed entirely under Taliban rule, revealing its fragility Reimagining WPS in this context requires centring people’s resilience, grassroots activism, and transnational solidarity networks rather than state institutions A people-centred WPS agenda must acknowledge that transformative inclusion can emerge even under authoritarian regimes through local agency and resistance.

Conclusion

This review has shown that the WPS agenda occupies an ambivalent position: rhetorically expansive and normatively powerful, yet operationally partial and often blind to intersecting forms of marginalisation Over the past 25 years, the WPS corpus from UNSCR 1325 through subsequent resolutions has placed gender on the peace and security map, prompting the proliferation of National Action Plans (NAPs), donor programmes, and increased visibility for women in formal peace processes (UN Security Council, 2000) Nevertheless, the evidence mapped in this paper indicates a persistent disjuncture between normative ambition and lived realities. Where WPS has progressed in language, it too frequently stalls in practice, producing formal markers of inclusion such as quotas, trainings, participation lists that do not translate into meaningful agency for the most marginalised (True, 2012; Shepherd, 2019)

A key finding is that intersectionality has entered WPS discourse unevenly Critical scholarship has productively problematised liberal feminist approaches and advanced race, class and postcolonial critiques (Crenshaw, 1989; Collins, 1990; Mohanty, 2003) Attention to gendered political economy and postcoloniality has deepened understanding of how economic precarity and donor-driven templates shape whose participation counts (True, 2012; Pratt, 2013). Nevertheless, significant silences remain: disability, queer sexualities, and youth or age dynamics are recurrently marginalised in both scholarship and policy (Hughes, 2022; Hagen, 2016; Shepherd, 2019) These omissions are not theoretical quibbles as they have concrete consequences In South Sudan, formal NAP commitments coexist with the systematic exclusion of displaced, rural, and disabled women from negotiations and services (Saferworld, 2020). In Afghanistan, the political reversal since 2021 starkly demonstrates how gains that were thinly embedded in state structures and donor projects can be rapidly undone, disproportionately harming widows, girls, women with disabilities, and ethnic minorities (Amnesty International, 2022; Human Rights Watch, 2022)

The barriers that produce these patterns are multi-layered. Conceptually, liberal feminist framings continue to privilege a universal “woman” that obscures heterogeneity (Charlesworth, 2008). Structurally, donor conditionalities, short funding cycles, and securitised agendas incentivise measurable outputs over structural reform (Whitworth, 2018; Muehlenhoff, 2022) Politically, authoritarian or fragile state contexts may openly resist transformative gender agendas or weaponise gender exclusion, as Afghanistan vividly demonstrates Institutionally, UN and state bureaucracies often operationalise WPS through checklists and quotas rather than investing in substantive, community-led change (Hamilton et al., 2020). Together, these dynamics institutionalise performative inclusion and reproduce hierarchies within the category “women”

This paper makes three substantive contributions First, it synthesises and maps the documentary and empirical literature on intersectionality in WPS (2000–2025), revealing specific lacunae (disability, sexuality, youth) that warrant targeted attention. Second, by focusing on South Sudan and Afghanistan, it grounds theoretical critique in contexts where exclusion is most acute, illustrating how intersectional neglect compounds harm and erodes resilience Third, it proposes actionable pathways such as a feminist political economy orientation, inclusive monitoring frameworks, resourcing and protection for grassroots women’s movements, and a reorientation of WPS toward people-centred agency that moves beyond critique to practical reform.

The urgency of these reforms cannot be overstated Converging crises such as pandemic aftershocks, climate-driven displacement, mass internal displacement, and emergent digital harms are reshaping insecurity in intersectional ways (Wenham et al, 2020; IDMC, 2023; Duriesmith & de Almagro, 2022) If WPS is to remain relevant, it must cease functioning as a checklist and become a vehicle for redistributive justice, protection, and agency that explicitly addresses overlapping structures of marginalisation.

To that end, a concerted research and policy agenda is required Future research should include:

Longitudinal studies that track cohorts of diverse women and marginalised groups through peace processes and humanitarian responses, revealing causal pathways between programming and durable inclusion;

Development and piloting of intersectional monitoring tools, including disaggregated indicators (race/ethnicity, class, disability, sexuality, age), participatory feedback mechanisms, and community-led dashboards that hold donors and states accountable;

Comparative South–South feminist dialogues that centre Global South epistemologies and practice-based knowledge, enabling cross-context learning such as women’s grassroots strategies in South Sudan and Afghanistan; and

Methodological pluralism that privileges participatory action research, ethnography, and mixed-method evaluations to surface local definitions of agency and security

Operationally, donors and international agencies must commit multi-year, flexible funding to disability-led organisations, queer and youth networks, and local women’s movements; ringfenced resources are essential to sustain grassroots capacities that endure political volatility

Equally, NAPs should be recast as living instruments with explicit resourcing, intersectional indicators, and protection strategies for civil society during political transitions.

In sum, intersectionality is not an academic add-on: it is central to diagnosing and redressing the real insecurities faced by diverse women and marginalised people in conflict-affected contexts

South Sudan and Afghanistan offer both cautionary tales and signposts for transformation If WPS is to fulfil its promise, scholars, policymakers, and practitioners must cohere around intersectional praxis, one that privileges local agency, demands structural reforms and measures inclusion by the quality of agency and protection, not merely by the presence of women at tables. Only then can WPS move from rhetoric to lasting, equitable impact

References

Amnesty International (2023). Afghanistan: Women’s rights under attack. London: Amnesty.

Anderlini, S. N. (2007). Women building peace: What they do, why it matters. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner

Charlesworth, H (2008) Are women peaceful? Reflections on the role of women in peacebuilding Feminist Legal Studies, 16(3), 347–361 https://doiorg/101007/s10691-008-9101-6

Collins, P. H. (1990). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment Boston, MA: Unwin Hyman

Crenshaw, K (1989) Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1989(1), 139–167.

Crenshaw, K (1989) Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1989(1), 139–167.

Duriesmith, D, & Martin de Almagro, M (2022) Feminist global governance and digital harms: Rethinking the Women, Peace and Security agenda International Affairs, 98(2), 451–469 https://doiorg/101093/ia/iiab269

Duriesmith, D., & Martin de Almagro, M. (2022). The digital turn in WPS: Opportunities and risks. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 24(4), 589–607.

El-Bushra, J, & Sahl, I M G (2005) Cycles of violence: Gender relations and armed conflict

Nairobi: ACORD

George, N. & Shepherd, L. (2016). Women, peace and security: Exploring the implementation and integration of UNSCR 1325. International Political Science Review, 37(3), 297–306.

Hagen, J (2016) Queering women, peace and security International Affairs, 92(2), 313–332 https://doiorg/101111/1468-234612549

Hamilton, C., Naam, N., Shepherd, L. J., & Valenius, J. (2020). Twenty years of Women, Peace and Security National Action Plans: Analysis and lessons learned. PRIO.

Hudson, N F (2016) Gender, security and the United Nations: Security Council resolution 1325 Routledge

Hughes, B. (2022). Disability and intersectionality in feminist international relations. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 24(1), 45–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616742.2021.1990641

Hughes, B (2022) Disability and the Women, Peace and Security agenda: Expanding intersections International Feminist Journal of Politics, 24(4), 589–608

Human Rights Watch (2022). Afghanistan: Taliban decrees restrict women’s rights. New York: HRW.

Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (2023) Global report on internal displacement 2023 Geneva: IDMC

Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. (2023). Global report on internal displacement 2023. Geneva: IDMC.

Itto, A (2006) Guests at the table? The role of women in peace processes In S Barnes (Ed), Owning the process: Public participation in peacemaking (pp 85–102) The Hague: Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael.

Kabeer, N (2015) Gender, poverty, and inequality: A brief history of feminist contributions in the field of international development Gender & Development, 23(2), 189–205 https://doiorg/101080/13552074 20151062300

Kandiyoti, D. (2022). Contestations over women’s rights in Afghanistan. Gender & Development, 30(1), 7–24.

Kirby, P, & Shepherd, L J (2016) Reintroducing women, peace and security International Affairs, 92(2), 249–254 https://doiorg/101111/1468-234612542

Kirby, P., & Shepherd, L. J. (2016). The futures past of the Women, Peace and Security agenda. International Affairs, 92(2), 373–392.

Larson, A (2022) Gendered insecurities and the failure of the WPS agenda in Afghanistan Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, 16(4), 457–475 https://doiorg/101080/175029772022 2048381

Larson, A. (2022). Hazara women and the intersectional costs of insecurity in Afghanistan. Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, 16(3), 289–307

Maxwell, D, Hailey, P, Spainhour Baker, L , & Kim, J J (2016) Constraints and complexities of information and analysis in humanitarian emergencies: Evidence from South Sudan Feinstein International Center Report. Tufts University.

Mohanty, C T (2003) Feminism without borders: Decolonizing theory, practicing solidarity Durham, NC: Duke University Press

Mohanty, C T (2003) Feminism without borders: Decolonizing theory, practicing solidarity Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

Muehlenhoff, H L (2022) National Action Plans on Women, Peace and Security: Governmentality, counter-terrorism, and the politics of inclusion International Affairs, 98(2), 523–542

Ní Aoláin, F, Haynes, D, & Cahn, N (2011) On the frontlines: Gender, war, and the post-conflict process. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Pratt, N (2013) Reconceptualizing gender, reinscribing racial–sexual boundaries in international security: The case of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on “Women, Peace and Security” International Studies Quarterly, 57(4), 772–783. https://doi.org/10.1111/isqu.12032

Rai, S M, & Cohn, C (2020) Climate change and the WPS agenda: Intersectional perspectives Gender & Development, 28(3), 513–529

Shepherd, L J (2019) Gender, security and the WPS agenda: Critical interventions

Shepherd, L. J. (2019). Gender, UN peacebuilding, and the politics of space. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Shepherd, L J (2019) Gender, UN peacebuilding, and the politics of space: Locating legitimacy Oxford: Oxford University Press

Shepherd, L. (2021). The Women, Peace and Security agenda: Fragilities and futures. International Affairs, 97(2), 473–491

Swaine, A (2018) Conflict-related violence against women: Transforming transition Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

True, J. (2012). The political economy of violence against women. New York, NY: Oxford University Press

True, J (2012) The political economy of violence against women Oxford: Oxford University Press

United Nations Security Council. (2000). Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security (S/RES/1325) 31 October 2000

UN Women (2022) Afghanistan one year after: Women’s rights in crisis New York: UN Women

Wenham, C , Smith, J, & Morgan, R (2020) COVID-19: The gendered impacts of the outbreak The Lancet, 395(10227), 846–848.

Whitworth, S (2018) Feminism and international relations: Toward a political economy of gender

Women Enabled International (2018) Women with disabilities in conflict and humanitarian emergencies. Washington, DC: WEI.

Authors:

Sibongile Majola

Dr. Amira Jadoon is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Clemson University and former faculty member at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the Combating Terrorism Center. Her research examines international security, counterterrorism strategies, and political violence, with a focus on militant groups in South and Central Asia and women’s roles in extremism. She is the author of The Islamic State in Afghanistan and Pakistan (2023) and Targeting Americans (2025) and was named one of CSIS’s 50 U.S. National Security & Foreign Affairs Leadership honorees in 2022.

Sibongile (Sibo) Majola is a PhD student in Policy Studies at Clemson University, focusing on women’s experiences in security, migration, and counterterrorism contexts She has authored Women in Terrorism (2024) and contributed to US Department of Defense–funded research on disinformation in Pakistan and the Philippines A former Senior Manager for Customs Strategy at the South African Revenue Service and a 2016 Mandela Washington Fellow, she brings extensive expertise in international engagement and trade policy

Zainab Biabani holds a B A in Political Science with a concentration in International Relations from UC Berkeley She is a researcher at The Durand Dispatch, where she focuses on countering violent extremism and international humanitarian responses Her work explores international security, terrorism, and human rights, with experience in regional analysis across South and Central Asia and community engagement through public service and mentorship programs

Ameera Moinuddin is an undergraduate student at Wake Forest University pursuing a double major in Politics & International Affairs and Statistics As a researcher at The Durand Dispatch, she focuses on governance and security in Afghanistan, with broader interests in South Asian and Middle Eastern politics Fluent in Urdu and Spanish, she also contributes to Wake Forest’s Old Gold & Black and serves on the university’s Student Government Judicial Branch

Amira Jadoon

Zainab Biabani

Ameera Moinuddin

Protective Securitization and the Gendered State: Pakistan’s Engagement with the Women, Peace and Security Agenda

Introduction

In global debates on women, peace, and security (WPS), Pakistan presents a paradox. From 2000 to 2009, the country passed only three women-related laws, despite the global momentum generated by United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 and its early successors

Yet in the following decade, between 2010 and 2019, Pakistan enacted fifty-two such laws a dramatic legislative surge with no equivalent in the preceding years1 This raises a puzzle that motivates our study: why did a security-dominated state long resistant to transformative gender reforms suddenly embark on an unprecedented lawmaking spree? More specifically, why did this surge emphasize protection from violence and criminalization of abuse, while neglecting participation and empowerment, the pillars of the WPS agenda most essential to women’s meaningful inclusion in peace and security governance? This paradox offers a revealing lens into how global gender norms are domesticated within security-oriented political systems The sheer scale of Pakistan’s post-2010 legislative activity is striking when set against the slow progress of WPS implementation globally. Most states that have engaged substantively with the WPS agenda have done so through National Action Plans (NAPs), which translate UNSCR 1325 commitments into domestic strategies Pakistan, by contrast, has never adopted a federal NAP¹ Instead, its engagement came through a patchwork of federal and provincial laws, ranging from the protection against harassment of women at the workplace to provincial domestic violence laws and amendments to the Pakistan Penal Code criminalizing acid attacks and expanding rape investigation procedures.² In other words, Pakistan’s record is both anomalous and revealing: it suggests that global frameworks alone do not explain domestic uptake, and that international pressure is insufficient without domestic catalysts

This paradox generates two research questions First, what explains variation in the timing of WPS-relevant implementation within countries, particularly shifts from legislative dormancy to sudden activity? Second, how do security imperatives shape WPS engagement? We present the concept of protective securitization to explain why states engage unevenly with the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda Protective securitization refers to the process by which security imperatives reshape the form and scope of WPS implementation, producing selective compliance that privileges protective measures over transformative participation

It unfolds through a two-step process First, international frameworks such as UNSCR 1325 generate enduring normative pressure, but this remains dormant until activated by domestic political openings such as constitutional reforms, regime transitions, or judicial revivals, which expand the institutional space for legislative activity. Second, in security-dominated contexts, global gender norms are likely to be filtered through national security logics: states adopt measures that frame women as victims in need of protection, while resisting reforms that would redistribute authority and embed women as equal participants in decision-making Protective reforms can be strategically useful for conflict-affected states: they signal alignment with international norms, help consolidate state legitimacy, and can be justified as part of broader counterterrorism or conflict-management strategies. Participation reforms, by contrast, are politically costly: they require ceding space in core security decision-making, altering entrenched hierarchies, and challenging patriarchal structures

We test this framework using an original dataset of 74 federal and provincial women’s rights laws enacted in Pakistan between 2000 and 2023, coded by jurisdiction, legal domain, and WPS category (Protection, Participation, Rights, Welfare/Support, or Mixed). The results confirm our expectations: legislative activity was negligible before 2010 but surged after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, indicating that domestic restructuring, rather than international milestones, explains the timing of reform Substantively, over half of all laws fall under Protection, concentrated in federal criminal statutes, while Rights (23%), Welfare/Support (11%), and Mixed provisions (10%) are less frequent, and participation is nearly absent (3%). These patterns show that Pakistan’s engagement with the WPS agenda is highly selective, privileging protection over empowerment and participation This study advances a new framework protective securitization to explain how security-oriented states engage with the WPS agenda It demonstrates why reforms often surge following domestic institutional shifts rather than global norms and why they remain concentrated on protection, neglecting broader goals of participation and empowerment. The paper proceeds as follows: we first review the WPS agenda and existing explanations for variation in state engagement, particularly in conflict-affected contexts, then introduce the case of Pakistan, our dataset, and coding strategy, followed by a discussion of the findings and concluding reflections

1 2

Khan, S (2022) Gender gap analysis of Pakistan’s security protocols through a gender lens Islamabad: UN Women Pakistan.

Noreen, N, & Musarrat, R (2013) Protection of women rights through legal reforms in Pakistan Journal of Public Administration and Governance, 3(4), 149–164 https://doiorg/105296/jpagv3i44590

Awan, S Z (2011) Legislation and its effectiveness to manage women domestic abuse in Pakistan Pakistan Perspectives, 16(1), 73–86

II. Foundations and Evolution of

the Women, Peace and Security Agenda

The Women, Peace and Security Agenda, established through United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on 31 October 2000, marked a historic shift in how the international community understood the relationship between gender, peace, and security The WPS Agenda brought gender equality and women’s agency from the margins to the center of the United Nations goals for the new millennium³ Despite its formal adoption in 2000, the WPS Agenda was the culmination of decades of gender equality and inclusion advocacy within the UN system and global civil society. The 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, brought together 189 countries to adopt the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a roadmap for addressing twelve “critical areas of concern”, including Women and Armed Conflict ⁴

As aforementioned, the core purpose of the WPS agenda is to incorporate women’s perspective into peace and security processes, and to address the gendered impacts of conflict, particularly the targeting of women and girls as civilians. ‘Protection’, the first pillar, focuses on ensuring women’s safety and wellbeing through laws criminalizing sexual violence, trafficking, and other gender-based abuses ‘Participation’ entails promoting women’s inclusion in peace negotiations, peacekeeping, and post conflict governance ‘Prevention’ involves integrating gendered perspectives into early warning and conflict prevention mechanisms and addressing root causes of gender-based violence Lastly, ‘Relief and Recovery’ aims to ensure that post-conflict reconstruction, humanitarian aid and social services meet the specific needs of women and girls.

In terms of enforcing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, the responsibility lies primarily with the respective national governments, however National Action Plans (NAPs) are utilized to create pressure on governments to act in accordance with the agenda, creating more concrete policies and legislation⁵ NAPs are developed by state governments to tailor implementation frameworks for WPS resolutions to their specific national contexts. NAPs prove most effective when developed collaboratively across multiple government branches and security forces, rather than in institutional silos⁶

UN Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women Landmark Resolution on Women, Peace and Security (Security Council Resolution 1325)

Aronsson, L A (2021) Women, Peace, and Security Agenda In NATO Partnerships for Women, Peace, and Security (pp 3–4) Atlantic Council Fourth World Conference on Women | United Nations (nd) the United Nations Retrieved September 27, 2025

National Action Plans: Women, Peace and Security (nd) UN Women Asia and the Pacific Retrieved September 29, 2025, from

Aronsson, L A (2021) Women, Peace, and Security Agenda In NATO Partnerships for Women, Peace, and Security (pp 3–4) Atlantic Council 3 4 5 6

The adoption of an NAP serves as both a key marker of WPS implementation and a necessary step in translating the agenda's policies from international to national jurisdictions, thereby underscoring the importance of this stage in determining a country's commitment to the agenda.⁷ The adoption of NAPs, however, has been inconsistent and uneven across states. First, resource constraints may prevent some states from developing these policies; with adequate aid or loans, such states might more readily and effectively adopt WPS frameworks Second, the political context surrounding gender policy proves crucial Countries lacking significant female political representation may demonstrate weaker commitment to NAP development and implementation.

Since 2000, several subsequent Security Council resolutions have expanded and deepened the WPS agenda UNSCR 1820 (2008) recognized sexual violence as a tactic of war and affirmed that rape can constitute a war crime and crimes against humanity⁸ UNSCR 1888 (2009) created the Office of the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict UNSCR 1889 (2009) introduced 26 indicators to measure progress on the implementation of the WPS agenda. UNSCR 1960 (2010) established monitoring and reporting mechanisms on conflict-related sexual violence. UNSCRs 2106 (2013) and 2272 (2016) reinforced accountability for perpetrators and linked sexual exploitation to peacekeeping operations UNSCR 2242 (2015) emphasized the intersection of the WPS with counter violent extremism (CVE), and UNSCR 2467 (2019) strengthened survivorcentered approaches⁹ In combination, these resolutions have transformed WPS from a single resolution into a normative regime within the UN peace and security architecture. However, implementation remains uneven, with protection consistently prioritized over participation and empowerment- a dynamic explored further over the course of this paper through the lens of Pakistan’s engagement with the WPS

What factors determine WPS Implementation?

National Action Plans are the primary instruments driving gender focused implementation within the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) framework. As of June 2025, about 112 Member States (58%) have adopted NAPs, many with multiple iterations reflecting national priorities aligned with WPS pillars¹⁰

True, J (2016) Explaining the global diffusion of the Women, and Security agenda International Political Science Review / Revue Internationale de Science Politique, 37(3), 307–323 http://wwwjstororg/stable/44632283

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1820 (2008), S/RES/1820(2008) | She Stands For Peace (nd) the United Nations Retrieved September 29, 2025,

UN Development Programme (2019), Parliaments As Partners Supporting The Women Peace and Security Agenda

George, R, Koppell, C, Smith, J, & Kawamura, A (2025, October) Implementing Women, Peace and Security: Reflections on 25 Years (Policy Brief) Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security

This expansion reflects normative progress, yet practical implementation remains uneven across contexts Scholars describe this as the “implementation gap”, the divergence between formal commitments and actual enforcement, particularly visible in fragile and conflict- affected states. Effective oversight mechanisms, judicial capacity, and public awareness are critical for narrowing this gap; however, entrenched patriarchal norms continue to hinder transformative reform¹¹ The WPS Index 2023/24 by GIWPS and PRIO underscores this disconnect, revealing that despite formal commitments, progress on inclusion, justice, and security dimensions remains uneven and often stalled in fragile states¹²

International pressure mechanisms: Normative Diffusion and Donor Leverage - International pressure serves as an important catalyst for WPS adoption, but it alone cannot sustain effective implementation Through the diffusion of WPS norms, via successive UN Security Council resolutions that institutionalize reporting, benchmarking¹³, and review, states often adopt NAPs as compliance signals¹⁴ However, many remain underfunded and lack implementing agencies or accountability systems, limiting their practical impact.¹⁵ Approximately 30% of NAPs have expired (2022 or earlier), reflecting implementation deficit driven by limited political will, institutional weakness, and resource scarcity¹⁶ Similarly, donor mechanisms such as conditional grants, technical assistance, and joint monitoring shape national compliance, but underfunding remains a chronic constraint ¹⁷ For instance, between 2012 and 2013, only 2% of peace and security aid in fragile states directly targeted gender equality; between 2011 and 2014, less than 2% of humanitarian programs prioritized women and girls' needs.¹⁸ Additionally, the securitization of donor frameworks especially counterterrorism restrictions has curtailed funding for civil society actors implementing WPS initiatives in conflict

United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (nd) Gender, women, peace and security

Ortiz, E, Kovacevic, M, Gottschalk, M, Caraluzzi, L, Kawamura, A , Lu, Z, Rustad, S A , & Obermeier, A M (2023) Women, Peace, and Security Index 2023/24: Tracking sustainable peace through inclusion, justice, and security for women GIWPS & PRIO

United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (nd) Gender, women, peace and security

Kirby, P, & Shepherd, L J (2021) Women, peace, and security: Mapping the (re)production of a policy ecosystem Journal of Global Security Studies, 6(3), ogaa045

Shepherd, L J, & Hamilton, C (2020) Twenty years of women, peace and security national action plans: Analysis and lessons learned WIIS Global

Davies, S E, & True, J (2021) Introduction: WPS 20 years on: Where are the women now? Global Studies Quarterly, 1(3)

Davies, S E, & True, J (2021) Introduction: WPS 20 years on: Where are the women now? Global Studies Quarterly, 1(3)

UN Women (nd) Financing of the women, peace, and security agenda Global Study on the

zones¹⁹ A 2025 global survey reported that 90% of women-led organizations in crisis contexts faced funding reductions, and nearly half anticipated closure without renewed support ²⁰

Pakistan’s gender policy framework explicitly aligns with international commitments such as ILO standards, exemplified by²¹ the Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Amendment) Bill Pakistan's commitment to UN human rights instruments, including engagement with the UNDP and UN Women, has emphasized the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and spurring the reform of discriminatory laws, such as the Hudood Ordinances. In the post- 9/11 era, the desire to enhance Pakistan's global image, combined with international condemnation of human rights violations intensified the pressure for legislative changes US development assistance, notably through the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Drafting, enhanced domestic lawmaking capacity and catalyzed reforms The aid ensured capacity building for law making, which exerted pressure for developing provisions²² Yet a 2018 report on international indices highlights Pakistan’s persistently low ranking on the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index placing 143rd out of 144 countries in 2015, 2016, and 2017 positioning it among the least gender-equal nations worldwide.²³

Domestic political factors - play a crucial role in determining whether WPS commitments translate into meaningful implementation in conflict-affected settings Key domestic factors include regime type, political will, the strength of women’s movements, and the autonomy of governance institutions, especially under fragile conditions. Although democratic theory predicts stronger gender equality outcomes, conflict contexts reveal a more nuanced reality. Authoritarian and hybrid regimes sometimes advance WPS policies instrumentally, to secure international legitimacy, access donor funds, or project a modernizing image, without genuine commitment to transformative change²⁴ Rwanda presents a striking example of authoritarian advancement of women's representation in a post-genocide context

Ní Aoláin, F (2016) The 'war on terror' and extremism: Assessing the relevance of the Women, Peace and Security agenda International Affairs, 92(2), 275–291

Security Council Report (2025, October) Annual open debate on women, peace and security: What's in blue

Khalid, J, Othman, N, & Zakaria, W N W (2023) Women Development Related Policies in Pakistan: A Preliminary Gap Analysis JOSTIP, 9(1), 39–44; Syed, N T, Tabassum, H, & Afzal, T (2013) Women’s political participation and the laws to protect women in Pakistan Pakistan Journal of Women's Studies: Alam-e-Niswan, 20(2), 99– 115

Ansari, S A , Mehmood, A , & Mangool, R A (2015) Good Governance in Pakistan through Effective Laws: Case Study of Legislative Drafting and Law Reform Processes in Pakistan International Journal of Legislative Drafting and Law Reform, 4, 11–37

Zubair, M, Haider, S I, & Khattak, F (2018) The implementation challenges women protection laws in Pakistan *Global Regional Review (GRR), 3*(1), 253–264. https://doi.org/10.31703/grr.2018(III-I).18

Davies, S E , & True, J (2021) Introduction: WPS 20 years on: Where are the women now? Global Studies Quarterly, 1(3),

Under President Paul Kagame's increasingly authoritarian regime, Rwanda achieved the world's highest proportion of women in parliament (61 3% as of 2018), enshrined through constitutional provisions and reserved seats.²⁵ However, Rwanda's NAP reveals that while the country demonstrates impressive numerical representation, "protection, representation and participation" exists only within highly constrained political space where civil society operates under tight government control²⁶ Research shows that democratic transitions in conflict settings do not automatically strengthen WPS implementation; rather, political will shaped by elite interests, civil-military relations, and the balance of power between secular and religious actors proves more determinative than regime type alone. ²⁷ In volatile security situations, the imperative of political survival leads to resource diversion toward immediate security concerns, marginalizing social justice policies including WPS ²⁸

Implementation in Conflict Zones - Implementation challenges are most acute in conflictaffected settings where weak governance, insecurity, and political instability undermine WPS commitments.²⁹ In volatile security contexts, prioritization shifts toward political survival, with resources diverted to immediate security concerns, taking precedence over social justice policies¹¹ In areas of limited state control, informal justice systems like jirgas and panchayats often undermine women’s rights through discriminatory rulings³⁰ Major barriers include weak enforcement mechanisms, resistance from regressive socio-cultural norms that intensify during conflict, and critical limitations in administrative capacity³¹

Powley, E (2007) Rwanda: The impact of women legislators on policy outcomes affecting children and families Background Paper for The State of the World's Children 2007 UNICEF

Björkdahl, A , & Mannergren Selimovic, J (2015) Translating UNSCR 1325 from the global to the national: protection, representation and participation in the National Action Plans of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Rwanda Conflict, Security & Development, 15(4), 311-335.

Khalid, J, Othman, N, & Zakaria, W N W (2023) Women development related policies in Pakistan: A preliminary gap analysis Journal of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, 9(1), 39-44

Zubair, M, Haider, S I, & Khattak, F (2018) The implementation challenges women protection laws in Pakistan Global Regional Review, 3(1), 253–264

Zubair, M, Haider, S I, & Khattak, F (2018) The implementation challenges women protection laws in Pakistan Global Regional Review, 3(1), 253–264

Qasim, G , Shan Shah, A , & Ali, N (2023) Redefining the role of women in Pakistan: Zardari's effort to empower women through constitutional development Annals of Human and Social Sciences, 4(2), 115–124

Qasim, G., Shan Shah, A., & Ali, N. (2023). Redefining the role of women in Pakistan: Zardari's effort to empower women through constitutional development Annals of Human and Social Sciences, 4(2), 115–124

Women human rights defenders face heightened threats from armed groups and extremist organizations who view gender equality reforms as "Westernizing" and contrary to religious or cultural values.³² Afghanistan represents the most severe case of WPS reversal in recent years, where conflict-driven regime change obliterated decades of progress through laws that significantly restrict women's freedom and prohibit public participation, demonstrating the fragility of WPS gains in the absence of sustained political commitment and enabling environments³³

Security imperatives and selective compliance - A key gap in existing literature concerns how security imperatives shape selective compliance where states embrace WPS norms that enhance legitimacy while resisting transformative reforms that challenge power hierarchies Existing research identifies implementation deficits but lacks a theoretical framework for explaining why security-dominated states engage with certain WPS pillars (protection) while neglecting others (participation), and how security logics filter global gender norms into domestically palatable forms. Current scholarship recognizes that security contexts matter for WPS implementation, yet fails to theorize the mechanisms through which security imperatives actively shape the form and content of WPS engagement Research documents that in conflictaffected countries, volatile security situations lead to prioritization shifts where resources are diverted from social justice policies to immediate security concerns, but this framing treats security as merely a competing priority that crowds out gender reforms, rather than recognizing security logics as a filter that reshapes which gender reforms become politically viable. This dynamic is captured in the concept of protective securitization, where gender reforms are filtered through national security logics In Pakistan and other conflict-affected states, formal WPS policies and supreme court judgments declaring acts against women's rights illegal coexist with informal parallel justice systems that operate with impunity, particularly in conflict-affected regions representing a critical gap where state security and justice mechanisms fail to assert authority. However, framing this as "implementation failure" can obscure underlying dynamics at play.

Research Questions - These gaps in the literature, and the undertheorized relationship between security imperatives and selective compliance, bring us to the central questions guiding this study What explains variation in the timing of WPS implementation within states particularly the shift from long periods of legislative dormancy to sudden bursts of reform?

Riaz, A M, & Naz, H (2025) Analysis of women laws in Pakistan: Theory and practice Bulletin of Multidisciplinary Studies, 1(4), 182–190

Parsons, O, & Donnelly, P (2025, January 23) The highs and lows of women, peace and security in 2024, and looking ahead to 2025 IPI Global Observatory

And how do security imperatives shape the pattern of WPS implementation, producing forms of selective compliance when global gender norms are filtered through national security priorities? To address these questions, this study advances a framework of protective securitization, to explain how security-dominated states engage with the WPS agenda in ways that appear normatively compliant but ultimately reinforce existing power hierarchies The argument is tested through an in-depth case study of Pakistan Despite facing consistent international pressure throughout the 2000s, Pakistan moved from passing only three women-related laws between 2000 and 2009 to fifty-two between 2010 and 2019

III. Theorizing Protective Securitization

We introduce the concept of protective securitization to explain how security-dominated states engage with the Women, Peace and Security agenda Specifically, this refers to the ways in which governments appear compliant but ultimately preserve existing power structures Protective securitization refers to the process by which security imperatives reshape WPS implementation, producing selective compliance that privileges protective measures over transformative gender equality. Unlike traditional securitization theory, which examines how issues become framed as existential threats requiring extraordinary measures, protective securitization reveals how security logics can co-opt and redirect international gender norms The result is a form of implementation that addresses symptoms of gender inequality particularly violence against women while avoiding the structural reforms necessary for women's meaningful participation in peace and security governance.

The mechanism through which protective securitization operates is the security sector's reinterpretation of the global gender frameworks through counterterrorism priorities In securitydominated states like Pakistan, the military, intelligence agencies, and defense establishments can serve as institutional gatekeepers for policy implementation, including international commitments. When WPS norms enter this policy space dominated by military institutions, we expect that security actors reinterpret women's rights through the prism of national security priorities, particularly counterterrorism and counter-insurgency objectives in conflict-affected societies Violence against women becomes actionable not as a human rights violation but as a potential security threat As noted in a 2022 report examining WPs implementation in Pakistan, “violence against women became a security threat when it involved extremist groups, but remained a private matter when perpetrated within families."³⁴ We argue that this filtering process strips WPS implementation of its transformative potential, reducing a comprehensive agenda for gender equality to a narrow set of protective measures that align with existing security doctrines Khan, S (2022)

The outcome of protective securitization is a pattern of protection-oriented reforms that signal compliance with international norms while maintaining entrenched patriarchal and security hierarchies. This produces what we term "protection without participation" - a form of WPS implementation that criminalizes violence against women and establishes victim support mechanisms, yet systematically excludes women from decision-making roles in peace and security governance Women are positioned as beneficiaries of state protection rather than agents of peace and security This outcome serves dual purposes for security-dominated states It deflects international criticism about gender equality and consolidates the security establishment's authority to define and address threats, including those that affect women.

Critical juncture effects operate through multiple simultaneous changes that create openings for legislative action - Critical junctures are moments of institutional fluidity when structural constraints on political action are relaxed, enabling significant institutional change³⁵ These are "brief phases of institutional flux" during which "the range of plausible choices open to powerful political actors expands substantially."³⁶ International frameworks create normative pressure but remain dormant without such domestic catalysts. As Collier and Collier demonstrate, critical junctures produce distinct legacies through the mechanisms they trigger rather than through external pressures alone³⁷ Pakistan appears to demonstrate this pattern clearly: despite participating in UN Open Debates on WPS in 2015 and 2017 and continuously voicing support for Resolution 1325, in 2022, the country still lacked a National Action Plan or dedicated WPS budget.³⁸ The legislative surge came not from international milestones but from what Pierson calls "temporal clustering" the convergence of domestic political changes in 2010³⁹: the 18th Constitutional Amendment, democratic transition following military rule, judicial activism through the Lawyers' Movement (2007-2009), and provincial devolution of power This multiplicity of simultaneous reforms represents permissive conditions that relax constraints, combined with conditions that shape the direction of change Democratic transitions create political space for legislative action as new coalitions seek legitimacy through reform.⁴⁰

Capoccia, G , & Kelemen, R D (2007) The study of critical junctures: Theory, narrative, and counterfactuals in historical institutionalism World politics, 59(3), 341-369

Mahoney, J, & Thelen, K (Eds) (2009) Explaining institutional change: Ambiguity, agency, and power Cambridge University Press

Collier, R, & Collier, D (1993) Shaping the political arena Critical junctures, the labor move

Khan, Simbal "Gap analysis of Pakistan security protocols through a gender lens" (2022)

Pierson, P (2004) Politics in time: History, institutions, and social analysis Princeton University Press

Slater, D, & Simmons, E (2010) Informative regress: Critical antecedents in comparative politics Comparative Political Studies, 43(7), 886-917

Security-Institutional Filter - Once domestic political openings create space for legislative action, security institutions shape how WPS implementation unfolds The security-institutional filter operates through three interconnected mechanisms that systematically channel WPS implementation toward protection while marginalizing participation. First, constitutional arrangements may structurally bias reforms toward protection in some countries Pakistan's federal government retains exclusive authority over criminal law under the Constitution's Federal Legislative List, while provinces control social welfare, women's development, and local governance (Constitution of Pakistan, 1973, Fourth Schedule) This division means that protection measures criminalization of acid attacks, anti-harassment laws, honor killing amendments flow naturally through federal channels controlled by security institutions. By contrast, participation reforms would require provincial action on quotas, political representation, and local governance structures where implementation capacity varies widely⁴¹ Federal security actors can rapidly push through criminal law amendments framed as gender protection measures that align with their law-and-order mandate, while participation reforms must navigate provincial jurisdictions with varying political will and implementation capacity. Second, security framing transforms women from rights-holders into passive symbols of vulnerability. The Pakistani military legitimized operations in Swat (2009) and FATA (2014-2017) partly through narratives of protecting women from Taliban brutality Militant attacks on girls' schools became rallying cries for military intervention rather than education reform Violence against women was framed as a security threat when it involved extremist groups but was still framed as a private matter when occurring within families.⁴² This framing allows the state to claim defense of women's rights while avoiding substantive redistribution of power.

Third, security institutions function as gatekeepers, filtering out transformative elements of WPS Provincial Apex Committees the primary coordination bodies for security policy established under the National Action Plan (2014) coordinate all civilian and military operations but systematically exclude women's perspectives. These committees remain under the domain of security-led institutions with limited participation from women despite making decisions that fundamentally affect women's mobility, education, and safety⁴³ This institutional architecture ensures that security logic rather than gender equality shapes implementation, with women's rights often compromised in informal peace negotiations

Cheema, A , Khan, S , Mohmand, S K, Kuraishi, A , Liaqat, A , & Nadeem, F (2019) Women’s political participation in a Pakistani metropolis: Navigating gendered household and political spaces Institute of Development and Economic Alternatives https://opendocs ids ac uk/opendocs/handle/20500, 12413, 14491

Khan, Simbal "Gap analysis of Pakistan security protocols through a gender lens" UN Women Pakistan (2022)

Khan, Simbal "Gap analysis of Pakistan security protocols through a gender lens" UN Women Pakistan (2022)

Hypotheses

We expect legislative surges in WPS laws to follow domestic political transitions rather than respond directly to international milestones. While UNSCR 1325 and subsequent resolutions create normative pressure, this pressure remains latent until activated by internal political restructuring The timing of WPS implementation should therefore align with periods of domestic institutional flux rather than global WPS developments We anticipate protective measures will dominate WPS implementation during periods of intensified security operations When military campaigns against extremists intensify the security lens through which WPS implementation passes should prioritize criminalization of gender-based violence over measures that enhance women’s political participation. Security imperatives make protection measures politically viable they align with law-and-order mandates and counter-extremism narratives In contrast, participation reforms that would redistribute power remain politically costly and institutionally resisted This dynamic is likely to produce a pattern of "protection without participation" as the dominant mode of WPS engagement States develop extensive frameworks establishing gender-based violence courts and laws, while maintaining women's exclusion from security decision-making structures. Based on this logic, we test the following hypotheses:

H1: Critical Juncture: Legislative surges in WPS-related laws will correlate with critical junctures periods of multiple simultaneous domestic reforms that create institutional fluidity rather than with international norms

H2: Security-Institutional Filter Women-related laws passed during peak counterterrorism will disproportionately emphasize Protection over Participation (e.g., during counterterrorism operations, conflict escalation)

IV. The Pakistan Case Study

Pakistan represents an archetypal security-dominated state where national security concerns pervade policymaking. Since independence, the military has ruled directly for nearly half the country's existence and maintained decisive influence even during civilian governments. The security establishment, comprising the military, intelligence agencies, and defense ministry, functions as the primary filter for policy initiatives, including international commitments This securitization intensified after 9/11, especially with western involvement during the War on Terror As a frontline state in the war, Pakistan received over $30 billion in security assistance, reinforcing the military's institutional dominance.⁴⁴ In 2014, the TTP carried out a brutal attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar, killing roughly 150 people, most of whom were young children.

“Report: US Has given Pakistan $33 Billion in Economic and Security Assistance, Including Coalition Support Funds as Part of the Afghanistan Operational Budget, since 2002” CRSS, 2016 https://crsspk/report-us-has-given-pakistan-about-33billion-in-the-war-on-terror-since-2002/

In response, Pakistan doubled down on domestic security measures, passing the 2014 National Action Plan (NAP) in coordination with the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) and the Ministry of Interior, consisting of 20 major points.⁴⁵ Within the NAP (2014), counterterrorism became the organizing logic of governance. It addressed diverse policy areas, ranging from judicial and security reforms to financial regulation, media control, and social policy under a security framework It provided an overall emphasis on strengthening existing entities such as NACTA, in efforts of choking financing for terrorist groups, and promoting stability via development, refugee management, and criminal justice reform The National Action Plan (NAP) paved the way for several constitutional and legal changes, including the 21st Amendment (2015), which established special military courts to try individuals accused of terrorism and securityrelated offenses In line with the NAP, Pakistan also expanded intelligence operations through new legislation, introducing technologies such as the Lawful Intercept Management System (LIMS) to enhance surveillance and counterterrorism capabilities⁴⁶ In accordance with this state expansion of power and surveillance, security became the dominant framework within which governance operated. Legislation concerning women's empowerment was increasingly viewed not as a matter of equality or justice, but through the lens of national security.

In Pakistan, women’s issues became selectively securitized violence against women was treated as a national concern only when linked to terrorism, while domestic abuse and structural inequality remained private matters⁴⁷ This security lens created a hierarchy of concern, prioritizing protection from extremism over women’s political empowerment and rights. Malala Yousafzai’s story illustrates how women’s empowerment in Pakistan became entwined with security discourse Her shooting was framed as an act of terrorism rather than part of a broader pattern of gendered violence, transforming her into a symbol of resistance against extremism⁴⁸ This sort of framing is in alignment with the NAP, but also an embodiment of how women's empowerment became intertwined with security discourse, shifting away from structural gender reform. Despite Pakistan’s stated commitment to the WPS agenda, women remain largely excluded from national security and counterterrorism decision-making. Recent reports on Pakistan’s security protocols confirm that, although legislative progress has been made nationally, women’s participation and protection remain limited, especially in conflict-affected regions⁴⁹

“National Action Plan, 2014” NACTA, 2024 https://nactagovpk/laws-policies/nap-2014/

“Country Reports on Terrorism 2014 - Pakistan” Refworld: Global Law & Policy Database, June 19, 2015

Khan, S.. "Gap analysis of Pakistan security protocols through a gender lens." UN Women Pakistan (2022).

Khoja-Moolji, Shenila “Why Is Malala Such a Polarising Figure in Pakistan?” Al Jazeera, April 1, 2018;Farooq, Umer “Attack on Malala Was Staged, Claims Pti Mna” The Express Tribune, May 20, 2017

Khan, S.UN Women Pakistan. “Gap Analysis of Pakistan’s Security Protocols Through a Gender Lens.” UN Women, 2022.

Overall, a puzzling pattern emerges: despite no significant change in international pressure to comply with WPS standards, Pakistan witnessed a dramatic surge in women-related legislation after 2010. Between 2000 and 2009, only three such laws were enacted, compared to fifty-two in the following decade. This sharp increase warrants explanation why did women’s rights suddenly gain legislative momentum?

V. Data & Methodology

Our analysis draws on an original dataset we constructed from the National Commission on the Status of Women's (NCSW), "The NCSW List of Federal and Provincial Pro-Women Laws " representing the most authoritative state-recognized compilation of gender-related legislation in Pakistan⁵⁰ From this source, we identified 74 federal and provincial laws enacted between 2000 and 2023 Inclusion was limited to legislation with explicit provisions advancing women’s rights, protection, participation, or gender equality, as defined by their primary objectives and legal scope Laws that referenced women only tangentially, without substantive provisions, were excluded. To ensure accuracy and completeness, we validated the dataset through cross referencing with parliamentary records, official gazettes, and legal databases, verifying enactment dates, jurisdictional authority, and textual content Each law was classified by jurisdiction (federal or provincial) and year of passage, revealing not just the volume of legislative activity, but the substantive focus and framing of women's issues

Coding Framework - The first step of our coding process was to code each law by its type and legal provisions using a standardized framework (please see Appendix). Every law was categorized according to its main category, subcategory, a brief description, the issue being addressed (including both its overarching objective and secondary focus), the target population and the specific provisions relevant to these groups To establish a consistent conceptual basis, several authoritative United Nations sources were consulted The United Nations Terminology Database (UNTERM) provided standardized terminology for major legal domains, including family law, property law, labor law, and criminal law. Within criminal law, subcategories such as sexual harassment, rape, trafficking, femicide, and child, early, and forced marriage were coded following definitions from UN Women’s Gender Equality Glossary

In the second stage, an additional layer of coding was applied to align each law with the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) framework. A new column labeled “WPS Category” was added to the database, and each law was reclassified into one of five WPS-aligned categories: Protection, Participation, Rights, Welfare or Support, and Mixed (see Appendix for coding definitions) This process allowed us to compare how different types of women-related laws correspond to the WPS pillars, while identifying temporal and jurisdictional trends

National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) (2021) List of federal and provincial pro-women laws Islamabad: Government of Pakistan Retrieved from https://ncswgovpk/pro-women-laws, accessed June 2024

For all coding, two team members independently coded each data point, and upon completion, compared categorizations and resolved any discrepancies through structured discussion, refining category definitions when necessary (Salehyan et al., 2012).⁵¹

We analyzed this dataset in two ways First, we conducted a temporal and spatial analysis examining patterns in legislative output across time and jurisdiction Second, we conducted a content analysis of the legislation itself, systematically coding each law according to the four WPS pillars based on its primary provisions and objectives Laws protecting women cover several areas: protection from violence such as the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act; participation in public life such as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Commission on the Status of Women Act; rights laws such as the Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights Act and welfare laws such as the Punjab Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Authority Act

VI. Findings

Our analysis of 74 federal and provincial women's rights laws enacted between 2000 and 2023 reveals patterns that support the protective securitization framework. The data demonstrate how Pakistan's engagement with the WPS agenda has been shaped by the interaction of domestic political restructuring and security imperatives, producing a distinctive pattern of protection without participation

Overall Distribution: The Dominance of Protection Table 1 reveals the substantive skew in Pakistan's WPS implementation. Of the 74 women-related laws enacted between 2000 and 2023, 40 (54 1 %) fall under Protection, with 33 (82 5 %) of these situated within the criminal law domain These include major statutes addressing sexual harassment, domestic violence, trafficking, child protection, and so-called honor crimes areas that align closely with the state’s law-and-order mandate By comparison, Rights-oriented laws (230%) including reforms on property ownership, inheritance, marriage, and citizenship remain significant but secondary. Welfare/Support measures (10.8%) and Mixed provisions (9.5%) account for a smaller portion, while Participation laws (27%) are least represented This distribution suggests that legislative interventions have increasingly criminalized violence against women, while remaining less ambitious in promoting institutional empowerment, socioeconomic equality, and political participation The result is a protection-heavy framework for women’s rights The heatmap (Figure 1) provides further clarity by illustrating how these categories map onto specific legal domains. The concentration of Protection laws within the Criminal domain (33) stands out starkly, confirming that the legislative agenda has been overwhelmingly anchored in punitive approaches to violence against women This pattern underscores how the state’s response has largely been reactive, centered on addressing harms after they occur rather than creating enabling conditions for empowerment

Salehyan, I, Hendrix, C S , Hamner, J, Case, C , Linebarger, C , Stull, E , & Williams, J (2012) Social Conflict in Africa: A New Database International Interactions, 38(4), 503-511

In contrast, Rights legislation is more dispersed, cutting across property, family, and constitutional domains, reflecting incremental efforts to address structural inequalities in personal status and inheritance laws. Welfare/Support laws appear across less conventional domains such as health and immigration, highlighting ad hoc and fragmented responses rather than a systematic welfare framework Mixed laws cluster in labor and constitutional domains, suggesting that when legislation straddles categories, it is often tied to workplace rights or institutional reforms Finally, the near absence of Participation laws (only two cases) illustrates a striking neglect of women’s political and institutional inclusion

Table 1: Distribution of Pakistani Women’s Rights Legislation by WPS Category and Legal Domain (2000–2023)

1: Distribution of Pakistani Women’s Rights Legislation by WPS Category and Legal Domain (2000–2023)

Temporal Patterns: The Critical Juncture of 2010 - Table 2 reveals the temporal shift that aligns with our critical juncture hypothesis. Only 3 laws (4.1%) were enacted between 2000–2009, underscoring the relative neglect of women’s rights legislation prior to the 18th Constitutional Amendment Following the devolution of authority to provinces in 2010, legislative activity surged, with 67 laws (905%) passed between 2010–2021 This period witnessed a wave of Protection laws, but also the emergence of Welfare/Support, Rights-based, and Mixed laws, suggesting that provincial assemblies became important drivers of reform. By contrast, momentum slowed in 2022–2023, with only 4 laws (5.4%) passed. Interestingly, these were split evenly between Protection (50%) and Rights (50%) and did not include new welfare or participation provisions The year 2010 represents a key critical juncture for the country Multiple simultaneous reforms converged to create institutional fluidity: the 18 Constitutional Amendment (April 2010) devolved legislative authority to provinces, the Lawyers' Movement (2007-2009) culminated in judicial independence, and the transition from military to civilian rule (2008) consolidated into democratic governance. During 2000-2009, Pakistan was exposed to substantial international pressure: UNSCR 1325 (2000) established the WPS framework, and by this time, Pakistan had also become a major non-NATO ally in the War on Terror Pakistan received billions in US assistance, largely through post-9/11 security and development packages that incorporated governance and democratization components Congressional and USAID documents show that democracy, ruleof-law, and institutional-capacity programs expanded during this period, culminating in the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009 (Kerry-Lugar-Berman), which explicitly tied U.S.

Fig

aid to governance, civilian oversight, and democratic reform⁵² Yet this decade produced only 3 women-related laws, two focused on Protection and one on Welfare/Support, with zero Participation measures.

In Figure 2, stacked bar charts display the number of WPS-related laws enacted each year between 2000 and 2023, disaggregated by jurisdiction and category The visualization reveals clear temporal clustering: federal legislation precedes provincial activity, with early measures concentrated in Protection and Rights categories during the post-2008 democratic transition Provincial lawmaking expanded only after 2010, following the 18th Constitutional Amendment, which devolved authority over several social and economic domains. The federal surge between 2010 and 2016 appears to produce a lagged but parallel wave of subnational reforms Overall, the timeline underscores a federal-first sequencing in WPS implementation: national reforms anchored in law-and-order priorities triggered subsequent, smaller provincial responses, resulting in a protection-heavy but hierarchically patterned trajectory of women’s rights legislation.

Kronstadt KA. Pakistan: U.S. Foreign Assistance. Washington (DC): Congressional Research Service; 2009 Jul 1. Report R41856 Available from: https://crsreportscongressgov/product/pdf/R/R41856; US Congress Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009 Public Law 111-73 (Oct 15, 2009) Available from: https://wwwcongressgov/bill/111thcongress/senate-bill/1707/text 52

Table 2: Temporal Distribution of Laws by WPS Category (2000–2023)

Figure 2: Annual distribution of WPS-related legislation in Pakistan (2000–2023), by jurisdiction and category.

Jurisdictional Patterns - Next we turn to analyze the distribution of Pakistan’s women’s rights laws across five provinces/jurisdictions (Federal, Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan) and the five Women, Peace and Security (WPS) categories (Protection, Participation, Rights, Welfare/Support, and Mixed). Figure 3 visualizes the distribution of women’s rights legislation across jurisdictions, legal domains, and WPS categories. It uses a bubble grid in which each circle represents one or more laws enacted between 2000 and 2023, with its size proportional to the number of enactments in that category⁵³ Larger bubbles along the federal–criminal–Protection axis highlight the state’s structural bias toward protective and punitive lawmaking, while smaller, scattered provincial bubbles indicate the more diversified yet limited scope of subnational reforms. Together, the figure captures both the institutional channeling effect of Pakistan’s constitutional architecture and the uneven diffusion of WPS priorities across domains and jurisdictions At the federal level, the large bubble at the intersection of Federal–Protection–Criminal represents 21 laws about 55 percent of all federal enactments This concentration is structurally rooted:

The visualization was produced in Python (Plotly Express) using our dataset of laws coded by jurisdiction (federal or provincial), WPS category (Protection, Participation, Rights, Welfare/Support, Mixed), and legal domain (criminal, family, labor, property, etc )

Pakistan’s constitution assigns criminal law and procedure to a shared (concurrent) domain under the Fourth Schedule, but with federal supremacy in case of conflict ⁵⁴ Because federal statutes take precedence, the federal government effectively controls major criminal reforms. The structural architecture thus channels Protection-oriented reforms through the federal criminal law pipeline, making it more straightforward for the federal government to introduce nationwide criminal measures

Provincial Patterns At the provincial level, diversity exists but within tight limits As Figure 3 shows, Punjab demonstrates the most balanced distribution, with four Protection laws in the criminal domain alongside scattered initiatives across Participation, Rights, and Welfare categories. Sindh exhibits a similar pattern, with five Protection laws complemented by Rights legislation grounded in property law These provinces have leveraged the post-18th Amendment devolution of powers to legislate in areas such as family, labor, and property law, domains that fall more clearly within their constitutional authority Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan, the provinces most affected by counterterrorism and military operations, display limited and uneven legislative activity. KP shows only a few Protection laws but a notable focus on Welfare and labor-related measures, while Balochistan’s output remains minimal, with just five laws over two decades Overall, the evidence underscores the institutional, not spatial, nature of protective securitization: the federal state retains primacy over criminal law and national security, setting the boundaries within which provinces operate As a result, Pakistan’s WPS legislative landscape remains protection-heavy and centrally orchestrated, with provinces functioning as complementary actors within a federally driven gender-security framework.

Government of Pakistan (nd) The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan: Part V, Chapter 1 – Legislative Powers; Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School of Law (LUMS) (2024) Criminal Law after the 18th Constitutional Amendment: A Critical Review Lahore University of Management Sciences 54

Figure 3: Women’s Laws By Legal Domain and Province (2000-2023)

Evaluating the Hypotheses - The findings offer partial but meaningful support for both hypotheses Our analysis provides support for the Critical Juncture Hypothesis (H1) in the case of Pakistan: the timing of WPS-related legislation corresponds closely with domestic institutional restructuring, and devolution of powers, rather than with international WPS milestones. Legislative surges emerged during moments of political transition and state reorganization, indicating that internal shifts in authority, rather than external normative pressure, activate policy windows for gender reform Evidence for the Security-Institutional Filter Hypothesis (H2) is more conditional The overall distribution of laws reveals a clear security bias: Protection laws constitute 54.1 percent of total output, with most of these operating through federal criminal law channels. During Pakistan’s peak counterterrorism period (2010–2019), encompassing military operations in Swat and the former FATA, as well as the implementation of the National Action Plan, Protection laws dominated the legislative landscape, while participation measures remained virtually absent However, provincial patterns introduce nuance Contrary to expectations Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan the provinces most affected by conflict do not exhibit a stronger Protection emphasis than Punjab or Sindh. This divergence suggests that the security- institutional filter operates primarily through federal constitutional architecture, not through localized responses to insecurity Taken together, the evidence shows that Pakistan’s WPS legislative agenda is federally driven, protection-heavy, and episodic, shaped more by centralized security governance and institutional incentives than by sustained normative diffusion or provincial adaptation

VII. Discussion

The Lost Decade - The adoption of UNSCR 1325 in October 2000 marked a paradigm shift in security governance, establishing the WPS agenda Yet Pakistan's response during this decade was strikingly minimal: only three women-related laws were enacted between 2000 and 2009, despite sustained international engagement and Pakistan's strategic partnership with the United States. This legislative dormancy unfolded against the backdrop of military rule and counterterrorism imperatives. The September 11 attacks placed Pakistan at a strategic crossroads. President General Pervez Musharraf faced a stark ultimatum: become a partner in the US -led War on Terror or risk being branded a state sponsor⁵⁵ Musharraf chose alliance over isolation, which resulted in a counterterrorism alliance that brought immediate benefits: the removal of sanctions imposed after Pakistan's 1998 nuclear tests and Musharraf's 1999 coup, and designation as a major non-NATO ally in 2004, which expanded Pakistani access to U.S. military assistance.

Within this security-dominated environment, women's rights legislation remained marginal This legislative stagnation supports H1, showing that without domestic institutional reform, international WPS norms remained inactive

Jadoon, A , Yon, R M, & Rice, D J (2024) Carrot or stick, or both? Examining US presidents' use of counterterrorism tools in Pakistan, 2001-2020 Presidential Studies Quarterly

The three laws enacted during this period reflect strategic adaptation of international norms within contested domestic arenas such as destructive patriarchal permanence, religious beliefs and institutional resistance, rather than genuine transformative commitment. The Protection of Breastfeeding and Child Nutrition Ordinance (2002) was promulgated during Musharraf's military regime when Pakistan sought to project a reformist image on women's and children's welfare while consolidating international support, drawing on WHO frameworks and UNICEF advocacy⁵⁶ Musharraf's signature achievement, the Protection of Women Act of 2006, amended parts of the Hudood Ordinances and the Pakistan Penal Code to better protect women⁵⁷ While a legislative milestone, this law likely suffered from competing broader security priorities and fell short of fully realizing UNSCR 1325's objectives.⁵⁸ The decade thus reveals a fundamental paradox: despite Pakistan's status as a major non-NATO ally receiving substantial US aid, despite international pressure to conform to global human rights standards, and despite Musharraf's apparent awareness of international perception, women's rights legislation remained virtually stagnant ⁵⁹ This period exemplifies the inertia of WPS implementation in the absence of domestic institutional openings.

The Legislative Surge - after a decade of legislative stagnation, this surge marked a decisive turning point in Pakistan's political and constitutional architecture, triggering an unprecedented surge in women's rights legislation This legislative activity coincided not with new international WPS milestones, but with the convergence of multiple domestic reforms The 18 Constitutional Amendment (April 2010) fundamentally restructured state-federal relations, devolving legislative autonomy to provinces and dissolving federal ministries including Women Development, Social Welfare, and Local Government ⁶⁰ Simultaneously, the Lawyers' Movement (2007-2009) culminated in judicial independence, with activist courts emerging as new arbiters capable of challenging executive authority and taking suo motu actions on gender-based violence⁶¹

World Health Organization (WHO) (2001) The international code of marketing of breast-milk substitutes Geneva, Switzerland: WHO; UNICEF (2002) The state of the world's children 2002: Leadership New York, NY: UNICEF

Riaz & Naz (2025); Awan, S Z (2011) Legislation and its effectiveness to manage women domestic abuse in Pakistan Pakistan Perspectives, 16(1), 121-139

Zubair, M, Haider, S I, & Khattak, F (2018) The implementation challenges women protection laws in Pakistan Global Regional Review (GRR), 3(1), 253-264

Noreen, N, & Musarrat, R (2013) Protection of women rights through legal reforms in Pakistan Journal of Public Administration and Governance, 3(4), 119-142

Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination. (2010). Final report of the Implementation Commission on the 18th Constitutional Amendment Government of Pakistan

Phelps, Jordyn "Pakistan's Lawyers Movement (2007-2009)" ICNC, March 14, 2009

The transition from Musharraf's military rule to civilian governance under the Pakistan People's Party consolidated democratic institutions, while the renaming of the North-West Frontier Province to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa symbolized broader political recognition of marginalized identities⁶² These simultaneous transformations constitutional, judicial, and political represent the temporal clustering that defines critical junctures, creating permissive conditions that relaxed structural constraints on legislative action Yet this critical juncture unfolded against intensifying security imperatives that shaped the direction of reform The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) insurgency escalated dramatically during this period, with Operation Black Thunderstorm (20092010) attempting to retrieve Swat and surrounding districts from militant control.⁶³ Pakistan's agreement to implement Islamic law in Swat Valley drew international criticism, with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declaring Pakistan was "abdicating to the Taliban"⁶⁴ The violence intensified through 2014, culminating in two watershed events: the June 2014 attack on Karachi's Jinnah International Airport and the December 2014 Peshawar Army Public School massacre, where TTP militants killed 150 people, mostly children, in retaliation for Operation Zarb-e-Azb Pakistan's major offensive against extremist groups in North Waziristan that displaced an estimated one million people⁶⁵ The Peshawar attack galvanized Pakistan's National Action Plan (NAP), a 20-point counterterrorism framework that made security the organizing logic of governance Within this security-dominated context, women's issues became selectively securitized: violence against women was treated as a national concern when linked to terrorism, while domestic abuse and structural inequality remained private matters.

This convergence of institutional openings and security imperatives produced the legislative surge, but channeled it toward protection over participation The critical juncture created space for legislative action by simultaneously devolving authority to provinces, empowering an independent judiciary to enforce compliance, and incentivizing the civilian government to demonstrate progressive credentials. Yet the security filter ensured that reforms aligned with counterterrorism narratives and law-and-order mandates: criminalization of acid attacks, antiharassment laws, and honor killing amendments flowed naturally through federal criminal law channels controlled by security institutions, signaling normative compliance while maintaining women's exclusion from security decision-making Provincial devolution enabled localized responses but these remained fragmented and varied widely in implementation capacity The result was protection without participation: the critical juncture thus activated dormant WPS norms, but security imperatives filtered implementation toward measures that reinforced rather than challenged existing power hierarchies, producing selective compliance

Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (2010) Final report of the Implementation Commission on the 18th Constitutional Amendment. Government of Pakistan.

Aijaz, F (2017) Operation Black Thunderstorm [Report] Command Eleven

Mohammed, Arshad "Clinton Says Pakistan Is Abdicating to the Taliban" Reuters, 2009

Khan, Alina "Zarb-e-Azb Operation: Agenda Setting Role of Newspapers on a National Issue in Pakistan" Journal of Media Studies 33, no 2 (July 2018): 41-59; Lewis, Robert "Peshawar School Massacre" Encyclopædia Britannica Accessed October 10, 2025

VIII. Conclusion

Pakistan’s experience underscores the paradox at the heart of the Women, Peace and Security agenda: the very security conditions that make gender inclusion most urgent are those that most tightly constrain it. Our findings reveal that legislative momentum emerged not from international milestones but from domestic restructuring Yet, the substance of reform remained confined to the protection of women rather than their empowerment The dominance of protection laws, concentrated in federal criminal statutes, reflects how security imperatives filter global gender norms through a law-and-order lens, producing compliance that is selective rather than transformative. Pakistan’s case illustrates how security-dominated states can appear aligned with the WPS framework while reinforcing patriarchal power structures. Our study advances theoretical understanding of how security contexts shape which dimensions of gender equality become politically viable Existing scholarship treats security as merely a competing priority that crowds out gender reforms We demonstrate instead that security logics actively filter WPS implementation, determining which reforms gain traction These findings carry significant policy implications. Supporting legislative reform without addressing the security-institutional filter risks producing symbolic compliance rather than transformative change. Effective WPS implementation requires engaging security establishments as stakeholders, leveraging critical junctures when institutional constraints relax, and ensuring women's participation becomes embedded in security governance structures not merely enacting laws against violence Understanding protective securitization helps explain why, twenty-five years after UNSCR 1325, women's meaningful participation in peace and security governance remains largely limited globally.

References

Aijaz, F (2017) Operation Black Thunderstorm [Report] Command Eleven

Ansari, S. A., Mehmood, A., & Mangool, R. A. (2015). Good Governance in Pakistan through Effective Laws: Case Study of Legislative Drafting and Law Reform Processes in Pakistan. International Journal of Legislative Drafting and Law Reform, 4, 11–37

Aronsson, L A (2021) Women, Peace, and Security Agenda In NATO Partnerships for Women, Peace, and Security (pp 3–4) Atlantic Council http://wwwjstororg/stable/resrep307515 ; Fourth World Conference on Women | United Nations (nd) the United Nations Retrieved September 27, 2025

Awan, S. Z. (2011). Legislation and its effectiveness to manage women domestic abuse in Pakistan Pakistan Perspectives, 16(1), 73–86

Awan, S Z (2011) Legislation and its effectiveness to manage women domestic abuse in Pakistan Pakistan Perspectives, 16(1), 121-139

Björkdahl, A , & Mannergren Selimovic, J (2015) Translating UNSCR 1325 from the global to the national: protection, representation and participation in the National Action Plans of BosniaHerzegovina and Rwanda. Conflict, Security & Development, 15(4), 311-335.

Capoccia, G , & Kelemen, R D (2007) The study of critical junctures: Theory, narrative, and counterfactuals in historical institutionalism World politics, 59(3), 341-369

Cheema, A., Khan, S., Mohmand, S. K., Kuraishi, A., Liaqat, A., & Nadeem, F. (2019). Women's political participation in a Pakistani metropolis: Navigating gendered household and political spaces Institute of Development and Economic Alternatives https://opendocs ids ac uk/opendocs/handle/20500, 12413, 14491

Collier, R, & Collier, D (1993) Shaping the political arena Critical junctures, the labor move "Country Reports on Terrorism 2014 - Pakistan" Refworld: Global Law & Policy Database, June 19, 2015.

Davies, S. E., & True, J. (2021). Introduction: WPS 20 years on: Where are the women now?

Global Studies Quarterly, 1(3)

George, R, Koppell, C , Smith, J, & Kawamura, A (2025, October) Implementing Women, Peace and Security: Reflections on 25 Years (Policy Brief) Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security

Government of Pakistan. (n.d.). The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan: Part V, Chapter 1 – Legislative Powers; Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School of Law (LUMS). (2024). Criminal Law after the 18th Constitutional Amendment: A Critical Review Lahore University of Management Sciences

Jadoon, A , Yon, R M, & Rice, D J (2024) Carrot or stick, or both? Examining US presidents' use of counterterrorism tools in Pakistan, 2001-2020 Presidential Studies Quarterly

Khalid, J., Othman, N., & Zakaria, W. N. W. (2023). Women Development Related Policies in Pakistan: A Preliminary Gap Analysis. JOSTIP, 9(1), 39–44; Syed, N. T., Tabassum, H., & Afzal, T. (2013) Women's political participation and the laws to protect women in Pakistan Pakistan Journal of Women's Studies: Alam-e-Niswan, 20(2), 99–115

Khalid, J, Othman, N, & Zakaria, W N W (2023) Women development related policies inn Pakistan: A preliminary gap analysis Journal of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, 9(1), 39-44.

Khan, Alina. "Zarb-e-Azb Operation: Agenda Setting Role of Newspapers on a National Issue in Pakistan" Journal of Media Studies 33, no 2 (July 2018): 41-59; Lewis, Robert "Peshawar School Massacre" Encyclopædia Britannica Accessed October 10, 2025

Khan, S (2022) Gender gap analysis of Pakistan's security protocols through a gender lens Islamabad: UN Women Pakistan

Khan, S.. "Gap analysis of Pakistan security protocols through a gender lens." UN Women Pakistan (2022).

Khan, S UN Women Pakistan "Gap Analysis of Pakistan's Security Protocols Through a Gender Lens" UN Women, 2022

Khan, Simbal "Gap analysis of Pakistan security protocols through a gender lens" (2022) Khoja-Moolji, Shenila "Why Is Malala Such a Polarising Figure in Pakistan?" Al Jazeera, April 1, 2018;Farooq, Umer. "Attack on Malala Was Staged, Claims Pti Mna." The Express Tribune, May 20, 2017.

Kirby, P, & Shepherd, L J (2021) Women, peace, and security: Mapping the (re)production of a policy ecosystem Journal of Global Security Studies, 6(3), ogaa045

Kronstadt KA. Pakistan: U.S. Foreign Assistance. Washington (DC): Congressional Research Service; 2009 Jul 1. Report R41856. U.S. Congress. Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009 Public Law 111-73 (Oct 15, 2009)

Mahoney, J, & Thelen, K (Eds) (2009) Explaining institutional change: Ambiguity, agency, and power Cambridge University Press

Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (2010) Final report of the Implementation Commission on the 18th Constitutional Amendment. Government of Pakistan.

Mohammed, Arshad. "Clinton Says Pakistan Is Abdicating to the Taliban." Reuters, 2009.

National Action Plans: Women, Peace and Security (nd) UN Women Asia and the Pacific Retrieved September 29, 2025, from "National Action Plan, 2014" NACTA, 2024 https://nactagovpk/laws-policies/nap-2014/ National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) (2021) List of federal and provincial pro-women laws. Islamabad: Government of Pakistan. Retrieved from https://ncsw.gov.pk/prowomen-laws, accessed June 2024

Ní Aoláin, F (2016) The 'war on terror' and extremism: Assessing the relevance of the Women, Peace and Security agenda International Affairs, 92(2), 275–291

Noreen, N, & Musarrat, R (2013) Protection of women rights through legal reforms in Pakistan

Journal of Public Administration and Governance, 3(4), 119-142

Noreen, N., & Musarrat, R. (2013). Protection of women rights through legal reforms in Pakistan. Journal of Public Administration and Governance, 3(4), 149–164. Ortiz, E , Kovacevic, M, Gottschalk, M, Caraluzzi, L , Kawamura, A , Lu, Z , Rustad, S A , & Obermeier, A M (2023) Women, Peace, and Security Index 2023/24: Tracking sustainable peace through inclusion, justice, and security for women GIWPS & PRIO Parsons, O, & Donnelly, P (2025, January 23) The highs and lows of women, peace and security in 2024, and looking ahead to 2025. IPI Global Observatory.

Phelps, Jordyn. "Pakistan's Lawyers Movement (2007-2009)." ICNC, March 14, 2009

Pierson, P (2004) Politics in time: History, institutions, and social analysis Princeton University Press

Powley, E (2007) Rwanda: The impact of women legislators on policy outcomes affecting children and families Background Paper for The State of the World's Children 2007 UNICEF Qasim, G., Shan Shah, A., & Ali, N. (2023). Redefining the role of women in Pakistan: Zardari's effort to empower women through constitutional development. Annals of Human and Social Sciences, 4(2), 115–124

"Report: US Has given Pakistan $33 Billion in Economic and Security Assistance, Including Coalition Support Funds as Part of the Afghanistan Operational Budget, since 2002" CRSS, 2016

Riaz & Naz (2025); Awan, S. Z. (2011). Legislation and its effectiveness to manage women domestic abuse in Pakistan. Pakistan Perspectives, 16(1), 121-139

Riaz, A M, & Naz, H (2025) Analysis of women laws in Pakistan: Theory and practice Bulletin of Multidisciplinary Studies, 1(4), 182–190

Salehyan, I., Hendrix, C. S., Hamner, J., Case, C., Linebarger, C., Stull, E., & Williams, J. (2012). Social Conflict in Africa: A New Database. International Interactions, 38(4), 503-511.

Security Council Report (2025, October) Annual open debate on women, peace and security: What's in blue

Shepherd, L J, & Hamilton, C (2020) Twenty years of women, peace and security national action plans: Analysis and lessons learned WIIS Global Slater, D., & Simmons, E. (2010). Informative regress: Critical antecedents in comparative politics. Comparative Political Studies, 43(7), 886-917.

The visualization was produced in Python (Plotly Express) using our dataset of laws coded by jurisdiction (federal or provincial), WPS category (Protection, Participation, Rights, Welfare/Support, Mixed), and legal domain (criminal, family, labor, property, etc )

True, J (2016) Explaining the global diffusion of the Women, and Security agenda

International Political Science Review / Revue Internationale de Science Politique, 37(3), 307–323. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44632283

UN Development Programme (2019), Parliaments As Partners Supporting The Women Peace and Security Agenda

UN Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women Landmark Resolution on Women, Peace and Security (Security Council Resolution 1325)

UN Women. (n.d.). Financing of the women, peace and security agenda. Global Study on the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325.

United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (nd) Gender, women, peace and security

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1820 (2008), S/RES/1820(2008) | She Stands For Peace (nd) the United Nations Retrieved September 29, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO). (2001). The international code of marketing of breast-milk substitutes. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO; UNICEF. (2002). The state of the world's children 2002: Leadership New York, NY: UNICEF

Zubair, M, Haider, S I, & Khattak, F (2018) The implementation challenges women protection laws in Pakistan Global Regional Review (GRR), 3(1), 253–264 https://doiorg/1031703/grr2018(IIII)18

Zubair, M., Haider, S. I., & Khattak, F. (2018). The implementation challenges women protection laws in Pakistan. Global Regional Review, 3(1), 253–264.

WPS Category Coding Guide

1 = Protection (protecting women from violence/harm)

2 = Participation (political, economic, decision-making power)

3 = Rights (civil rights - property, marriage, inheritance, family)

4 = Welfare/Support (social services, health, victim support)

5 = Mixed (clearly addresses multiple categories)

All criminal law amendments about violence

•Anti-rape laws. •Domestic violence acts •Harassment laws

•Acid attack laws •Anti-trafficking laws •“Punishment" or "offences against women" laws •Child protection from violence/abuse.

•Witness protection acts

Commission on Status of Women acts. •Fair representation laws. •Employment/workplace rights (beyond harassment) •Women's political participation •Women's economic empowerment

•Education access laws. •Women's authority/board creation acts

"punishment," "offence," "violence," "rape," "harassment," "acid," "trafficking," "abuse," "protection from," "restraint," "prevention of crimes"

•Property ownership/inheritance laws. •Marriage/divorce laws.

•Hindu Marriage Acts. •Muslim family laws• Women's legal status/citizenship •Legal capacity laws •Maintenance/custody laws

"commission," "representation," "employment," "workplace" (if not about harassment), "participation," "empowerment," "women's authority," "reservation," "quota"

"property," "inheritance," "marriage," "divorce," "family," "ownership," "maintenance," "custody," "personal law," "civil rights"

Category

Welfare/Support 4

Types of Laws Include Key Identifying

Words/Phrases

•Women in Distress funds• Breast-feeding protection. •Child nutrition.• Maternity benefits.

•Victim rehabilitation •Social protection schemes •Health services• Bait-ul-Mal (social welfare)

Mixed 5

Decision Rules:

Only use when a law clearly addresses multiple categories equally (rare - avoid overusing)

"distress," "fund," "breast-feeding," "nutrition," "maternity," "rehabilitation," "welfare," "health," "support," "assistance," "benefit," "Bait-ul-Mal"

Laws that explicitly combine protection + participation, or rights + welfare in equal measure

If the law is primarily about... Code as...

Preventing or punishing violence/crime

Giving women a voice or role in decision-making

(Protection)

(Participation)

Poorvika Mehra is the 2025 Howard S Brembeck Fellow at the Charity & Security Network, where she focuses on financial access and sanctions policy portfolios An economist by training, her research examines how counter-terrorism financing rules, de-risking, and sanctions impact women-led organisations and humanitarian actors in conflict-affected regions She previously worked with the World Bank, UNDP, Atlantic Council, and auctusESG, analysing gender-responsive frameworks, artificial intelligence for development, and climate finance for fragile states She also conducted nuclear security research with Ridgeway Information Poorvika is the recipient of the Philip Noel-Baker Prize for her dissertation on global power asymmetries in gender politics and has published with E-International Relations, the Atlantic Council, and auctusESG She holds a dual Master of Public Administration from Columbia University and the London School of Economics, specialising in economic development and data analysis

Ashleigh SubramanianMontgomery

Ashleigh Subramanian-Montgomery is Acting Director at the Charity & Security Network (C&SN), where she leads the organization’s Washington, DC office and policy agenda on sanctions, financial access, counter-terrorism, and civil society access She is a policy, gender, and advocacy professional with over a decade of experience as a researcher, analyst, and strategist on peacebuilding, WPS, and security governance Ashleigh has worked in global settings on a diversity of topics ranging from Afghanistan to South Sudan, partnering with grassroots civil society, peacebuilding organizations, UN agencies, and governments Her writing has featured in Responsible Statecraft, Truthout, Inkstick, and Oneworld Academic (Carnegie Endowment) She’s also written on the WPS Agenda at 20 and been interviewed about the agenda on Voice of America (VOA) She holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University, specializing in Women, Peace and Security, and a B A in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego

Ashleigh is a Board Member of Politics4Her

Introduction

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325),¹ adopted in 2000 under Namibia’s presidency, is often referred to as the birth of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. Contrary to popular belief, it did not descend, fully formed, into the halls of the United Nations (UN) in New York. It emerged from the political labour of Majority World² feminists and African leadership, notably Namibia’s Windhoek Declaration³ and the Namibia Plan of Action⁴, which demanded that the UN mainstream gender into peace operations In other words, UNSCR 1325 was not gifted to the Majority World; it was shaped by it But twenty-five years later, public memory tells a different story We rarely hear that Namibia was the penholder, or that Majority World women designed the very agenda they are now said to be the beneficiaries of. This fading of authorship is not incidental. It is an early example of a broader pattern: as WPS became institutionalised, the women⁵ who built it disappeared from view, replaced by narratives that centre Western institutions, women, frameworks, and epistemic authority Marking the agenda’s 25 anniversary requires confronting this erasure in origin th

United Nations, “Resolution 1325 (2000),” United Nations, October 31, 2000, https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3 CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/WPS%20SRES1325%20.pdf.

The authors use the term ‘Majority World’ in place of “Global South’ or ‘developing countries’ because these latter categories are not neutral descriptors but products of geopolitical and discursive hierarchies “South” is always defined in relation to a “North” that is implicitly centred as the norm This raises the question: south of what and according to whom? By contrast, Majority World is a factual term: these regions contain the majority of the world’s population and the majority of its lived experiences, knowledge systems, and feminist histories Using this term recentres those who are most often marginalised in global discourse, and resists linguistic frames that reproduce Western epistemic dominance At the same time, this study recognises that Majority World is itself a monolithic linguistic choice It is one made for theoretical expediency rather than ontological accuracy No single label can capture the multiplicity of cultures, nations, and positionalities it seeks to represent This choice therefore reflects what Manchanda (2020: 13) calls the “knotty practices of knowledge”: the necessity of reproducing some discursive myths in the act of challenging others

“Windhoek Declaration,” by Lessons Learned Unit of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations and Government of Namibia, Namibia Plan of Action on ‘Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective in Multidimensional Peace Support Operations’, May 31, 2000, https://wwwunorg/womenwatch/osagi/wps/windhoek declarationpdf

Permanent Representative of Namibia, “Letter dated 12 July 2000 from the Permanent Representative of Namibia to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General,”14 July 2000, https://wwwsecuritycouncilreportorg/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/WPS%20S%202000%20693pdf

The authors recognise that an emphasis on women does not encompass the full spectrum of gender identities This focus reflects the framing of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda on its 25th anniversary, rather than a conceptual alignment with the traditional gender binary The authors also acknowledge the limitations of this framing and remain committed to an intersectional approach that includes LGBTQUIA+ and gender-diverse individuals, organisations, and communities who continue to face disproportionate discrimination and harm While gender exists along a spectrum, most legal and policy frameworks still operate through binary categories that shape access and exclusion Persistent inequities within the binary continue to shape outcomes across the gender spectrum, which makes advancing women’s equality an important step toward broader gender justice for all, necessitating research and advocacy on the issue

This paper begins with that tension WPS claims to center women’s agency, but Majority World women are still most visible internationally as victims to be protected or moral symbols to be celebrated, rather than as political actors in their own right. This erasure in policy mirrors a representational erasure: the media and global feminist narratives often flatten women’s struggles into apolitical suffering or exceptional heroism, obscuring their collective, strategic organising that actually drives change This result of this discourse is not an island unto itself It continues to impact the representation of Majority World women within the multilateral institutions that discharge the WPS agenda⁶

To understand how deep this problem runs, this paper dissects two emblematic cases: Liberia’s women-led mobilisation in 2003 and the Kashmiri⁷ protests in 2016, where women prominently participated Both show women acting with political clarity and courage But only the Liberian context is allowed to be a part of the WPS narrative

Background of Case Studies

Liberia: From Grassroots Mobilisation to Global Recognition

In Liberia, 2003 was not the first time Liberian women resisted war It was the culmination of years of mobilisation Women organised across Christian and Muslim communities and built coalitions through the Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET),⁸ staged daily sit-ins in Monrovia, and demanded a ceasefire and peace negotiations.⁹ When previous UN and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) peacekeeping efforts failed to halt the violence, it was women who succeeded¹⁰

Ruby Weaver, Susanna Rudehill, and Bharathi Radhakrishnan, “Women, Peace and Security: Bridging the Global–local Divide Through Contextual Relevance,” SIPRI, September 26, 2024, https://wwwsipriorg/commentary/blog/2024/womenpeace-and-security-bridging-global-local-divide-through-contextual-relevance

This paper uses the term Kashmir to refer specifically to India-administered Kashmir The focus on this region reflects the nature and documentation of women’s mobilisation: in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, collective action has primarily taken place among refugee populations protesting Indian military operations across the Line of Control, whereas in India-administered Kashmir, activism has emerged within domestic governance, legal, and security systems that directly shape everyday civic life This difference reflects distinct political conditions rather than differences in women’s agency After defining this scope, the paper uses Kashmir as shorthand for India-administered Kashmir, following common academic practice, while acknowledging that the term itself remains politically contested

Cindy Barbosa, “How Women Ended Liberia’s Civil War: Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace,” The Nonviolence Project, February 4, 2024, https://thenonviolenceprojectwiscedu/2024/02/04/how-women-ended-liberias-civil-warwomen-of-liberia-mass-action-for-peace/

Kylin Navarro, “Liberian Women Act to End Civil War, 2003,” Global Nonviolent Action Database, October 22, 2010https://nvdatabaseswarthmoreedu/content/liberian-women-act-end-civil-war-2003

Allison M Prasch, “Maternal Bodies in Militant Protest: Leymah Gbowee and the Rhetorical Agency of African Motherhood,” Women S Studies in Communication 38, no 2 (January 28, 2015): 187–205, https://doiorg/101080/074914092014993105

They physically surrounded the compound where the stalled peace talks were taking place in Accra, refusing to let delegates leave until an agreement was reached¹¹ Their actions played a crucial role in ending the Second Liberian Civil War. In the years that followed, Liberian women were praised globally. Peacebuilder Leymah Gbowee and former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf both received the Nobel Peace Prize,¹² and the movement became the WPS ‘success story’ proof that women’s participation leads to peace Yet even in celebration, their agency was narrowed via international media and the UN narratives into familiar tropes: maternal morality, individual heroism, institutional inclusion

Kashmir: Women’s Resistance under Occupation

Kashmiri women, too, have a long history of political engagement For decades they have marched, confronted soldiers, sustained resistance networks, and pursued legal accountability through groups like the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP)¹³ To understand the 2016 protests however, it is important to situate it within Kashmir’s seventy-year history of contested sovereignty and India’s settler colonial project.¹⁴

After Partition, Kashmir’s ambiguous status as a Muslim-majority region ruled by a Hindu monarch who acceded to India under military pressure, produced an unfinished political question¹⁵ This question was never resolved through the promised plebiscite¹⁶ The result was the consolidation of India’s political and military control over the region, where extraordinary laws such as the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act (AFSPA)¹⁷ and the Public Safety Act (PSA)¹⁸

Navarro, “Liberian Women Act to End Civil War, 2003”

“2011 - Nobel Peace Prize,” Nobel Peace Prize, nd, https://wwwnobelpeaceprizeorg/laureates/2011

Essar Batool, “Women’s Resistance in Kashmir,” AWID, February 22, 2017, https://wwwawidorg/news-andanalysis/womens-resistance-kashmir

Azeezah Kanji, “A How-To Guide for the Settler Colonial Present: From Canada to Palestine to Kashmir - Yellowhead Institute,” Yellowhead Institute, March 16, 2022, https://yellowheadinstituteorg/2020/marking-the-settler-colonial-presentfrom-canada-to-palestine-to-kashmir/

Neera Chandhoke, “Contested Secessions Rights, Self-determination, Democracy, and Kashmir,” Oxford University Press, nd,https://globaloupcom/academic/product/contested-secessions-rights-self-determination-democracy-and-kashmir9780198077978?cc=us&lang=en&

Peerzada Ashiq, “J&K Was Promised a Plebiscite at the Time of Accession to India, Says Omar Abdullah,” The Hindu, February 26, 2025, https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/jk-was-promised-a-plebiscite-at-the-time-of-accession-toindia-says-omar-abdullah/article69263219.ece.

Parliament, The Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990, 1990, https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/The%20Armed%20Forces%20%28Jammu%20and%20Kashmir%29%20Special% 20Powers%20Act%2C%201990 0.pdf.

Jammu and Kashmir State Legislature, The Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act 1978, 1978, https://wwwindiacodenicin/bitstream/123456789/16496/1/public safety act%2C 1978pdf

institutionalised impunity for state violence Kashmir today is one of the most militarised zones in the world, ¹⁹ with reports of enforced disappearances, widespread sexual violence, and arbitrary detentions.²⁰

Within this landscape of repression, Kashmiri resistance has persisted in both armed²¹ and unarmed²² forms Therefore, the 2016 protests were not an isolated eruption but part of a larger continuum of resistance They were triggered by the killing of Mr Burhan Wani,²³ who was a 22year-old commander within the armed separatist movement²⁴ and had become a symbol of Kashmiri defiance.²⁵ Tens of thousands attended his funeral, and the months that followed saw massive demonstrations, strikes, and violent state crackdowns.²⁶ Many Kashmiris viewed Wani not simply as a militant but as a figure embodying their political aspirations for freedom from India, or a semblance of autonomy His death exploded the powder keg of collective anger at decades of unaccountable state violence²⁷ Women were central to this mobilisation Women led neighbourhood demonstrations, shielded communities from security forces, issued demands for demilitarisation and justice, and in some cases tacitly or explicitly supported armed resistance as a form of political struggle.²⁸ Like Liberia, this was not an isolated moment it was part of a sustained pattern of women acting as political agents, this time under occupation But unlike Liberia, these women were not celebrated

Harvard Law Review, “From Domicile to Dominion: India&Rsquo;S Settler Colonial Agenda in Kashmir,” Harvard Law Review, March 24, 2023, https://harvardlawrevieworg/print/vol-134/from-domicile-to-dominion-indias-settler-colonialagenda-in-kashmir/#footnote-ref-76

Alexandra Ma, “Armed Forces in Kashmir Are Detaining Children and Molesting Women and Girls Amid a State-wide Blackout, Report Claims,” Business Insider, August 20, 2019, https://wwwbusinessinsidercom/kashmir-forces-detainingkids-molesting-girls-amid-blackout-report-2019-8

20 Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, Mir Fatimah Kanth, and Shrimoyee Nandini Ghosh, “The Jammu and Kashmir Floods of September 2014,” April 2015, https://cdnprodwebsite filescom/6031a13f23a42e1120a8c37c/60fe1aa5169e29e1753f6ce0 occupation-hazard-jkccs-minpdf

Khurram Abbas, “Strategizing Kashmiri Freedom Struggle Through Nonviolent Means,” Policy Perspectives 16, no 2 (January 1, 2019), https://doiorg/1013169/polipers1620041

Azad Essa, “Kashmiris Decry World’s Silence Over Killings,” Al Jazeera, July 11, 2016, https://wwwaljazeeracom/news/2016/7/11/kashmiris-decry-worlds-silence-over-killings

BBC News, “Kashmir Protests Over Burhan Wani Leave 36 Dead,” July 13, 2016, https://wwwbbccom/news/world-asiaindia-36781367

Rebecca Hersher, “In Kashmir, Deadly Protests Follow Death of Rebel Leader,” NPR, July 11, 2016, https://wwwnprorg/sections/thetwo-way/2016/07/11/485573830/in-kashmir-deadly-protests-follow-death-of-rebel-leader

Essa, “Kashmiris Decry World’s Silence Over Killings”

Essa, “Kashmiris Decry World’s Silence Over Killings”

Batool, “Women’s Resistance in Kashmir”

As will be seen throughout this chapter, in global discourse, their political agency was disregarded internationally Instead, these women were recast as grieving mothers, dismissed as puppets of the Kashmiri separatist movement, or underscored as peculiar security threats that supported a violent political struggle, never to be mentioned in the WPS agenda.

How can we understand the radically different ways Liberian and Kashmiri women are seen, celebrated, or ignored in global WPS discourse? Which women become hyper-visible as symbols of peace, and which women remain invisible, even when they are pivotal actors in movements of resistance? Taken together, this research interrogates how visibility itself is used as a conduit of power to legitimise some forms of women’s agency while erasing others. In doing so, it exposes the epistemic hierarchies within the WPS agenda that determine whose agency is rendered intelligible on the global stage, and whose is systematically obscured

This contradiction is not random It reflects a deeper logic in which visibility is conditional Majority World women are ‘seen’ when they conform to the Western imagination peaceful, maternal, hapless, non-threatening and ‘invisible’ when their politics confront state power, colonial structures, or the limits of liberalism itself In essence, there is an “acceptable” Majority World woman, ie, civil, inspirational, ‘usable’, and a “dangerous” one, ie, resistant, radical, insurgent The WPS agenda unfortunately reproduces these colonial and Orientalist hierarchies by rewarding the former with global recognition and silencing the latter entirely, despite the decolonial intent of its origins. Thus, visibility in WPS is not neutral. It is a technology of power that decides which feminism(s)²⁹ may speak and which must be contained.

To explain how this filtering occurs, we first engage two competing theoretical perspectives One, focused on the UN and transnational advocacy networks (TANs), argues that WPS gains traction through resolutions, donor frameworks, and institutional translation³⁰ From this view, international actors shape which women, issues, and tactics become legible, fundable, and scalable. The other, more critical perspective emphasises local women’s agency: women drive change on the ground by organising, negotiating, resisting, and theorising, but their visibility is selectively granted or withdrawn by dominant representational regimes For instance, Michel Foucault’s concept of the “grid of intelligibility”,³¹ explored in our review of existing literature below, illuminates how differing power dynamics set the boundaries of the acceptable in WPS discourse. Meanwhile, Edward Said³² and Chandra Talpade Mohanty³³

29

This paper deliberately pluralises feminism to acknowledge the multiplicity of intellectual and political traditions within gender politics and to resist the notion of a singular, universal feminism capable of encompassing all women’s experiences

30

Mary Kaldor, “The Idea of Global Civil Society,” International Affairs 79, no. 3 (2003): 583–93, https://wwwjstororg/stable/3569364

31

Michel Foucault et al, The History of Sexuality, trans Robert Hurley, Volume I: An Introduction, 1978, 93, https://monoskoporg/images/4/40/Foucault Michel The History of Sexuality 1 An Introductionpdf

32

Edward W Said, Orientalism, First Vintage Books Edition (Vintage Books, 1979), https://monoskoporg/images/4/4e/Said Edward Orientalism 1979pdf

33

Chandra Talpade Mohanty, “Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses,” Boundary 2 12 (1984): 337, https://doiorg/102307/302821https://wwwjstororg/stable/302821

reveal how Majority World women are stereotyped as ahistorical victims or moral symbols, and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak³⁴ asks whether ‘subaltern’ women can speak or more importantly, whether they are truly heardwhen they do.

This paper brings these perspectives into conversation through a comparative discourse analysis of Liberia (2003) and Kashmir (2016) It traces how the same global machinery that amplifies certain women’s movements also disciplines them by celebrating Liberian women only when their resistance can be ‘domesticated’ for the Western knowledge-system, and erasing Kashmiri women entirely when their politics challenge the state-centric logic of security. Our aim is not to reject the WPS agenda, but to both, interrogate the conditions under which it operates and explore whether the understanding underpinning these operations is broad enough to contain the multiplicity of positions women take up in peace and security discourse The question is not whether women act politically They always have The question is: in what conditions does global discourse recognise their actions as political, and as a part of WPS?

To understand how this selective visibility became embedded in the WPS agenda, we turn first to the literature on international visibility, institutionalisation, and the promise, or limits, of being “seen”

Literature Review

International Visibility and the Institutionalisation of WPS

Since the adoption of UNSCR 1325, a significant body of scholarship has positioned the UN, international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), and TANs as the primary engines behind the WPS agenda Liberal-cosmopolitan theorists argue that these international actors reshape global norms, build institutional frameworks, and centre the lived experiences of individuals by elevating their struggles to the international stage³⁵ Within this narrative, visibility, especially in international fora, is framed as a marker of progress: to be seen and named within UN policy is to be acknowledged as a political actor for the WPS agenda. In this school of thought, the UN is not merely a facilitator but the central architect of gendered peace norms, translating grassroots struggles into institutional change and global legitimacy

34

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, “Can The Subaltern Speak?,” ed Cary Nelson and Lawrence Grossberg, Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture, 1988, https://januccnauedu/ sj6/Spivak%20CanTheSubalternSpeakpdf

Maria Martin De Almagro, “Negotiating Gender Security: The Transnationalisation of Local Activist Discourses in PostConflict Burundi and Liberia,” in Advances in Gender Research, 2016, 107–25, https://doiorg/101108/s1529 212620160000021007

Margaret E Keck and Kathryn Sikkink, Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics, Cornell University Press, 2014, http://systwaysacademy/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GGHR paper Keck-Sikkink Activists-BeyondBorderspdf

Jeffrey S Juris, Networking Futures: The Movements Against Corporate Globalization (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2008),https://wwwdukeupressedu/networking-futures

Kaldor, “The Idea of Global Civil Society” Thomas Risse-Kappen, Bringing Transnational Relations Back In, Cambridge University Press eBooks, 1995,https://doiorg/101017/cbo9780511598760

37

WPS implementation data appear to validate this view As Politically Speaking, the online magazine of the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (UNDPPA) reported in 2023,³⁶ the WPS agenda seems to be driven by the UN. References to WPS-related concepts in UNSCRs and presidential statements have steadily increased since 2000, peaking in 2017 when 76% of all UNSCRs included WPS language Since 2021, 20 members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) have formally committed to mainstreaming WPS priorities during their presidencies Participation indicators initially improved as well: the proportion of women negotiators or delegates in UN-led peace processes reached 23% in 2020 a historic high before recent setbacks. Financial commitments have followed. For instance, through the UN Peacebuilding Fund, the share of funding dedicated to gender equality and women’s empowerment projects rose from 95% in 2015 to 20% in 2022 ³⁷ The UN positions these developments as a vital transformation in global peace norms, repeatedly affirming that these indicators show that women are “not just victims, but also agents of change”³⁸ However, the celebratory narrative obscures the deeper concern: who is allowed to be visible as an aforementioned “agent of change”, and on whose terms? What actions are acknowledged as catalysts of this change?

Critical feminist scholarship unpacks these questions These critiques reveal that the same international structures that claim to ‘empower’ women also constrain the forms of agency and actions that are deemed legitimate Specifically, Maria Martín de Almagro (2016)³⁹ shows that international organisations often operate with a moral authority that makes them feel entitled to set the terms of feminist politics. Local activists report that international actors “do not take their advice seriously”⁴⁰ and spend resources “without taking the local situation into consideration”⁴¹ As a result, Martín de Almagro finds that what TANs and INGOs frame as ‘empowerment’ frequently comes “hand in hand with co-optation and depoliticisation”⁴² They may amplify local issues, but they also “impose certain discourses and practices, contributing to a depoliticisation of the grassroots activity”⁴³, therefore rendering any efforts towards the localisation of the WPS agenda performative.

Politically Speaking, “Women, Peace and Security Agenda Highlights Importance of Inclusion in Conflict Prevention,” Medium (Politically Speaking, March 8, 2024), https://mediumcom/dppa-politically-speaking/women-peace-andsecurity-agenda-highlights-importance-of-inclusion-in-conflict-prevention-ada1d370210a

36 UN Women, “Financing for Gender Equality and the Implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda: Assessment of the Implementation of a Minimum 15 per Cent Financial Target,” Oct 18 2023, https://wwwunwomenorg/sites/default/files/2023-03/Financing-for-gender-equality-and-the-implementation-of-thewomen-peace-and-security-agenda-enpdf

United Nations, “Women, Peace, and Security | United Nations,” nd, https://wwwunorg/en/peace-andsecurity/page/women-peace-and-security 38

Martin De Almagro, “Negotiating Gender Security”

Martin De Almagro, “Negotiating Gender Security”

Martin De Almagro, “Negotiating Gender Security”

Martin De Almagro, “Negotiating Gender Security”

Martin De Almagro, “Negotiating Gender Security”

44

This narrowing occurs through the production of a singular, institutionally acceptable vision of gender security Indeed, researchers note that UNSCR 1325 embodies “a particular understanding of gender security”⁴⁴ one rooted in liberal peacebuilding logics and formal political inclusion. Any local articulation or action that does not align with these assumptions are often invalidated. International advocates often promote “easy effective action”⁴⁵ such as quotas or training programmes, while eclipsing local experiential knowledge and contextual strategies, which may push for different, more tangible solutions targeted towards economic independence or business opportunities for women The underlying logic behind this approach to development is that of a “global sisterhood”,⁴⁶ which purports to unite women across borders, but in truth simply “highlights women’s shared and innate skills while forgetting about divisions of ethnicity, class and religion”⁴⁷ Far from being a discourse of unification, this narrative simply ignores the differing needs of women in myriad contexts, and cements inherent epistemic hierarchies

In other words, visibility can itself be a technology of epistemic power To be ‘seen’ here eschews being recognized on one’s own terms, but instead favours making certain women and their actions legible within a pre-existing grid of acceptability. This innately privileges only those forms of women’s activism that align with Western imaginations of Majority World women, ie, portraying their actions as exceptional and non-generalisable, grounded in identities of survivors, victims, or desperate women putting everything, including their bodies, on the line for a change⁴⁸ Understanding this dynamic further requires examining how global systems produce the “knowable” woman. Therefore, we need to examine not only whether Majority World women appear in WPS discourse, but 1) how their agency is constructed 2) why some forms of resistance are institutionally celebrated while others are ignored or neutralized, and 3) what deeper logics determine whose voices are authorised as political

Rethinking Visibility: The Production of the “Knowable” Woman

Addressing these questions requires moving beyond institutional accounts of inclusion toward the underlying epistemic structures that shape how different women and feminism(s) are represented in global discourse Postcolonial and feminist theorists have long argued that global frameworks of knowledge production are not neutral: they are embedded in colonial hierarchies that determine who can be recognised as a legitimate political actor As the previous section touched upon, the WPS agenda does not exist outside these histories; it inherits them.

Laura J Shepherd, Gender, Violence and Security: Discourse as Practice (Zed Books, 2008), https://apipageplacede/preview/DT04009781848133440 A24192930/preview-9781848133440 A24192930pdf

Martin De Almagro, “Negotiating Gender Security”

Martin De Almagro, “Negotiating Gender Security”

Martin De Almagro, “Negotiating Gender Security”

Jane Martinson, “Do Sex Strikes Really Work, and Isn’t It Time We Moved On?,” The Guardian, August 8, 2017, https://wwwtheguardiancom/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2013/oct/24/do-sex-strikes-really-work

Celebrated Palestinian academic Edward Said’s theory of Orientalism provides the foundation for understanding how these hierarchies operate Orientalism describes how the West constructs the ‘Orient’ not as a diverse set of political actors but as a passive, backward, irrational “Other”.⁴⁹ This binary division where the West is “rational, virtuous, civilised and normal”⁵⁰ and the East is “childlike, uncivilised, depraved and different”⁵¹ justifies the West’s authority to define reality, speak on behalf of others, and determine the terms of global order Within such a structure, Majority World women are not approached as knowledge-producers or agents of history They are cast as problems to be solved, symbols to be mobilised, or bodies to be protected This epistemic positioning lays the groundwork for contemporary WPS discourse: even when women from the Majority World are included, they enter a field in which the West already controls the categories of intelligibility

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak deepens this critique by asking the now-infamous question: “Can the subaltern speak?”⁵² For context, ‘subaltern’ in Spivak’s research denotes Majority World women from marginalized groups whose identities are suppressed or erased by a constellation of dominant structures, like capitalism, patriarchy and colonialism. Spicak sees this as different from simply being ‘oppressed’, because the subaltern here are not just excluded from power, but simply do not have their own agency recognized at all

In her seminal research, her answer to the question is not that subaltern women lack voice, but that when they speak, their speech is not recognised as knowledge. Their political claims are translated, simplified, or dismissed until they fit the interpretive frameworks already deemed legitimate by global actors Thus, the problem is not silence but structured inaudibility TANs and INGOs may claim to “listen” to local women, yet retain the power to decide which voices are meaningful and which are noise Indeed, as noted in Martín de Almagro’s research above, in the WPS context, local women often find their perspectives side-lined even within forums ostensibly created to include them.⁵³

Chandra Mohanty further explains how this silencing takes place through the construction of the “Average Third World Woman:”⁵⁴ a homogenised, ahistorical, helpless figure used to contrast with the liberated Western subject a homogenised, ahistorical, helpless figure used to contrast with the liberated Western subject This figure is not one that the West neutrally acquaints itself with. It is one the West produces.

Said, Orientalism, 48

Spivak, “Can The Subaltern Speak?”

Martin De Almagro, “Negotiating Gender Security” Mohanty, “Under Western Eyes”, 337

By collapsing the diversity of Majority World women into a single, victimised image, Western discourse erases political agency while preserving its own authority Non-Western, Majority World women become either grateful recipients of Western benevolence or tragic symbols of patriarchal oppression; in both cases, they are denied subjectivity.

These postcolonial critiques converge with Michel Foucault’s insight that power operates through the production of knowledge For Foucault, discourse does not simply reflect reality; it creates the conditions under which reality becomes thinkable His concept of the “grid of intelligibility”⁵⁵ refers to the deep, often invisible structures linguistic norms, institutional logics, cultural assumptions that determine what counts as knowledge, who counts as a subject, and which actions count as political Under this grid, some forms of agency are rendered legible and legitimate, while others are obscured, depoliticised, or pathologised Crucially, intelligibility is not a neutral filter It is shaped by power The grid privileges Western epistemes as “the primary referent in theory and praxis”⁵⁶ It ensures that feminist discourse, even when global in scope, continues to reproduce Western-centric hierarchies.

Understanding visibility through this lens reveals why inclusion within WPS discourse does not guarantee recognition Women are not acknowledged because they act; they are acknowledged only when they act in ways that align with the dominant grid This grid naturalises certain representations, like maternal sacrifice, desperation, moral virtue, and liberal civility, while rendering other forms of resistance, such as support for violence or authoritative political demands, unintelligible. A telling example comes from Sheri Gibbings (2011) in the early years of the WPS agenda itself⁵⁷ Two Iraqi women spoke at an informal UN meeting to condemn the USand UK-led invasion of Iraq and invoke the language of imperialism, their intervention generated discomfort among UN-based gender advocates Their performance did not fit the institution’s norms, which prize positive, depoliticised narratives of women as peacemakers and moral witnesses.⁵⁸ The ensuing institutional embarrassment and marginalisation of these women illustrated how agency within the WPS system is not inherently emancipatory but socially and historically contingent, therefore authorised only when it reinforces the TANs and INGOs’ selfimage

Visibility in the WPS agenda thus becomes a disciplinary tool It rewards Majority World women who conform to acceptable scripts and erases those who do not.

55 Foucault, “The History of Sexuality”

Mohanty, “Under Western Eyes”, 334

Sheri Lynn Gibbings, “No Angry Women at the United Nations: Political Dreams and the Cultural Politics of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325,” International Feminist Journal of Politics 13, no 4 (December 1, 2011): 522–38, https://doiorg/101080/146167422011611660

Gibbings, “No Angry Women at the United Nations: Political Dreams and the Cultural Politics of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325”

The result is a politics in which hyper-visibility and invisibility are not opposites but mirror strategies of control In line with these theoretical foundations and as we will see in the following sections, the WPS agenda claims to centre women’s agency, yet simultaneously participates in a discursive regime that authorises only particular performances of womanhood and peace. To expose this regime, we must examine not just institutional outcomes, but the language, metaphors, manufactured absences, and representational patterns through which agency is constructed

This is why discourse analysis, as conducted in this research, is essential. The issue, underscored by the review of existing literature, is not simply what women do, but how what they do is made visible, intelligible, or invisible through discourse Only by interrogating these constructions can we understand why and when certain Majority World women are seen or erased

Methodology

Analytical Framework

This research follows an interpretive and inductive framework, allowing the themes naturally emerging from the data to guide our analysis It combines Foucauldian Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA),⁵⁹ which examines how language constructs power and social reality, with thematic and content analyses This approach aims to capture both the structural and semantic dimensions of the reviewed texts. Thematic analysis identifies recurring narratives and representational patterns within the discourse, while a light layer of content analysis traces the presence and frequency of particular terms, metaphors, and lexical clusters Together, these tools allow the research to interact with Foucault’s concept of the “grid of intelligibility”,⁶⁰ as explained above, and to move between the micro-level of language and the macro-level of social meaning This strengthens the overall depth of the analysis

Case Selection and Scope

Further, this study chooses to apply a comparative focus on Liberia and Kashmir as sites of Majority World women’s engagement in the context of the WPS agenda This is a deliberate choice grounded in analytical coherence Both represent Majority World contexts where women have acted as pivotal agents in shaping resistance and peacebuilding, yet their stories have travelled through global discourse in radically different ways. The Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace (2003)⁶¹ is widely celebrated as a model of successful, women-led peacebuilding its leaders even received the Nobel Peace Prize⁶² while Kashmiri women’s leadership during the 2016 protests remains marginalised within WPS narratives We hypothesize that these contrasting outcomes illustrate a mirrored form of discursive oppression:

Foucault et al, The History of Sexuality

Foucault et al, The History of Sexuality, 93

Barbosa, “How Women Ended Liberia’s Civil War: Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace,” 61 “2011 - Nobel Peace Prize,” 62

whether hyper-visible or invisible, women’s political agency is filtered through global representational regimes that romanticise suffering and moral virtue while disqualifying strategic and political action.

Limiting the analysis to these specific protest moments is also an intentional methodological choice In Liberia, 2003 is when women are credited internationally with ending the Second Liberian Civil War, and is the most consequential instance of women’s mobilization in the country because of this In Kashmir, numerous protest cycles have unfolded over the past decade, but focusing on the 2016 protests preserves analytical clarity. It also reflects the moment when women’s participation was quite visible, organised, and discursively consequential due to its welldocumented nature

Data Collection and Sampling

To examine how the dynamics of visibility and invisibility operate in these case studies, this chapter analyses 2,050 media and institutional texts published between 2003–2013 for Liberia and 2016–2025 for Kashmir. These time frames were chosen to trace any shifts in narrative formation over time This longitudinal framing allows for observing how discursive trends evolve, consolidate, or fade as movements transition from immediacy to historical memory The sample includes news articles, UN speeches delivered during Annual Open Debates on WPS, and public statements from two major civil society organisations (CSOs) operating in each context The sample size for CSOs was limited to two for accessibility reasons: they were the only organizations to have a cache of English language statements available online for the chosen time periods. Of all of these texts, 140 were identified as directly and substantively relevant to the study’s themes

Data was gathered through 33 keyword searches on the Nexis⁶³ archival database using combinations such as “Liberia + mass + action”, “Leymah + Gbowee + protest”, “women + civil war + Liberia”, “Kashmir + women + protest”, “Kashmir + protest + mother”, and “women + activist + Burhan + Wani”. The first fifty results from each search were reviewed uniformly, and relevant items were grouped thematically before undergoing detailed discourse analysis

The study draws on a mix of international and national media to capture how discourse travels across levels of influence CNN, BBC, The Guardian, The Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, and The Daily Telegraph were chosen to represent the international press due to their wide reach and diverse ideological orientations.⁶⁴ For Liberia, the sample included The Analyst, The New Democrat, and The Inquirer, while for Kashmir, it included Kashmir Times, Kashmir Monitor, and Kashmir Observer

63

Taryn S, “Nexis Business Research Tool & News Database | LexisNexis,” LexisNexis, nd, https://wwwlexisnexiscom/enus/products/nexispage

64

“Media Bias Chart by AllSides,” AllSides, nd, https://wwwallsidescom/media-bias/media-bias-chart

The domestic newspapers were chosen because of their wide readership, ideological independence, and for their accessibility in digital archives In the Kashmiri context, independent local outlets were purposefully prioritised over Indian or Pakistani state media, as the latter often reproduce colonial framings that obscure local voices and aspirations for self-determination in a different way than is the focus of this study All selected outlets are among the most widely circulated English-language newspapers 65 Restricting the sample to English-language media mitigates linguistic bias, as Liberia has over thirty spoken languages and Kashmir predominantly publishes in Urdu

Limitations

While these methods enable a rich and comparative analysis of how women’s political agency is represented across contexts, they are necessarily limited by the scope and accessibility of available data English-language media was prioritised to ensure comparability between cases, but this inevitably limits engagement with vernacular Kashmiri or Liberian outlets, where local idioms of resistance, humour, or grief may circulate differently. Similarly, focusing on digitised archives privileges discourses that are already legible to global audiences, excluding oral histories, non-English publications, and informal networks of feminist or activist writing that remain offline The reliance on publicly available CSO statements also narrows the view to organisations with established communications infrastructures, often urban-based and internationally networked Finally, while the comparative design highlights structural parallels in how Majority World women’s agency is mediated, it cannot fully capture the internal heterogeneity of each movement or the multiple, sometimes competing feminisms that operate within them.

Discourse Analysis

BBC News, “Kashmir Media Guide,” March 10, 2025, https://wwwbbccom/news/world-south-asia-67763148; Press Gazette, “Top 50 English-language News Sites in the World: Half Report MoM Traffic Growth in September,” Press Gazette, October 10, 2025, https://pressgazettecouk/media-audience-and-business-data/media metrics/most-popular-websites-news world-monthly-2/ 65

Fig 1: Main Themes and Constituent Subcodes for Liberia and Kashmir

Domestic Discourse

To determine whether the narratives around Liberian and Kashmiri women in global WPS discourse stems from a lack of political agency or from epistemic erasure, we must first examine how these movements were understood at home. Domestic media outlets and civil society statements are the closest record of how women acted, organised, were recognised, and recognised themselves as political subjects If agency is visible locally, then its disappearance globally reveals not absence, but epistemic suppression, ie, the creation of Mohanty’s “Average Third World Woman”⁶⁶

Liberia

In the Liberian context, across the 289 surveyed domestic articles, 11 directly addressed women in the context of the protests and were subsequently analyzed in depth Four themes emerged from this analysis, namely Participation & Representation (18 instances), Gender Essentialisation (11 instances), Legitimacy & Respectability (8 instances) and Epistemic Hierarchies (6 instances)

Breaking these into constituent codes reveals that the most dominant narratives centred around women’s political agency, including grassroots female representation in WPS, structured political demands, and moments of intersectional solidarity that directly challenge Orientalist archetypes

A full mapping of the themes, their constituent codes, and their definitions as they appear in the domestic discourse can be found in the table below

Theme

Participation & Representation

Refers to how women are included in, and made visible through, political, social, and peacebuilding processes

Captures both the forms of women’s involvement, ie, which kind of woman/ women's groups are allowed to participate,who speaks for the movement, who is recognised as a “leader,” and whose forms of organising are ignored or domesticated etc Further, it captures the features of women's participation: the impact of leadership, the political tools used by female participants and more

Structured Demands

Influence of Female Leadership

Explicit articulation of political, social, or economic objectives by women’s movements

Recognition of women’s leadership as pivotal to political or social change, often framed as moral or inspirational rather than strategic or institutional

Women’s Political Leadership

Grassroots Women’s Representation in WPS

Representation of women in formal political office or leadership roles (and the lack of the same) within governance structures

References to community-level or local women’s groups participating in peacebuilding or WPS implementation.

Theme Definition Code Definition

Gender Essentialisation

Refers to the process by which women are represented or engaged with primarily as stereotypical 'women,' rather than as political agents, professionals, or multidimensional individuals It involves collapsing complex social, ethnic, and political identities into a singular gendered category, often framed in opposition to male violence or as symbols of peace, purity, or victimhood.

Criticism of Ambitious Women

Legitimacy & Respectability

Epistemic Hierarchies

Describes the social rules that decide which women are taken seriously and when. These rules often change with context: women are praised when their actions fit what society or the state sees as proper or helpful, but ignored or criticised when they step outside those expectations or question existing power

Patriarchal Essentialization of Sexual Tropes

Portrayal of women’s political aspirations or assertiveness as inappropriate, opportunistic, or morally suspect

Describes the layered power structures that determine whose knowledge is considered valid, credible, or authoritative These hierarchies are deeply tied to colonial legacies and gendered power: they prioritise Western, male, and institutional knowers while marginalising local, feminist, and experiential epistemologies

Theological Framing

Female Incompetence Trope

Portrays women’s bodies or sexuality as instruments of political action (eg, “sex strikes for peace”) or moral symbolism

Women's use of theologically grounded language to garner more legitimacy for movement, OR the use of religious language by external forces to diminish their agency.

Representation of women leaders as unqualified, emotional, or incapable of managing complexity, especially in postconflict governance

Intersectional Solidarity

Reductive Reporting of Movement

Depiction of cross-border or crossidentity alliances among women engaged in shared struggles for peace or justice

Simplification of complex feminist or peace movements into singular, sensational narratives Renders collective struggle legible only through tropes palatable to international media

Table 1: Main Themes and Constituent Subcodes Liberia Domestic Discourse

Women’s Participation as Leadership, Not Symbolism

Despite the uneven archival record of Liberian media partly due to many independent outlets being founded during the civil wars domestic discourse still offers a clear picture: women were not passive victims but central political actors shaping the trajectory of the peace movement. Coverage repeatedly emphasises themes of women’s participation and representation, through examples of grassroots mobilisation and structured demands underscoring the need for peace and security Articles noted how Liberian women “engaged warring faction leaders to cease the hostilities”⁶⁷ and “individually contributed to[ ] trips to Ghana and other parts of the sub-region for peace talks,”⁶⁸ demonstrating direct involvement in pivotal negotiations rather than symbolic presence. Local media also documented women organising mass protests, prayer vigils, and sitins led by faith-based and community groups “demanding peace” in the streets of Monrovia⁶⁹ In these accounts, women articulated political goals: they “wanted a peaceful country,”⁷⁰ “said no to violence,”⁷¹ and insisted that peace required government accountability and the cessation of abuses

Domestic discourse also recognised another facet of women’s participation: their explicit political leadership Indeed, articles celebrated the women-led organization, Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET), which “mobilize[d] thousands”⁷² to protest The recurrence of these themes aligns with broader feminist literature, which has shown that Liberian women acted with strategic intent, not spontaneous emotion Even in texts coded under theological framing, such as “this is the day the Lord has made”, we note that women used such religious language to legitimize their political wins in a deeply theistic country context, not as a retreat into virtuous piety as expected of women⁷³ What emerges is the opposite of Mohanty’s “Average Third World Woman”⁷⁴ Liberian women did not merely suffer; they organised, negotiated, demanded, and led in ways consistent with the tenets of the WPS agenda

Policing What You Cannot Ignore: Patriarchy as a Domestic Discipline

However, domestic discourse also revealed how quickly women’s political agency was constrained by gendered and patriarchal logics, especially after the war ended Even within supportive narratives, women’s actions were sometimes reduced to essentialised tropes

“Liberia: ‘Women Used Sex Strike for Peace,’” allAfricacom, August 19, 2013, https://allafricacom/stories/201308190181html

“Liberia: ‘Women Used Sex Strike for Peace’”

“Liberia: Maritime Liable - for Cadets’ Death,” allAfricacom, April 30, 2013, https://allafricacom/stories/201304300718html

“Liberia: Women March Against Violence,” allAfricacom, October 19, 2011, https://allafricacom/stories/201110191130html

“Liberia: Women March Against Violence”

“Liberia: Women March Against Violence”

“Liberia: Women Follow in President’s Footsteps,” allAfricacom, July 22, 2013, https://allafricacom/stories/201004280423html

“Liberia: ?You Did It’ - Leymah Says of Women,” allAfricacom, December 15, 2011, https://allafricacom/stories/201112150795html

Mohanty, “Under Western Eyes”, 337

This was most notable in gender-essentialist headlines like “Women Used Sex Strike for Peace,”⁷⁵ which reduced complex, multi-pronged political organising to only one of the tools used by married Liberian activists, i.e., withholding sex from their husbands until peace was achieved. More explicitly, when women transitioned from protest to formal leadership, their legitimacy and respectability was questioned Media articles argued that peacebuilding required “moving from rhetoric [ ] to the reality of reconciling real people,”⁷⁶ implying that women were unprepared for this shift In the same vein, Leymah Gbowee, who later went on to win a Nobel Peace Prize for her role in organising the women’s movement in Liberia, was accused of “chickening out due to the lack of expertise required”⁷⁷ and of failing to “take her advocacy beyond street protests.”⁷⁸ Critics framed her ambition as betrayal, claiming she wanted to “make money by using the hardship in Liberia,”⁷⁹ and chastised her for “touring the US, Asia, and Europe”⁸⁰ instead of staying home

These narratives positioned women as useful symbols in crisis, but incompetent or self-interested when exercising authority

This ‘female incompetence’ trope, as detailed above, coupled with the criticisms of ambitious women, reveals a patriarchal domestic disciplinary mechanism: women were celebrated when they sacrificed, but delegitimised when they claimed power Yet this very backlash proves that women’s agency was publicly visible and politically consequential Patriarchal structures only police what they cannot ignore In other words, women were recognised as powerful enough to threaten local authority and power structures, which means their later disappearance in international narratives cannot be attributed to a lack of local legitimacy. Rather, such findings would reveal a broader epistemic hierarchy that selectively erases Majority World women’s resistance from the WPS Agenda when it does not conform to acceptable, liberal scripts of femininity

Kashmir

For Kashmir, 30 out of 200 surveyed domestic articles directly addressed women in the context of the protests and were subsequently analyzed in depth. Five core themes emerged: Participation & Representation (88 instances), Gender Essentialisation (17 instances), Epistemic Hierarchies (21 instances), Legitimacy & Respectability (19 instances), and Violence (1 instance) Participation & Representation overwhelmingly dominated the discourse, with frequent codes such as grassroots female protest, structured political demands, familial identity, and women’s political leadership, indicating that women were consistently depicted as active participants in the movement.

“Liberia: ‘Women Used Sex Strike for Peace’”

“Liberia: Leymah: Chickened Out or Resigned -Critics Choose the Former, Suspecting Inadequacy,” allAfricacom, October 12, 2012, https://allafricacom/stories/201210120576html

“Liberia: Leymah: Chickened Out or Resigned”

“Liberia: Leymah: Chickened Out or Resigned”

“Liberia: Leymah: Chickened Out or Resigned”

“Liberia: Leymah: Chickened Out or Resigned”

Gender Essentialization appeared through fixed gender archetypes and infantilisation, while Epistemic Hierarchies captured instances where women’s resistance was framed as illegible, extremist, or as victims only. Under the theme of Legitimacy and Respectability, women’s appeals for global intervention were captured, as was the structural denial of their political agency. A full breakdown of themes, sub-codes, and their definitions is provided in the table below

Theme

Participation & Representation

Refers to how women are included in, and made visible through, political, social, and peacebuilding processes

Captures both the forms of women’s involvement, ie, which kind of woman/ women's groups are allowed to participate,who speaks for the movement, who is recognised as a “leader,” and whose forms of organising are ignored or domesticated etc Further, it captures the features of women's participation: the impact of leadership, the political tools used by female participants and more.

Structured Demands

Explicit articulation of political, social, or economic objectives by women’s movements

Subsumed Collective Identity

Gender Essentialisation

Refers to the process by which women are represented or engaged with primarily as stereotypical 'women,' rather than as political agents, professionals, or multidimensional individuals It involves collapsing complex social, ethnic, and political identities into a singular gendered category, often framed in opposition to male violence or as symbols of peace, purity, or victimhood

Women’s Political Leadership

Grassroots Women’s Representation in WPS

Fixed Gender Archetypes

Mentions of women only to show the scale or inclusivity of a movement, without attributing them specific actions or voices

Representation of women in formal political office orleadership roles (and the lack of the same) within governance structures.

References to community-level or local women’s groups participating in peacebuilding or WPS implementation

Stereotypes of women as emotional, weak, pure, familyoriented and more

Family Identity Emphasised

Women Infantilized

Framing women’s roles through motherhood, sisterhood, or caregiving rather than political or civic identities

Phrases that group women with children to highlight innocence or victimhood, equating femininity with helplessness or purity.

Legitimacy & Respectability

Describes the social rules that decide which women are taken seriously and when These rules often change with context: women are praised when their actions fit what society or the state sees as proper or helpful, but ignored or criticised when they step outside those expectations or question existing power

Theological Framing

Women's use of theologically grounded language to garner more legitimacy for movement, OR the use of religious language by external forces to diminish their agency

Appeal for Global Intervention

Epistemic Hierarchies

Describes the layered power structures that determine whose knowledge is considered valid, credible, or authoritative These hierarchies are deeply tied to colonial legacies and gendered power: they prioritise Western, male, and institutional knowers while marginalising local, feminist, and experiential epistemologies

Structural Denial of Women’s Political Agency

Instances where women or movements articulate their resistance but frame justiceseeking through appeals to the “international community”

Depictions that acknowledge women’s participation or suffering but restrict their legitimacy to morally acceptable or feminised domains (as mothers, moral voices, or symbols of virtue) rather than as autonomous political actors

Majority World Women As Victims Constant victimization of Majority World Women

Epistemic Contestation

Orientalist Framing of the Majority World

Push back to entrenched colonial epistemic hierarchies by Majority World women

Discursive positioning of postcolonial societies as exotic, chaotic, or morally deficient, contrasted with a rational and progressive West, which the former can learn from

Violence

Captures how humanitarian and journalistic discourse turns gender-based violence into the defining marker of women’s participation in war, and, by extension, their justification for inclusion in peace processes

Illegible Forms of Resistance

Graphic Depiction of Sexual Violence

Depictions of women’s activism articulated through religious, nationalist, or anti-state idioms that fall outside liberal peace or feminist vocabularies, rendering their agency unintelligible or suspect in global discourse

Use of vivid, often sensationalist descriptions of sexual or physical violence to provoke emotional response from audiences, ie, the "pornography of suffering"

Table 2: Main Themes and Constituent Subcodes Kashmir Domestic Discourse

Everyday Resistance: Women’s Leadership, Organisation, and Defiance

Domestic media in Kashmir presents a strikingly different context from Liberia due to the territory’s condition as a militarized occupation. Yet, as stated above, the core finding is remarkably consistent, in that Kashmiri women were not passive observers in the 2016 Kashmir protests Instead, their participation and representation is a central theme, and they emerged as key political agents, organisers, and leaders in the protests Across the articles reviewed, women appear repeatedly as the ones who “assembled [ ] and held a protest against the recent [extrajudicial] killings in Kashmir,”⁸¹ “[organized] a pro-freedom [from India] march,”⁸² and “demanded an end to unabated killings.”⁸³ Far from isolated or purely symbolic, their participation was mass-based. Domestic media acknowledges that “scores of women,”⁸⁴ “hundreds of women,”⁸⁵ even “a large number of women staged a pro-freedom protest inside the Hazratbal shrine”⁸⁶ Women gathered in mosques, streets, and neighbourhoods; sometimes leading all-female rallies, other times joining mixed crowds, reflecting what feminist scholars describe as the politicisation of everyday life in Kashmir⁸⁷ Much like in the Liberian case, they issued structured political demands, including a ceasefire, demilitarisation, repeal of AFSPA,⁸⁸ and justice for th edisappeared.⁸⁹

Grassroots women’s representation in peace and security is also repeatedly noted in domestic discourse Specifically, the APDP, which is a CSO led by women’s rights activist, Parveena Ahangar, consistently “reiterated their demand for locating the whereabouts of the disappeared youth” and called for legislation to criminalise enforced disappearance.⁹⁰

Muhammad Raafi, “#Day25: Curfew, Restriction Continues in Kashmir; Women Protest in Panth Chowk,” Kashmir Life, August 2, 2016, https://kashmirlifenet/day25-curfew-restriction-continues-in-kashmir-women-protest-in-pampore-113245/ KNS, “Shutdown, Clashes Continue on 53rd Day in Kashmir,” KNS, August 30, 2016, https://wwwknskashmircom/shutdown--clashes-continue-on-53rd-day-in-kashmir-10381

Observer News Service, “Life Paralysed on 75th Day,” Kashmir Observer, September 21, 2016, https://kashmirobservernet/2016/09/21/life-paralysed-on-75th-day/ KNS, “Shutdown, Clashes Continue on 53rd Day in Kashmir”

Observer News Service, “Day 81 : Clashes,Protests Continue in Restive Kashmir,” Kashmir Observer, September 27, 2016, https://kashmirobservernet/2016/09/27/day-81clashesprotests-continue-in-restive-kashmir/ Raafi, “#Day25: Curfew, Restriction Continues in Kashmir; Women Protest in Panth Chowk” Ekta Oza, “Childhoods Under Military Occupation: Everyday Experiences and ‘Insistence on Existence’ as Resistance in Kashmir,” Settler Colonial Studies, November 24, 2024, 1–26, https://doiorg/101080/2201473x20242426111; Inshah Malik, Muslim Women, Agency and Resistance Politics, Springer eBooks, 2018, https://doiorg/101007/978-3-319-95330-4

Amit Ranjan, “A Gender Critique of AFSPA: Security for Whom?,” Social Change 45, no 3 (August 20, 2015): 440–57, https://doiorg/101177/0049085715589471

APDP, “January 10, 2017 – APDP Press Release,” Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, December 4, 2019, https://apdpkashmircom/january-10-2017-apdp-press-release/

Kashmir Observer, “APDP reiterates demand for locating missing persons”, November 10, 2018, LexisNexiscom

These were not emotional pleas They were legal and political strategies articulated by women at the forefront As one article notes, “the [APDP] chairperson said, ‘We demand that law on enforced disappearance be passed [... ] so that perpetrators could be prosecuted.’”⁹¹

Women provided subtle, subversive cues in support of violent acts of resistance as well This is seen in an interview given by the mother of Burhan Wani, the mujahid⁹² whose killing by the Indian armed forces sparked the 2016 protests⁹³ In her interviews with the media, she repeatedly signals support for the Kashmiri separatist movement, reframing the interviewer’s question to emphasize that her son was “martyred”⁹⁴ as a “Mujahid, a freedom fighter”.⁹⁵ She highlighted that she watched him often before his death to check if he “was doing his duty in the way of Allah”⁹⁶ by participating in the separatist movement ⁹⁷ This mirrors the arguments in scholarly literature that Kashmiri women’s activism “defied the traditional family unit,”⁹⁸ by supporting their children engaging in the armed separatist movement They also “created a buffer with their bodies,”⁹⁹ for male family members by virtue of not being seen as a threat, and insisted on being treated as political beings rather than mere victims. This aligns directly with the argument that in a heavily militarised context, “[Kashmiri women’s] insistence on being seen is their assertion [...] and their refusal to be eliminated”¹⁰⁰

The Backlash of Visibility: Domestic Patriarchy and State Discipline

Yet the very power of this agency provoked backlash Domestic discourse frequently attempted to contain women’s political subjectivity through patriarchal frames. The primary form of erasure is the way media often subsumed Kashmiri women into collective phrases like “including men, women and children¹⁰¹

Kashmir Observer, “APDP reiterates demand for locating missing persons”,

‘Mujahid’ is an Arabic term that refers to people who engage in a struggle for peace or right conduct In Islamic jurisprudence, a mujahid is understood to be engaging in a fight on behalf of God, religion or the community

Observer News Service, “One Year and Two Sons Later, Burhan’s Mother Speaks Up,” Kashmir Observer, August 1, 2020, https://kashmirobservernet/2017/07/08/one-year-and-two-sons-later-burhans-mother-speaks-up/

Observer News Service, “One Year and Two Sons Later, Burhan’s Mother Speaks Up,” Kashmir Observer, August 1, 2020, https://kashmirobservernet/2017/07/08/one-year-and-two-sons-later-burhans-mother-speaks-up/

Observer News Service, “Day 81 : Clashes,Protests Continue in Restive Kashmir,” Kashmir Observer, September 27, 2016, https://kashmirobservernet/2016/09/27/day-81clashesprotests-continue-in-restive-kashmir/

Observer News Service, “One Year and Two Sons Later, Burhan’s Mother Speaks Up,” Kashmir Observer, August 1, 2020, https://kashmirobservernet/2017/07/08/one-year-and-two-sons-later-burhans-mother-speaks-up/

Observer News Service, “One Year and Two Sons Later, Burhan’s Mother Speaks Up”

Divyangna Sharma, “Alternative Discourse for Constituting Subjecthood of Women: A Case for an Autonomous Feminist Discourse in Kashmir in India,” Frontiers in Political Science 5 (February 27, 2023),https://doiorg/103389/fpos20231045846

Malik, Muslim Women, Agency and Resistance Politics.

Oza, “Childhoods Under Military Occupation”

Observer News Service, “APDP Stages Silent Protest in Srinagar,” Kashmir Observer, March 1, 2018, https://kashmirobservernet/2018/03/01/apdp-stages-silent-protest-in-srinagar/;

or marked their presence at protests as exceptional with phrases like “even women,”¹⁰² signalling surprise at their visibility Reports described them as “mothers,”¹⁰³ “wives,”¹⁰⁴ or “half-widows,”¹⁰⁵ emphasising familial roles over political identities. When women resisted state violence, their actions were coloured as irrational or illegitimate by the Indian state’s colonial apparatus: acts of defiance, such as a woman throwing a fire pot at a soldier after harassment, were framed as emotional outbursts rather than strategic resistance¹⁰⁶ Articles noted that women were “quickly hauled off to a lock-up”¹⁰⁷ or tear-gassed, demonstrating that their activism was threatening enough to require suppression by Indian authorities Crucially, this repression does not signal invisibility but the opposite: you do not arrest, infantilise, or criminalise those you consider politically irrelevant. You do this when you are threatened by those who hold political power. As scholars like Nitasha Kaul (2018)¹⁰⁸ and I Malik (2019)¹⁰⁹ argue, Kashmiri women are hyper-visible to the state as subjects to be disciplined, even as their agency is erased in dominant narratives Thus, domestic discourse in Kashmir reveals a dual pattern: women are seen, but their resistance is made unintelligible Their presence is undeniable, but their politics are delegitimised This tension between recognition and suppression demonstrates that Kashmiri women possess political agency that was both visible and consequential. The question, then, is not whether these women took action, but why their agency disappears when their struggle enters the international arena and within the WPS context

Comparative Analysis of Domestic Discourse

Across both Liberia and Kashmir, domestic discourse makes one fact unmistakably clear: women were not passive recipients of history but central political actors who organised protests, negotiated with authorities, issued structured political demands, and explicitly claimed space in public life Their agency was not only acknowledged by the media but asserted by the women themselves, who framed their actions as strategic interventions in struggles for peace, justice, and self-determination

While traces of patriarchal discourse persisted such as the domestication of women’s activism in Liberia or the occasional infantilisation and delegitimation of Kashmiri women these were not the dominant narrative in domestic sources

Observer News Service, “PUCL Team Concludes Kashmir Visit,Issues Observations,” Kashmir Observer, October 24, 2016, https://kashmirobservernet/2016/10/24/pucl-team-concludes-kashmir-visitissues-%C2%91observations%C2%92/

The Hans India, “A Tale of Disappearance” The Hans India, April 9, 2016, https://wwwthehansindiacom/posts/index/News-Analysis/2016-04-09/A-Tale-of-Disappearance-/220156

The Hans India, “A Tale of Disappearance”

Kashmir Monitor, “Half widows of Kashmir left to grapple with uncertainty,” March 9, 2016, LexisNexiscom

Observer News Service, “Crackdown Nightmares: Old Memories Still Haunt Me,” Kashmir Observer, January 28, 2016, https://kashmirobserver.net/2016/01/28/crackdown-nightmaresold-memories-still-haunt-me/.

107 Malik, Muslim Women, Agency and Resistance Politics

Kashmir Monitor, “Many Shades Of Kashmir Normalcy,” November 3, 2020, LexisNexiscom

Nitasha Kaul, “India’s Obsession With Kashmir: Democracy, Gender, (Anti-)Nationalism,” Feminist Review 119, no 1 (July 1, 2018): 126–43, https://doiorg/101057/s41305-018-0123-x

Rather, the overwhelming pattern was one in which women’s leadership, sacrifice, and political will were visible and influential within their societies This matters: if international narratives later erase, depoliticise, or romanticise these same women, the cause cannot be a supposed absence of agency at the local level. Instead, it points to a broader epistemic hierarchy shaping whose resistance becomes globally intelligible and under what terms Majority World women are allowed to appear Having established that women were recognised as agents of peace and security at home, we can now ask: what happens to this understanding within the WPS context when their movements enter the global stage?

International Discourse

Having established that women in both Liberia and Kashmir were recognised as political agents within their own societies, the question becomes what happens when these same movements travel beyond the local arena Does the international stage amplify their agency with the WPS Agenda, or does it reshape and restrict it to fit dominant global frameworks? To answer this, we now turn to how Liberia and Kashmir were represented in international media and UN WPS discourse.

Liberia

To answer the aforementioned question, 467 international sources were analysed, including 22 media articles that mentioned Liberian and Kashmiri women in the context of the protests, and 445 UN WPS Open Debate statements. Across these, six dominant themes emerged: Participation & Representation (72 instances), Epistemic Hierarchies (47 instances), Gender Essentialization (37 instances), Violence (29 instances), Legitimacy & Respectability (21 instances), and Securitization and Efficiency (21 instances) Within these, the most frequent codes included ‘heroification’ of individual women, ie, the reduction of mass movements to the leadership of a few Majority World women; patriarchal essentialization of sexual tropes; reductive reporting of the movements; and Western feminist authority/ tutelage narratives. Unlike the domestic discourse, which foregrounded collective mobilisation, structured demands, and strategic leadership in the name of women’s participation, the international discourse repeatedly isolated a few individuals In doing so, it collapsed complex activism into simplistic tropes (especially the sex strike), and framed Liberian women either as victims or as symbolic exceptions in relation to the WPS Agenda A full breakdown of themes, their constituent codes, and definitions appears in the table below.

Theme Definition Code Definition

Heroification of Women’s Movements

Participation & Representation

Refers to how women are included in,and made visible through, political, social, and peacebuilding processes Captures both the forms of women’s involvement, i.e., which kind of woman/ women's groups are allowed to participate,who speaks for the movement, who is recognised as a “leader,” and whose forms of organising are ignored or domesticated etc Further, it captures the features of women's participation: the impact of leadership, the political tools used by female participants and more

Female Representation in Peacebuilding

Women’s Political Leadership

Grassroots Women’s Representation in WPS

Representation of broad social movements through a single charismatic figure, often to make narratives more legible or to exceptionalize the capabilities of women from a community

Mentions of Majority World women in prominent positions within peacebuilding efforts

Representation of women in formal political office or leadership roles (and the lack of the same) within governance structures

References to community-level or local women’s groups participating in peacebuilding or WPS implementation

Gender Essentialisation

Refers to the process by which women are represented or engaged with primarily as stereotypical 'women,' rather than as political agents, professionals, or multidimensional individuals It involves collapsing complex social, ethnic, and political identities into a singular gendered category, often framed in opposition to male violence or as symbols of peace, purity, or victimhood

Gendered Responsibility Transfer

Family Identity Emphasised

Narratives where women are framed as bearing moral or practical responsibility for maintaining peace, reconciliation, or community cohesion

Framing women’s roles through motherhood, sisterhood, or caregiving rather than political or civic identities

Patriarchal Essentialization of Sexual Tropes

Portrays women’s bodies or sexuality as instruments of political action (eg, “sex strikes for peace”) or moral symbolism

Theme Definition Code Definition

Legitimacy & Respectability

Describes the social rules that decide which women are taken seriously and when These rules often change with context: women are praised when their actions fit what society or the state sees as proper or helpful, but ignored or criticised when they step outside those expectations or question existing power

International Validation for Legitimacy

Epistemic Hierarchies

Describes the layered power structures that determine whose knowledge is considered valid, credible, or authoritative These hierarchies are deeply tied to colonial legacies and gendered power: they prioritise Western, male, and institutional knowers while marginalising local, feminist, and experiential epistemologies

Structural Denial of Women’s Political Agency

Moments when local actors or movements are granted legitimacy only after recognition by international bodies, awards, or Western media

Depictions that acknowledge women’s participation or suffering but restrict their legitimacy to morally acceptable or feminised domains (as mothers, moral voices, or symbols of virtue) rather than as autonomous political actors

Majority World Women as Victims

Cooptation/Eras ure of Local Feminist Movements

Constant victimization of Majority World Women.

Violence

Captures how humanitarian and journalistic discourse turns gender-based violence into the defining marker of women’s participation in war, and, by extension, their justification for inclusion in peace processes

Western Feminist Authority and Tutelage Narrative

Instances where grassroots feminist or peace movements are omitted or absorbed into institutional frameworks (UN, donor programmes) that dilute their radical or intersectional agendas

Portrays post-conflict societies as pupils under UN or Western mentorship to “learn” gender equality or peacebuilding norms

Orientalist Framing of the Majority World

Rape as Cultural Pathology

Discursive positioning of postcolonial societies as exotic, chaotic, or morally deficient, contrasted with a rational and progressive West, which the former can learn from

Subtly frames sexual violence as unsurprising and an outcome of cultural backwardness, moral decay, or masculine excess specific to certain societies

Theme Definition Code Definition

Violence

Securitisation & Efficiency

Captures how humanitarian and journalistic discourse turns gender-based violence into the defining marker of women’s participation in war, and, by extension, their justification for inclusion in peace processes

Stop Sexual Violence

Highlighted as the Primary Aim

Graphic Representation s of Sexual Violence

Moments when local actors or movements are granted legitimacy only after recognition by international bodies, awards, or Western media

Use of vivid, often sensationalist descriptions of sexual or physical violence to provoke emotional response from audiences, ie, the "pornography of suffering"

Military/Policing as Priority

Instrumentalisi ng Gender for Efficiency

Emphasis on increasing women’s participation in the military or police as the primary vehicle for WPS implementation

Use of gender equality as a technical tool to improve policy outcomes rather than as a normative or justice-based goal

Table 3: Main Themes and Constituent Subcodes Liberia International Discourse

The Sexualised and the Exceptional: Orientalist Tropes in Liberian Representation

Fig 2: Document Portrait of Themes in International Media for Liberia

The figures above provide an immediate comparison of national and international discourse on Liberian women, setting the stage for the findings of this section. The contrast is striking. Domestic media largely portrayed women as strategic organisers, negotiators, and political leaders, while international outlets reframed the same movement through narratives of victimhood, dependency, and Western tutelage

Indeed, international media actively undermined or denied the political sophistication of Liberian women Articles claimed that “no one figured that it would be Liberia’s women who would be the ones to stand up to [Chalres] Taylor”¹¹⁰ implying that Liberian women lacked expected political agency. Rather than acknowledging the breadth of tactics comprising the 2003 Mass Action movement, outlets repeatedly reduced it to a sex strike: “the women threatened curses on Liberia’s men, organized sex strikes and sit-ins to shame them”¹¹¹; “organizers of the sex strike say [ ]”¹¹² and more This was not an isolated reference but a recurring pattern across multiple outlets, turning a minor media tactic one which Liberian women themselves said “had little or no practical effect, but was extremely valuable in getting us media attention”¹¹³ into the defining feature of the movement

110

Moni Basu and Jonathan Mann, “‘Been a Long Time Coming,’ Say Women Peace Prize Winners,” CNN, December 10, 2011, https://wwwcnncom/2011/12/10/world/europe/norway-peace-prize-women

Basu & Mann, “‘Been a Long Time Coming”

“A Nation’s Sex Strike for Democracy,” CNN, August 29, 2012, https://wwwcnncom/2012/08/29/opinion/ghitis-sex-strikes Martinson, “Do Sex Strikes Really Work”

Fig 3: Document Portrait of Themes in Liberian National Media

This sexualised framing is deeply patriarchal and Orientalist, but it operates in two distinct ways First, international media drew on civilisational stereotypes to portray women’s political action as culturally rooted in sexual manipulation rather than strategy One article argued that “women have long known that men have a special vulnerability when it comes to sex,”¹¹⁴ suggesting that Liberian women operate through bodily leverage rather than political reasoning. This mirrors the classic Orientalist trope of the hypersexual ‘native’ woman, whose only perceived power lies in seduction or taboo rather than intellect or organisation. Second, other accounts went further by insisting that “sex strikes [...] underline a power dynamic that suggests that women have little else to withhold apart from their bodies,”¹¹⁵ denying women any political capacity at all Here, women are not portrayed as astute but as fundamentally devoid of strategic tools, reinforcing a patriarchal logic that women lack the intellectual or structural resources to act politically It reduces their resistance to a last-resort biological leverage At the same time, international media framed rape as the central or sole grievance (“they demanded an end to the violence against them”¹¹⁶) erasing concurrent broader political demands such as disarmament, ceasefires, negotiations, and governmental accountability, all of which were central in domestic discourse. Once again, this cements the international lens on Liberian women as an Orientalist one, wherein the 2003 Mass Action becomes the work of the hapless, cyclically victimised Liberian woman

Where agency was acknowledged, it was flattened through a narrow focus on Leymah Gbowee and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, especially in light of them being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 ¹¹⁷ By describing the women Gbowee led as “ordinary citizens who had nothing in hand,”¹¹⁸ international media implicitly portrayed Gbowee as uniquely exceptional rather than part of a collective strategic network. Sirleaf was even credited with “emboldening women in Liberia”,¹¹⁹ implying that Liberian women needed a leader to give them the agency they seemingly do not inherently possess This transformed a mass movement into the story of two exceptional individuals

CNN, “A Nation’s Sex Strike for Democracy”

Martinson, “Do Sex Strikes Really Work”

Basu & Mann, “‘Been a Long Time Coming”

“2011 - Nobel Peace Prize”

Basu & Mann, “‘Been a Long Time Coming” 118

“Women’s Rights Trio Wins Nobel Peace Prize,” CBS News, October 7, 2011, https://wwwcbsnewscom/news/womensrights-trio-wins-nobel-peace-prize/

UN Narratives of Securitisation, Heroification, and the Peaceful Liberian Woman

Fig 4: Document Portrait of Themes in Liberian National Media

Fig 5: Document Portrait of Themes in UN Discourse on Liberia

The UN WPS discourse was more diplomatic but reproduced similar patterns, as seen in the Figure 5 above The divergence, once again, between domestic and UN discourse is revealing Whereas domestic narratives continued to reflect women’s collective political organising, UN representations concentrated heavily on institutional participation, peacekeeping symbolism, and operational efficiency. As the visual maps illustrate, themes related to heroification, international validation, and gendered responsibility transfer dominate the UN corpus, signalling a shift from women as autonomous political actors to women as instruments of stability and order.

This pattern anticipates the analysis that follows: women’s participation and representation in Liberia was celebrated, but often through securitised, bureaucratic frames For example, multiple states lauded India’s “first ever Female Formed Police Unit that will join the UN Mission in Liberia”¹²⁰ as “an inspiration and model of best practices ”¹²¹ Statements claimed that this unit “inspired Liberian women to take part in their country’s reconstruction [...] join the police [...] and contribute to the country’s overall security,”¹²² implying that Liberian women only engaged politically after exposure to external female peacekeepers. While presented as a triumph of ‘South–South’ solidarity, the portrayal of India’s all-female peacekeeping unit also reveals how hierarchies are created within the Majority World itself As we see above, INGO and TAN narratives framed Indian women peacekeepers as disciplined, modern exemplars “inspiring” their Liberian counterparts to become professional and orderly while omitting the endemic gendered violence, harassment, and institutional patriarchy within India’s own police and military structures This framing produced a civilisational gradient even among Majority World actors. India was positioned as a model participant whose women could “teach” and “uplift” others. This reinforces the UN’s paternalistic grammar of tutelage and moral superiority an epistemic hierarchy.

Similarly, Member States and UN agencies repeatedly framed gender inclusion in terms of operational “efficiency”¹²³ and a “light footprint”¹²⁴

120

, Peter Burian, “Statement by HE Mr Peter Burian, Permanent Representative of Slovakia to the United Nations, at the United Nations Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace, and Security,” United Nations Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace, and Security, 2006, https://wwwwilpforg/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/svk wps 06 0pdf

121

Henri-Paul Normandin and Government of Canada, “Statement by Ambassador Henri-Paul Normandin, Deputy Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations to the Security Council: Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security,” Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security, October 29, 2008, https://wwwwilpforg/wpcontent/uploads/2025/01/can wps 08 0pdf

122

123

Henri-Paul Normandin and Government of Canada, “Statement by Ambassador Henri-Paul Normandin”

Jean-Marie Guéhenno and the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations “Statement of Mr Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations: Open Meeting of the Security Council on Women, Peace and Security”, Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security, October 29, 2003, https://wwwwilpforg/wpcontent/uploads/2024/12/dpko wps 03 0pdf

124

Guéhenno and the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations “Statement of Mr Jean-Marie Guéhenno”

casting women as tools for making missions more effective rather than as political subjects with autonomous demands Gender was instrumentalised in the Liberian context through narratives like “recruiting women to the police sector [ ] is facilitating more serious attention to sexual violence crimes and helping to change the attitude of male officers ”¹²⁵ Responsibility for reform is shifted onto Liberian women,ignoring accountability for these crimes and reinforcing gendered burden narratives.

While Member States occasionally acknowledged grassroots activism with statements like “Liberian women had a direct and visible impact on peace negotiations,¹²⁶ such recognition was often overshadowed by the heroification of Gbowee and Sirleaf The Nobel Peace Prize was cited repeatedly as proof of women’s importance, but this global validation highlighted individual laureates rather than the movement as a whole ¹²⁷ This heroification is problematic because it collapses the complex tapestry of mass mobilisation by a constellation of Liberian women into the work of a heroic few. By exceptionalising Gbowee and Sirleaf, the discourse constructs a grammar of difference. It marks their political agency as anomalous, even miraculous, against an imagined backdrop of ‘normal’ apolitical or passive Liberian womanhood In doing so, it re-codes collective, strategic action as the achievement of rare individuals, rendering Liberian women’s political participation legible only when it takes the form of singular, inspirational leadership rather than organised mass movement

This kind of global ‘recognition’ functions as an epistemic gatekeeping mechanism: Liberian women become visible to TANs and the international community within the WPS context only when validated through Western institutions like the Nobel Prize. Even then, they appear as maternal, peaceful symbols who ran a campaign full of “motherly love and perseverance”,¹²⁸ rather than radical strategists. Their political labour is ‘domesticated’ into coherence for the Western episteme

Indeed, when Liberian civil society was mentioned, it was framed as supporting state or INGO-backed security agendas: “women in civil society [ ] have facilitated outreach activities to recruit more women to the Liberian National Police Service ”¹²⁹ Rather than acknowledging women’s independent demands or organising, Member States emphasised their usefulness in furthering UN and Member State-orchestrated institutional and security reform. A rare exception to this is Ireland’s voiced commitment to a cross-learning initiative to shape Ireland’s WPS National Action Plan, which explicitly credits Liberian grassroots activists. ¹³⁰

125

Guéhenno and the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations “Statement of Mr Jean-Marie Guéhe

Rosemary A. DiCarlo and United States of America, “Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security – 5th October 2009,” 2009, https://www.wilpf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/usa wps 09 0.pdf.

126 Ki-moon, Ban, “Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security,” October 28, 2011, https://wwwwilpforg/wpcontent/uploads/2025/01/sg statement wps 2011 0pdf

128

127 wthrcom, “‘Pray the Devil Back to Hell’ Wins at Tribeca,” WthrCom, May 7, 2008, https://wwwwthrcom/article/news/local/pray-devil-back-hell-wins-tribeca/531-dd9f5b9c-ce90-4e2a-b73b-a1c8250c1efa

Recognition without Politics

Thus, international discourse on Liberia produces a paradox: the movement is globally celebrated yet politically erased Women are hyper-visible within the WPS context, but only as victims, moral symbols, sex-strikers, or extraordinary individuals Their collective strategy, radical disruption of power, and negotiation expertise, which was foregrounded in domestic discourse, are sidelined. Instead of recognising the movement Liberian women built as a prime example of the WPS Agenda in radical action, international media and the UN attribute agency to accident, the inspiration of a few, or external intervention. This is not a failure of information, but instead an epistemic hierarchy at work In short, TANs and INGOs do not overlook Liberian women Rather, they erase their political agency and reshape them within the WPS Agenda into something legible to Western epistemes

Kashmir

Despite the clear visibility of women’s political agency in domestic discourse, their entry into international narratives produces a profound shift not toward acknowledgement, but toward disappearance. Across the approximately 23 highly relevant international media articles and 445 UN documents surveyed, five core themes emerged: Epistemic Hierarchies (26 instances), Participation & Representation (17 instances), Violence (8 instances), Legitimacy & Respectability (7 instances), and Gender Essentialization (7 instances) Unraveling these themes into their constituent codes reveals that while international media occasionally acknowledged women’s grassroots political involvement such as noting that “hundreds of men and women defied the curfew [ ] and marched to a United Nations office”¹³¹ this recognition was consistently overshadowed by discourses that framed Kashmiri women primarily as victims, familial figures, or extensions of male-led separatism. Some of the most frequently occurring codes included ‘Majority World Women as Victims’, ‘Illegible Forms of Resistance,’ and ‘Familial Identity Emphasized,’ demonstrating a pattern of erasure-throughpathologisation rather than erasure-through-absence Unlike the Liberian case, where agency was misrepresented, domesticated, or made legible via co-opting narrative to fit a Western lens, in the Kashmir case, agency was rendered unintelligible altogether This is a more insidious mode of epistemic suppression A full mapping of themes, sub-codes, and definitions is provided in the table below

129 Mary White and Ireland, “Statement by Ms Mary White, T.D. Minister of State for Integration, Equality and Human Rights of Ireland at the UN Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security,” UN Security Council Open Debate, https://www.wilpf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/ire wps 2010 0.pdf.

131

Alain Le Roy, “Security Council Open Debate on the Implementation of Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security , ” October 29, 2008, https://wwwwilpforg/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dpko wps 08 0pdf

130 Aijaz Hussain, “India Re-imposes Curfew in Kashmir City, but Clashes Persist | AP News,” AP News, July 29, 2016, https://apnewscom/general-news-c9fc0e3837cb457e97d085d59faf9726

Theme Definition Code Definition

Refers to how women are included in, and made visible through, political, social, and peacebuilding processes

Participation & Representation

Gender Essentialisation

Captures both the forms of women’s involvement, ie, which kind of woman/ women's groups are allowed to participate, who speaks for the movement, who is recognised as a “leader,” and whose forms of organising are ignored or domesticated etc Further, it captures the features of women's participation: the impact of leadership, the political tools used by female participants and more.

Refers to the process by which women are represented or engaged with primarily as stereotypical 'women,' rather than as political agents, professionals, or multidimensional individuals It involves collapsing complex social, ethnic, and political identities into a singular gendered category, often framed in opposition to male violence or as symbols of peace, purity, or victimhood

Subsumed Collective Identity

Legitimacy & Respectability

Describes the social rules that decide which women are taken seriously and when These rules often change with context: women are praised when their actions fit what society or the state sees as proper or helpful, but ignored or criticised when they step outside those expectations or question existing power

Women’s Political Leadership

Grassroots Women’s Representation in WPS

Mentions of women only to show the scale or inclusivity of a movement, without attributing them specific actions or voices

Representation of women in formal political office or leadership roles (and the lack of the same) within governance structures

References to community-level or local women’s groups participating in peacebuilding or WPS implementation

Women Infantilised

Fixed Gender Archetypes

Phrases that group women with children to highlight innocence or victimhood, equating femininity with helplessness or purity

Appeal for Global Intervention

Stereotypes of women as emotional, weak, pure, familyoriented and more

Theological Framing

Structural Denial of Women’s Political Agency

Instances where women or movements articulate their resistance but frame justice-seeking through appeals to the “international community”

Women's use of theologically grounded language to garner more legitimacy for movement, OR the use of religious language by external forces to diminish their agency

Depictions that acknowledge women’s participation or suffering but restrict their legitimacy to morally acceptable or feminised domains (as mothers, moral voices, or symbols of virtue) rather than as autonomous political actors

Epistemic Hierarchies

Describes the layered power structures that determine whose knowledge is considered valid, credible, or authoritative These hierarchies are deeply tied to colonial legacies and gendered power: they prioritise Western, male, and institutional knowers while marginalising local, feminist, and experiential epistemologies

Majority World Women as Victims

Western Feminist Authority and Tutelage Narrative

Constant victimization of Majority World Women

Portrays post-conflict societies as pupils under UN or Western mentorship to “learn” gender equality or peacebuilding norms

Violence

Captures how humanitarian and journalistic discourse turns gender-based violence into the defining marker of women’s participation in war, and, by extension, their justification for inclusion in peace processes

Cooption/ Erasure of Local Feminist Movements

Reductive Reporting of Movement

Instances where grassroots feminist or peace movements are omitted or absorbed into institutional frameworks (UN, donor programmes) that dilute their radical or intersectional agendas

Simplification of complex feminist or peace movements into singular, sensational narratives Renders collective struggle legible only through tropes palatable to international media

Illegible Forms of Resistance

Orientalist Framing of the Majority World

Depictions of women’s activism articulated through religious, nationalist, or anti-state idioms that fall outside liberal peace or feminist vocabularies, rendering their agency unintelligible or suspect in global discourse

Discursive positioning of postcolonial societies as exotic, chaotic, or morally deficient, contrasted with a rational and progressive West, which the former can learn from

Rape as Cultural Pathology

Graphic Representation of Sexual Violence

Subtly frames sexual violence as unsurprising and an outcome of cultural backwardness, moral decay, or masculine excess specific to certain societies

Use of vivid, often sensationalist descriptions of sexual or physical violence to provoke emotional responsefrom audiences, ie, the "pornography of suffering"

Kashmiri Women as Forever Victims

Fig 6: Document Portrait of Themes in Kashmiri Domestic Media

Fig 7: Document Portrait of Themes in International Media on Kashmir

The figures above expose how international discourse distorts the political agency of Kashmiri women What emerges is not a record of resistance but a taxonomy of victimhood National media, though shaped by patriarchal logics, still registered women’s presence as participants in protest and public life International narratives, however, translated this presence into evidence of suffering framing women as violated bodies, grieving mothers, or instruments of separatist propaganda. As the visuals show, themes of rape as cultural pathology and Orientalist framing of the Majority World dominate, revealing a discursive field where women’s defiance becomes unintelligible, and only their pain remains visible.

Articles frequently asserted that “Indian occupation forces have used rape as a weapon of war”,¹³² but made no further mention of Kashmiri women except for in this context, hence reinforcing the trope of the Kashmiri woman as perpetual victim Violence was repeatedly framed as cultural pathology, through language like “rape as a weapon” and “long history of violence against women”,¹³³ constructing Kashmir into a site too barbaric and regressive to be understood by the civilised international gaze. Even when grassroots activism was mentioned such as the APDP’s monthly protests it was trivialised as aimed towards “comfort[ing] each other”,¹³⁴ rather than recognised as sustained, strategic political resistance This is a clear instance of epistemic hierarchies, wherein Kashmiri women-led civil society is infantilised, and understood as emotional or domestic acts rather than political interventions

Moreover, women’s participation was frequently subsumed into collective identity (“men and women took to the streets”),¹³⁵ erasing their individual leadership entirely, or was depicted as orchestrated by male “separatist camps” who “asked women to hold peaceful protests.”¹³⁶ In this framing, women are not political agents but pawns who are mobilised by ‘extremist’ men, lacking autonomy. This aligns with Orientalist discourse that denies Majority World women independent subjectivity Even the APDP one of the most significant women-led civil society movements in the region was explained to readers through a Western point of reference: “Many people have heard of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo [ ]” but “not so many will be familiar with” the APDP ¹³⁷

“At UN, Pakistan Calls for Ending Women’s Suffering in Occupied Kashmir & Palestine,” Press release, October 25, 2024, https://pakunorg/uploads/10252024 01 bcfd03cfccpdf 132

“CNNcom - Transcripts,” April 17, 2018, https://transcriptscnncom/show/cnr/date/2018-04-17/segment/18

Mirza Waheed, “A Year on From a Devastating Siege, Kashmir Is Being Turned Into a Colony,” The Guardian, August 5, 2020, https://wwwtheguardiancom/commentisfree/2020/aug/05/devastating-siege-kashmir-colony-india-crushing-dissent 134

136

BBC News, “Curfew Lifted in Parts of Indian-Administered Kashmir,” BBC News, August 29, 2016, https://wwwbbccom/news/world-asia-india-37211758 135

137

Aijaz Hussein, “AP Explains: For 69 Years, Kashmir Is Torn by Deadly Strife,” AP News, August 17, 2016, https://apnewscom/article/6900388b88fd42a9920ad6490cfe58c1

Waheed, “A Year on From a Devastating Siege”

Kashmiri women’s activism is only made intelligible when triangulated through Western feminist history This is textbook epistemic tutelage: the West is the reference point that must be emulated; Majority World women, on the other hand are derivative This discursively justifies their status in WPS as recipients of Western strategies, as opposed to being creative strategists in their own right.

“Dangerous Women”: Resistance as Criminal

Crucially, women’s resistance was often criminalised or rendered illegible. International media repeatedly described protests as “pro-freedom [from India] and anti-India slogans,”¹³⁸ or located women within “the separatist agitation,”¹³⁹ implicitly aligning them with extremism By framing women’s political claims as security threats rather than demands for rights, international discourse stripped them of legitimacy Where Liberian women were hypervisible but depoliticised, Kashmiri women were made invisible within the grammar of politics itself. Their participation was either unthinkable or dangerous, thus, either ignored or criminalised.

UN and Kashmir: Too Political to Celebrate, Too Resistant to Domesticate

However, the following is perhaps the most damning finding: the UN, across two decades of Annual Open Debates on WPS, never once substantively mentioned Kashmiri women Apart from a single reference by Pakistan¹⁴⁰ framed through women’s victimhood, and India and Pakistan’s rivalry rather than women’s agency Kashmir is absent

This silence is not neutral. It is an act of epistemic violence. At the exact moment when domestic discourse showed women demanding international recognition, i.e., with the APDP urging the “world community to pressure the Indian state”¹⁴¹ to end the enforced disappearances of Kashmiri citizens, and with Kashmiri women marching to the “United Nations office on Kashmir”¹⁴² demanding peace and demilitarisation, the UN refused to acknowledge their existence This is not oversight; it is intentional gatekeeping to protect the WPS agenda from cases that disrupt its foundational assumptions that privilege the Western imagination of Majority World women Recognising Kashmiri women as political actors would require acknowledging that women’s insecurity is not only caused by non-state actors, failed states, or a benign oversight by Member States, but also by liberal democracies and UN Member States engaged in occupation. This would collapse the useful fiction of unconditional universality and inclusivity that WPS operates on. Kashmir is therefore made epistemically illegible to preserve the liberal peace framework and the geopolitical order upon which WPS itself depends

138

Aijaz Hussein, “In Life and Death, Fight Against India Joins Kashmir Teens | AP News,” AP News, January 16, 2019, https://apnewscom/article/06975c4b8a25470898cd9c1b6b7050d1

139

140

BBC Monitoring, “Curfew lifted in Indian Kashmir restive town”, August 30, 2016, LexisNexiscom

“At UN, Pakistan Calls for Ending Women’s Suffering”

APDP, “August 30, 2018 – APDP Press Release,” Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, December 4, 2019, https://apdpkashmircom/august-30-2018-apdp-press-release/

Hussain, “India Re-imposes Curfew in Kashmir City, but Clashes Persist”

Unlike Liberia, where individual women are celebrated and the 2003 Mass Actions was rendered selectively visible, Kashmiri women are treated as too political to celebrate, but too resistant to domesticate Therefore, international discourse chooses to erase them altogether This is the ultimate expression of Spivak’s writings about the subaltern woman¹⁴³ when Majority World women act outside the roles of victim or maternal peacemaker, they cease to exist in the global imagination. In Liberia, agency is hyper-visible but depoliticised. In Kashmir, agency is politically potent, and therefore kept invisible. Both outcomes serve the same Orientalist logic: Majority World women can be seen only when they affirm, rather than challenge, the epistemic authority of global power This raises the central question that now drives the comparative synthesis: What does it mean when the WPS agenda, which is designed to centre women’s voices, can celebrate Liberian women only on its own terms, and cannot even name Kashmiri women at all?

Comparative Analysis of International Discourse

Taken together, Liberia and Kashmir expose two complementary modalities of epistemic control. In Liberia, women’s agency is hyper-visible but domesticated: international media reduce a complex mass movement to a sex-strike trope and foreground rape as cultural pathology, while heroifying Gbowee and Sirleaf as exceptional figures UN discourse then securitises women’s work celebrating all-female security contingents, recruitment to police, and operational ‘effectiveness’ gains thereby co-opting feminist labour into instruments of order and control Visibility is granted, but only when women appear as maternal peacemakers, efficiency multipliers, or emblematic laureates In Kashmir, by contrast women’s agency is rendered unintelligible: protests are folded into separatistism, APDP is introduced through Western referents and trivialised as consolation gatherings, and women are overwhelmingly cast as victims or supporters of ‘extremism’ all while the UN’s WPS Debates remain silent In Kashmir, the very grammar that made Liberian women legible (maternal peace, securitized usefulness, and prize-bearing heroes) cannot metabolise open confrontation with state power, so women disappear altogether

Both patterns serve the same Orientalist grid: Majority World women are legible when they affirm liberal scripts or are folded into them, and illegible when their politics contest them. Liberia shows recognition without politics (agency seen, then domesticated); Kashmir shows politics without recognition (agency present, then erased). In neither case does visibility track the presence of agency; it tracks conformity to an external epistemic hierarchy. This dynamic lies at the heart of the WPS agenda itself, which universalises a particular, liberal performance of ‘peaceful womanhood’ while marginalising forms of agency that fall outside its institutional and ideological boundaries

Spivak, “Can The Subaltern Speak?”

Chakravorty

Conclusion

This paper set out to understand how two groups of Majority World women Liberian women in 2003 and Kashmiri women in 2016 could both act with extraordinary political agency, yet only one is acknowledged within the WPS framework. The answer reveals a structural problem at the heart of WPS: visibility has never been a neutral act of recognition. It is a technology of power that legitimises some forms of women’s agency while erasing others.

Across domestic discourse in both cases, we find that both sets of women were neither passive nor peripheral They organised coalitions, issued political demands, negotiated with authorities, led peace initiatives, protected communities, and sustained movements over time Their agency was clear, strategic, political and consequential The disappearance of that agency in international discourse cannot therefore be attributed to its absence; it must be understood as epistemic suppression.

The international narratives diverged through two patterned mechanisms In Liberia, women became hyper-visible but only after their political labour was translated into acceptable scripts: desperate women, heroic individuals, institutional efficiency Their movement was celebrated, but depoliticised In Kashmir, the opposite occurred: since women’s agency disrupted the state-centric grammar of security that underpins WPS itself, it was entirely erased Liberian women received recognition without politics; Kashmiri women embodied politics without recognition. Both outcomes were produced by the same colonial and liberal peace logics: Majority World women are visible only when they do not threaten the geopolitical order that WPS itself is built upon.

The implications are profound WPS cannot champion women as “agents of peace” while determining in advance which forms of women’s agency are intelligible It cannot claim universality while reproducing Orientalist hierarchies that reward docility and punish resistance It cannot celebrate its 25th anniversary by counting references in UN resolutions while the women who helped create UNSCR 1325 Namibian, African, Majority World feminists are no longer even remembered as authors and architects. The problem is not participation gaps. The problem is epistemic gatekeeping masquerading as inclusion.

If the WPS agenda is to remain a vehicle for feminist transformation rather than institutional management, it must fundamentally shift First, it must decolonise its discursive foundations by recognising Majority World women not as beneficiaries, but as theorists, strategists, and originators of security knowledge Second, it must move beyond liberal peace scripts that recognise only maternal, non-threatening agency Feminist politics includes negotiation and care but also refusal, confrontation, mass mobilisation and resistance to state violence These forms of agency that threaten the existing state-centric security architecture must be treated not as deviations from the WPS agenda, but as central to it. Third, visibility must no longer require translation through Western referents or validation by external institutions. Recognition must happen on local women’s terms, without epistemic tutelage

Ultimately, the conversation around WPS has shifted from whether women are at the table ¹⁴⁴ It must now be about who built the table, who sets the agenda, and who determines what can (and cannot) be said around it If WPS continues to decide which women may appear, it will preserve the very hierarchies it was created to dismantle However, if it re-centres the Majority World women who have always defined the practice of peace and resistance, it may yet recover its transformative potential. WPS was born not only from Majority World women’s struggles, but also their visions for, and expertise in, a world free from violence. Its future depends on whether it has the courage to return to them.

“More Women Must Be at the Table: Women, Peace and Security After 24 Years,” UNDP, nd, https://wwwundporg/crisis/press-releases/more-women-must-be-table-women-peace-and-security-after-24-years

Bibliography

Abbas, Khurram “Strategizing Kashmiri Freedom Struggle Through Nonviolent Means ” Policy Perspectives 16, no. 2 (January 1, 2019). https://doi.org/10.13169/polipers.16.2.0041.

allAfrica.com. “Liberia: Leymah: Chickened Out or Resigned -Critics Choose the Former, Suspecting Inadequacy,” October 12, 2012 https://allafrica com/stories/201210120576 html

allAfrica com “Liberia: Maritime Liable - for Cadets’ Death,” April 30, 2013 https://allafrica com/stories/201304300718 html

allAfrica.com. “Liberia: Women Follow in President’s Footsteps,” July 22, 2013. https://allafrica.com/stories/201004280423.html.

allAfrica.com. “Liberia: Women March Against Violence,” October 19, 2011. https://allafrica com/stories/201110191130 html

allAfrica com “Liberia: ‘Women Used Sex Strike for Peace,’” August 19, 2013 https://allafrica com/stories/201308190181 html

allAfrica.com. “Liberia: ?You Did It’ - Leymah Says of Women,” December 15, 2011. https://allafrica.com/stories/201112150795.html.

AllSides “Media Bias Chart by AllSides,” n d https://wwwallsides com/media-bias/media-biaschart

APDP “August 30, 2018 – APDP Press Release ” Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, December 4, 2019 https://apdpkashmir com/august-30-2018-apdp-press-release/

APDP. “January 10, 2017 – APDP Press Release.” Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, December 4, 2019. https://apdpkashmir.com/january-10-2017-apdp-press-release/.

Ashiq, Peerzada “J&K Was Promised a Plebiscite at the Time of Accession to India, Says Omar Abdullah ” The Hindu, February 26, 2025 https://wwwthehindu com/news/national/jkwas-promised-a-plebiscite-at-the-time-of-accession-to-india-says-omarabdullah/article69263219 ece

Ban, Ki-moon. “Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security,” October 28, 2011. https://www.wilpf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/sg statement wps 2011 0.pdf.

Barbosa, Cindy “How Women Ended Liberia’s Civil War: Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace ” The Nonviolence Project, February 4, 2024 https://thenonviolenceproject wisc edu/2024/02/04/how-women-ended-liberias-civil-war-w omen-of-liberia-mass-action-for-peace/

Basu, Moni, and Jonathan Mann. “‘Been a Long Time Coming,’ Say Women Peace Prize Winners.” CNN, December 10, 2011. https://www.cnn.com/2011/12/10/world/europe/norwaypeace-prize-women.

Batool, Essar “Women’s Resistance in Kashmir ” AWID, February 22, 2017 https://wwwawid org/news-and-analysis/womens-resistance-kashmir

BBC Monitoring, “Curfew lifted in Indian Kashmir restive town”, August 30, 2016, LexisNexis com

BBC News. “Curfew Lifted in Parts of Indian-Administered Kashmir.” BBC News, August 29, 2016.https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-37211758.

BBC News “Kashmir Media Guide,” March 10, 2025 https://www bbc com/news/world-southasia-67763148

BBC News “Kashmir Protests Over Burhan Wani Leave 36 Dead,” July 13, 2016, https://www bbc com/news/world-asia-india-36781367

Burian, Peter. “Statement by H.E. Mr. Peter Burian, Permanent Representative of Slovakia to the United Nations, at the United Nations Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace, and Security” United Nations Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace, and Security, 2006 https://wwwwilpf org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/svk wps 06 0 pdf

CBS News “Women’s Rights Trio Wins Nobel Peace Prize,” October 7, 2011 https://wwwcbsnews com/news/womens-rights-trio-wins-nobel-peace-prize/

Chandhoke, Neera. “Contested Secessions Rights, Self-determination, Democracy, and Kashmir.” Oxford University Press, n.d. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/contestedsecessions-rights-self-determination-democracy-and-kashmir-9780198077978? cc=us&lang=en&

CNN “A Nation’s Sex Strike for Democracy,” August 29, 2012 https://wwwcnn com/2012/08/29/opinion/ghitis-sex-strikes

DiCarlo, Rosemary A and United States of America “Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security – 5th October 2009,” 2009. https://www.wilpf.org/wpcontent/uploads/2025/01/usa wps 09 0.pdf.

Essa, Azad. “Kashmiris Decry World’s Silence Over Killings.” Al Jazeera, July 11, 2016. https://wwwaljazeera com/news/2016/7/11/kashmiris-decry-worlds-silence-over-killings

Gibbings, Sheri Lynn “No Angry Women at the United Nations: Political Dreams and the Cultural Politics of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 ” International Feminist Journal of Politics 13, no 4 (December 1, 2011): 522–38 https://doi.org/10.1080/14616742.2011.611660.

Guéhenno, Jean-Marie and the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations. “Statement by Mr Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations: Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security” Speech, Speech Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security, October 29, 2003 https://wwwwilpf org/wpcontent/uploads/2024/12/dpko wps 03 0 pdf

Harvard Law Review “From Domicile to Dominion: India&Rsquo;S Settler Colonial Agenda in Kashmir,” Harvard Law Review, March 24, 2023, https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol134/from-domicile-to-dominion-indias-settler-colonial-agenda-in-kashmir/#footnote-ref-76.

Hersher, Rebecca “In Kashmir, Deadly Protests Follow Death of Rebel Leader,” NPR, July 11, 2016, https://www npr org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/07/11/485573830/in-kashmir-deadly-prote sts-follow-death-of-rebel-leader

Hussain, Aijaz “India Re-imposes Curfew in Kashmir City, but Clashes Persist | AP News ” AP News,July 29, 2016 https://apnews com/general-news-c9fc0e3837cb457e97d085d59faf9726

Hussein, Aijaz. “AP EXPLAINS: For 69 Years, Kashmir Is Torn by Deadly Strife | AP News,” August 17, 2016. https://apnews.com/article/6900388b88fd42a9920ad6490cfe58c1.

Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, Mir Fatimah Kanth, and Shrimoyee Nandini Ghosh “The Jammu and Kashmir Floods of September 2014,” April 2015 https://cdn prod websitefiles com/6031a13f23a42e1120a8c37c/60fe1aa5169e29e1753f6ce0 occupation-hazard-jkccsmin pdf

Jammu and Kashmir State Legislature. The Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act 1978. 1978. https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/16496/1/public safety act%2C 1978.pdf.

Jones Parry, Emyr and United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations “Statement by H E Sir Emyr Jones Parry, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations ” Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security, October 26, 2003 https://wwwwilpf org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/uk wps 06 0 pdf

Juris, Jeffrey S. Networking Futures: The Movements Against Corporate Globalization. Duke University Press. Durham, NC, United States of America: Duke University Press, 2008. https://www.dukeupress.edu/networking-futures.

Kaldor, Mary “The Idea of Global Civil Society” International Affairs 79, no 3 (2003): 583–93 https://www jstor org/stable/3569364

Kanji, Azeezah “A How-To Guide for the Settler Colonial Present: From Canada to Palestine to Kashmir - Yellowhead Institute.” Yellowhead Institute, March 16, 2022. https://yellowheadinstitute.org/2020/marking-the-settler-colonial-present-from-canada-topalestine-to-kashmir/.

Kashmir Monitor, “Half widows of Kashmir left to grapple with uncertainty,” March 9, 2016, LexisNexis com

Kashmir Observer, “APDP reiterates demand for locating missing persons”, November 10, 2018

LexisNexis.com Keck, Margaret E., and Kathryn Sikkink. Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics. Cornell University Press, 2014. http://systways.academy/wpcontent/uploads/2021/10/GGHR paper Keck-Sikkink Activists-Beyond-Borders.pdf.

KNS “Shutdown, Clashes Continue on 53rd Day in Kashmir ” KNS, August 30, 2016 https://www knskashmir com/shutdown--clashes-continue-on-53rd-day-in-kashmir-10381

Le Roy, Alain “Security Council Open Debate on the Implementation of Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security , ” October 29, 2008 https://wwwwilpf org/wpcontent/uploads/2025/01/dpko wps 08 0.pdf.

Ma, Alexandra. “Armed Forces in Kashmir Are Detaining Children and Molesting Women and Girls Amid a State-wide Blackout, Report Claims ” Business Insider, August 20, 2019 https://www businessinsider com/kashmir-forces-detaining-kids-molesting-girls-amid-black out-report-2019-8

Malik, Inshah Muslim Women, Agency and Resistance Politics Springer eBooks, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95330-4.

Martin De Almagro, Maria. “Negotiating Gender Security: The Transnationalisation of Local Activist Discourses in Post-Conflict Burundi and Liberia.” In Advances in Gender Research, 107–25, 2016 https://doi org/10 1108/s1529-212620160000021007

Martinson, Jane “Do Sex Strikes Really Work, and Isn’t It Time We Moved On?” The Guardian, August 8, 2017 https://wwwtheguardian com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2013/oct/24/do-sexstrikes-really-work

Mohanty, Chandra Talpade. “Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses.” Boundary 2 12 (1984): 333–58. https://doi.org/10.2307/302821https://www.jstor.org/stable/302821.

Navarro, Kylin “Liberian Women Act to End Civil War, 2003,” Global Nonviolent Action Database, October 22, 2010 https://nvdatabase swarthmore edu/content/liberian-women-actend-civil-war-2003 Nobel Peace Prize “2011 - Nobel Peace Prize,” n d https://www nobelpeaceprize org/laureates/2011

Normandin, Henri-Paul and Government of Canada. “Statement by Ambassador Henri-Paul Normandin, Deputy Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations to the Security Council: Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security.” Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security, October 29, 2008 https://wwwwilpf org/wpcontent/uploads/2025/01/can wps 08 0 pdf

Observer News Service “APDP Stages Silent Protest in Srinagar ” Kashmir Observer, March 1, 2018 https://kashmirobserver net/2018/03/01/apdp-stages-silent-protest-in-srinagar/

Observer News Service. “Crackdown Nightmares:Old Memories Still Haunt Me.” Kashmir Observer, January 28, 2016.https://kashmirobserver.net/2016/01/28/crackdown-nightmaresoldmemories-still-haunt-me/.

Observer News Service “Life Paralysed on 75th Day” Kashmir Observer, September 21, 2016 https://kashmirobserver net/2016/09/21/life-paralysed-on-75th-day/

Observer News Service “One Year and Two Sons Later, Burhan’s Mother Speaks Up ” Kashmir Observer, August 1, 2020 https://kashmirobserver net/2017/07/08/one-year-and-two-sonslater-burhans-mother-speaks-up/#google vignette.

Observer News Service. “PUCL Team Concludes Kashmir Visit,Issues Observations.” Kashmir Observer, October 24, 2016 https://kashmirobserver net/2016/10/24/pucl-team-concludeskashmir-visitissues-%C2%91observations%C2%92/

Parliament The Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990, 1990 https://www mha gov in/sites/default/files/The%20Armed%20Forces%20%28Jammu%20an d%20Kashmir%29%20Special%20Powers%20Act%2C%201990 0.pdf.

Permanent Representative of Namibia, “Letter dated 12 July 2000 from the Permanent Representative of Namibia to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General,”14 July 2000,https://www securitycouncilreport org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/WPS%20S%202000%20693 pdf

Politically Speaking. “Women, Peace and Security Agenda Highlights Importance of Inclusion in Conflict Prevention.” Medium. Politically Speaking, March 8, 2024. https://medium.com/dppa-politically-speaking/women-peace-and-security-agendahighlights-importance-of-inclusion-in-conflict-prevention-ada1d370210a

Prasch, Allison M “Maternal Bodies in Militant Protest: Leymah Gbowee and the Rhetorical Agency of African Motherhood ” Women S Studies in Communication 38, no 2 (January 28, 2015): 187–205 https://doi org/10 1080/07491409 2014 993105

Press Gazette. “Top 50 English-language News Sites in the World: Half Report MoM Traffic Growth in September.” Press Gazette, October 10, 2025.https://pressgazette.co.uk/mediaaudience-and-business-data/media metrics/most-popular-websites-news-world-monthly-2/

Raafi, Muhammad “#Day25: Curfew, Restriction Continues in Kashmir; Women Protest in Panth Chowk ” Kashmir Life, August 2, 2016 https://kashmirlife net/day25-curfew-restrictioncontinues-in-kashmir-women-protest-in-pampore-113245/

Raafi, Muhammad. “#Day77: Army Shoots Dead Youth in Baramulla.” Kashmir Life, September 23, 2016. https://kashmirlife.net/day77-army-shoots-dead-youth-in-baramulla118560/#google vignette.

Ranjan, Amit “A Gender Critique of AFSPA: Security for Whom?” Social Change 45, no 3 (August 20,2015): 440–57 https://doi org/10 1177/0049085715589471

Risse-Kappen, Thomas Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Cambridge University Press eBooks, 1995 https://doi org/10 1017/cbo9780511598760

S, Taryn. “Nexis Business Research Tool & News Database | LexisNexis.” LexisNexis, n.d. https://www.lexisnexis.com/en-us/products/nexis.page.

Said, Edward W ORIENTALISM First Vintage Books Edition Vintage Books, 1979 https://monoskop org/images/4/4e/Said Edward Orientalism 1979 pdf

Sharma, Divyangna “Alternative Discourse for Constituting Subjecthood of Women: A Case for an Autonomous Feminist Discourse in Kashmir in India.” Frontiers in Political Science 5 (February 27, 2023). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2023.1045846.

Shepherd, Laura J Gender, Violence and Security : Discourse as Practice London: Zed Books, 2008 https://api pageplace de/preview/DT0400 9781848133440 A24192930/preview-978184813 3440 A24192930 pdf

The Hans India. “A Tale of Disappearance” The Hans India, April 9, 2016. https://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/News-Analysis/2016-04-09/A-Tale-ofDisappearance-/220156.

United Nations “Resolution 1325 (2000) ” United Nations, October 31, 2000 https://www securitycouncilreport org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF 9%7D/WPS%20SRES1325%20 pdf

United Nations “Women, Peace, and Security | United Nations,” n d https://www.un.org/en/peace-and-security/page/women-peace-and-security.

Waheed, Mirza. “A Year on From a Devastating Siege, Kashmir Is Being Turned Into a Colony.” The Guardian, August 5, 2020 https://wwwtheguardian com/commentisfree/2020/aug/05/devastating-siege-kashmircolony-india-crushing-dissent

“Windhoek Declaration ” Namibia Plan of Action on ‘Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective in Multidimensional Peace Support Operations’, May 31, 2000 https://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/wps/windhoek declaration.pdf.

Weaver, Ruby, Susanna Rudehill, and Bharathi Radhakrishnan. “Women, Peace and Security: Bridging the Global–local Divide Through Contextual Relevance ” SIPRI, September 26, 2024 https://www sipri org/commentary/blog/2024/women-peace-and-security-bridging-global-l ocal-divide-through-contextual-relevance

wthr com “‘Pray the Devil Back to Hell’ Wins at Tribeca,” Wthr Com, May 7, 2008, https://wwwwthr com/article/news/local/pray-devil-back-hell-wins-tribeca/531-dd9f5b9cce90-4e2a-b73b-a1c8250c1efa.

“At UN, Pakistan Calls for Ending Women’s Suffering in Occupied Kashmir & Palestine.” Press release, October 25, 2024 https://pakun org/uploads/10252024 01 bcfd03cfcc pdf “CNN com - Transcripts,” April 17, 2018,https://transcripts cnn com/show/cnr/date/2018-0417/segment/18

Author:

Oluwasegun Ogunsakin, Ph.D.

Oluwasegun Ogunsakin holds a PhD in Peace and Security Studies from Ekiti State University, Nigeria, and serves as a Project Manager at Bellwether International. With a background in psychology and conflict resolution, his work focuses on advancing peace, education, migration, and humanitarian initiatives, particularly in conflict-affected regions A committed researcher and community advocate, he is an active member of the Society for Peace Studies and Practice (SPSP), the Development Studies Association (DSA) in the U.K., and the Lagos Studies Association (LSA).

Rethinking the Implications of Gender Based Violence (GBV) on Internally Displaced Women in Northeastern Nigeria

Abstract

Northeastern Nigeria is faced with a contentious menace, with the increase in the number of internally displaced women scattered all over the region due to the insurgency and violent conflict The wave of abnormalities in the socioeconomic lives of women, including children and older people in the northeastern region, places them at a high risk of abuse from insurgents and security agents deployed to protect the people in the camps and host communities This study aims to assess the implications of gender-based violence (GBV) on internally displaced persons, particularly women in northeastern Nigeria. Four research objectives will be explored, which include: an assessment of the pattern and nature of gender-based violence committed against internally displaced persons IDP, in this case, women in northeastern Nigeria; examination of the causes of frequent GBV on internally displaced women in northeastern Nigeria; identification and analysis of the implications of GBV on internally displaced women in northeastern Nigeria; and identification and analyze the challenges in addressing gender-based violence against internally displaced women in northern Nigeria. Anchored on the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), and Nigeria's National Action Plan (NAP) for its implementation, this study situates the vulnerability of IDP women within a global and national policy framework that demands accountability and gender-sensitive responses Women continue to face a series of crises due to a lack of protection at various IDP camps in northeastern Nigeria The wave of displacement due to conflict and attacks from Boko Haram and other criminal groups (bandits) has accelerated the menace of GBV atrocities on women.

A desk research design was adopted to collect and analyze secondary sources The secondary sources include academic articles, online reports, and other important commentaries on contemporary issues on the implications of gender-based violence (GBV) on internally displaced women in Northeastern Nigeria. The UNSCR 1325 and Nigeria's NAP serve as the cornerstone in understanding how women living in the IDP camps can be protected and ensure gender inclusion in policy in Nigeria As the conflict continues yearly, women and children living in IDP camps in northeastern Nigeria have become increasingly vulnerable to kidnapping, rape, exploitation, sexual slavery, and forced and early marriage Various impacts of this create trauma for women, children, and older people in this part of Nigeria.

Meanwhile, internally displaced women in the northeastern region have experienced one or more forms of gender-based violence Violence and other criminal acts in the camps for displaced persons have become an epidemic In line with UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security and Nigeria's NAP, which call for the protection of women and girls in conflict situations, their meaningful participation in peace processes, and the prevention of gender-based violence, this study emphasizes the urgent need for Nigeria and its partners to integrate gender-sensitive protection strategies in humanitarian and security responses This study concludes that the government of Nigeria, along with all stakeholders, including the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations, must ensure the protection and security of all vulnerable people, especially women, in these fragile locations in northeastern Nigeria

Keywords: Women, UNSCR, GBV, Policy, Security

Introduction

Insecurity and violent conflicts in northeast Nigeria has resulted in the death of thousands of people, and of displacement of over 1.8 million people since 2009.¹ Begum and Skinner², noted that the humanitarian crisis in the region is rooted in a violent, local armed conflict affecting neighboring countries It has been exacerbated by assaults on civilians, with the aid of armed businesses - including Boko Haram, counter-insurgency operations executed by government forces, and inter-communal violence³

1

Sanni, K (2021, June 28) Boko Haram: 350,000 dead in Nigeria UN https://wwwpremiumtimesngcom/news/headlines/470476-insurgency-has-killed-almost-350000-in-north-eastundphtml?tztc=1

2

Begum, S, & Skinner, J (2016) Lake Chad’s Unseen Crisis: Voices of refugees and internally displaced people from Niger and Nigeria https://policy-practiceoxfamorg/resources/lake-chads-unseen-crisis-voices-of-refugees-andinternally-displaced-people-fro-618488/

3

Unaegbu, LN, Kimiri, P, and Agada, S (2020) Rapid gender analysis: north east Nigeria https://africaunwomenorg/en/digital-library/publications/2020/09/rapid-gender-analysis-north-east-nigeria#view

Today, the northeast region has one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises As operations continues, women and girls in Nigeria have become increasingly susceptible to abduction, rape, exploitation, sexual slavery, and forced and early marriage.⁴ According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) 2019 annual report⁵, nearly two-thirds of girls living in northeast Nigeria have experienced one or more types of gender-based violence The result of this report underscores the nexus issue of violence conflict, displacement, banditry attacks, and the fragility and vulnerability of women in the conflict settings The menace of gender-based violence (GBV) has increased due to the invasion of Boko haram insurgency, including the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), banditry, and other criminals, which has distorted the family structures, loss in moral standing, inadequacy in access to quality education, and allows the harmful gender norms in northeastern Nigeria⁶

In contrast, the various implications of rape, maltreatment, and other menaces in the different camps for displaced women, young girls, boys, and older adults have become a pandemic "The trauma no longer fades; it just repeats," says Edward Kallon, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator. It was reported that "some of the girls who survived abuses utilizing Boko Haram are now dealing with discrimination and sexual assaults using the very people who are imagined to guard them"⁷ UN Human Rights, in charge of inside the area since 2014, has been combating impunity for violations and abuses of rights by using safety personnel involved in counterinsurgency operations International and local nongovernmental organisations have supported the Nigerian military in adopting ethics of collaboration and norms of conduct for counterterrorism operations and were at the forefront of advocacy for their implementation.⁸ Meanwhile, Amnesty International⁹ noted that despite these efforts, there have been challenges in establishing accountability and protection of displaced women and children in the northeastern region

Abdullahi, M (2021, June 27) Ongoing conflict in Northeast Nigeria has killed more than 300,000 people https://humanglemediacom/ongoing-conflict-in-northeast-nigeria-has-killed-more-than-300000-people/

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' UNHCR (2020a) Sexual and gender based violence north-east Nigeria Annual Report

Amnesty International (2024, June 1) “Help us build our lives” girl survivors of Boko haram and military abuses in northeast Nigeria. https://www.amnestyusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Help-Us-Build-Our-Lives-Girl-Survivors-of-BokoHarampdf

Igwe, I (2020, December 2) Borno killing one of the most gruesome murders by Boko Haram – Sultan https://wwwchannelstvcom/2020/12/02/borno-killing-one-of-the-most-gruesome-murders-by-boko-haramsultan/

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights [OHCHR], (2019) Northeast Nigeria: addressing impunity for sexual violence amidst a decade-long conflict Retrieved from https://wwwohchrorg/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/SexualViolenceNortheastNigeria aspx

Amnesty International (2024) Nigeria: Gender-based violence in IDP camps Amnesty International Report

It was reported that women and young girls living in the IDP camps continue to face the challenges of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment by both local security personnel and community members.¹⁰ Also, due to the lack of access to justice, poor institutional response, and fear of attacks, survivors have been discouraged from reporting cases of GBV¹¹ With other challenges like weak coordination among stakeholders, blocking the effective implementation of protection tools or frameworks, leaving many women and girls who are abused without proper medical and psychosocial support With other challenges like weak coordination among stakeholders, blocking the effective implementation of protection tools or frameworks, leaving many women and girls who are abused without proper medical and psychosocial support.

According to the United Nations Children's Fund [UNICEF]¹², internally displaced persons, including women worldwide, lack the right to access essential services A report from UNICEF noted that IDP women and children are susceptible to exposure to various forms of violence

According to the UNICEF report, there were 12 million new children in 2019 - 3 8 million of them had resulted from battle and violence, and 8.2 million by mistakes related mainly to weatherrelated activities like flooding and storms.¹³ Sixty percent children, with one in four under five. Globally, 19 million have been living in displacement within their own countries due to conflicts and violence since 2019 – most of them for years¹⁴ According to the UN Secretary-General regarding Children and Armed Conflict in Nigeria¹⁵, the insecurity in the northeastern Nigeria has increased the high level of gender-based violence against internally women and prompted the high incidences of attacks on local communities by Boko haram, Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), and bandits.

Amnesty International (2024, June 4) “Help Us Build Our Lives”: Girl Survivors of Boko Haram and Military Abuses in North-East Nigeria. https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr44/7883/2024/en/ https://wwwamnestyorg/en/documents/afr44/7883/2024/en/

United Nations Human Rights Council (2021) Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences: Visit to Nigeria (A/HRC/47/26/Add 2) United Nations

United Nations Children's Fund [UNICEF] (2020a, May 5) 19 million children internally displaced by conflict and violence in 2019 is highest number ever, says UNICEF https://wwwuniceforg/nigeria/press-releases/19-million-children-internallydisplaced-conflict-and-violence-2019-highest-number

Awofadeji, S (2020, May 6) 19m Children displaced by conflict in 2019, Says UNICEF https://wwwthisdaylivecom/indexphp/2020/05/06/19m-children-displaced-by-conflict-in-2019-says-unicef

United Nations Children's Fund [UNICEF] (2020a, May 5) 19 million children internally displaced by conflict and violence in 2019 is highest number ever, says UNICEF https://wwwuniceforg/nigeria/press-releases/19-million-children-internallydisplaced-conflict-and-violence-2019-highest-number

United Nations Security Council (2022, August 4) Children and armed conflict in Nigeria Report of the Secretary-General https://docsunorg/en/S/2022/596

Humanitarian access in a few battle-affected Local Government Areas (LGAs), mainly in Borno and Adamawa states, continues to be confined due to ongoing hostilities and violent assaults, now within the tenth 12 months.¹⁶ The North-East state of affairs is essentially an IDP operation, despite humanitarian groups also helping refugee returnees who have a high probability of end up in secondary displacement scenarios Most IDPs reside in host groups (about 60%), while the remaining are hosted in informal camps and casual camp-like settlements As a result, neighborhood groups continue to carry the brunt of the struggle, and SGBV remains one of the common visible manifestations of the disaster on children and women It is reported that many displaced women in northeastern Nigeria continue to face sexual and gender based violence.¹⁷ The data evaluation showed that women and children below 18 years old bore the brunt of this crisis The fundamental incidents mentioned are child and pressured marriage, bodily assault, rape, survival sex, sexual assault, and denial of sources These violations are deeply rooted in the prolonged insecurity, violent conflicts, local displacement, and socio-economic hardship experienced in conflict-affected areas in northeastern Nigeria Studies from United Nations Children’s Fund [UNICEF]¹⁸ and United Nations Population Fund [UNFPA]¹⁹, indicate that the collapse of community protection networks and the lack of access to education and livelihoods have made adolescent girls particularly vulnerable to exploitation and early marriage as a coping mechanism

Women and girls abducted by armed corporations endured rape, pressured marriages, and different styles of human rights violations during captivity.²⁰ They are also pressured to address stigmatization and rejection from the community upon release. IDP returnees from the recently liberated areas continue to suffer due to sporadic attacks on their LGAs, especially in Borno State²¹

Reliefweb (2020, September 7) Nigeria: Decrease in grave violations against children though boys, girls continue to suffer from volatile security situation in North-East Region https://reliefwebint/report/nigeria/nigeria-decrease-grave-violationsagainst-children-though-boys-girls-continue-suffer-volatile-security-situation-north-east-region

Izobo, F (2025) Sexual and gender-based crime in internally displaced persons camp in Nigeria and other jurisdictions: legal issues and prospects African Journal of Law, Political Research and Administration 8(3), 1-14

United Nations Children’s Fund [UNICEF] (2022 January) Research spotlight: Child marriage in humanitarian settings and challenging gender norms to end child marriage. The Child Marriage Research to Action Network. https://wwwuniceforg/documents/research-spotlight-child-marriage-humanitarian-settings-and-challenginggender-norms-end

United Nations Population Fund [UNFPA] (2021) Gender-based violence in Nigeria: Annual situation report UNFPA Nigeria

Ziradzo, S , & Netangaheni, RT (2022) The traumatic consequences of Boko Haram slavery among the ethnic minorities of southern Borno, Borno State, Nigeria African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine, 14(1), 1-9 a3638 https://doi.org/10.4102/phcfm.v14i1.3638

Sanusi, A (2022, November 2) 200000 displaced as Borno government shuts IDP camps https://punchngcom/200000displaced-as-borno-govt-shuts-idp-camps/

The situation continues to get worse for new arrivals in lots of camps across the northeast region of Nigeria – the majority of whom are women and girls²² The affected people are faced with inadequate food and non-food items, shelter, psychosocial assistance, medical substances, and a shortage of essential safety substances, exposing them to risks of survival intercourse and sexual exploitation. The consequence of gender based violence has also promoted inequality, thereby reinforcing the circle of violence and discrimination in women's lives in 2024 ²³ The disaster has significantly affected the honour of young women, children, boys, and girls This has similarly entrenched preexisting gender disparities and prevents, particularly young girls and women, from accomplishing their full potential and compromising their bodily and psychological integrity. Women, especially heads of families, are at a particular risk within this environment because of inadequate access to livelihood and social protection programmes as part of the multi-sectoral reaction²⁴ The affected population has been exposed to high incidences of sexually transmitted infections, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), unwanted pregnancies, and obstetric fistula, due to sexual violence Overall, this has led to terrible sexual and reproductive health results²⁵ Sexual abuse and other violations against girls and children are occurring outside and inside IDP camps, and a subculture of impunity for perpetrators contributes to the continued violations.

This study is supported by the UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security and Nigeria's National Action Plan (2023–2027), which emphasizes the protection of women and girls in conflict, their participation in peacebuilding, and the prevention of GBV Despite these policy frameworks, gaps in implementation remain visible in IDP camps where women face systemic vulnerabilities.²⁶ Through the thorough connection of the GBV, women, and the duties of the UNSCR 1325, this study stresses the urgency of addressing the protection of vulnerable women and children who continue to face atrocities from terrorists and improving the accountability mechanism to protect displaced women in northeastern Nigeria

Human Rights Watch. (2014, October 27). Those terrible weeks in their camp: Boko Haram violence against women and girls in Northeast Nigeria https://wwwhrworg/report/2014/10/27/those-terrible-weeks-their-camp/boko-haram-violenceagainst-women-and-girls

Birwe, H (2025, April 4) The Hidden Crisis: Women’s struggle for survival in the Sahel’s displacement emergency Researching Internal Displacement,

Chimdessa, A (2022) Initiation into the street, challenges, means of survival and perceived strategies to prevent plights among street children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2019: A phenomenological study design PLoS One 17(8):e0272411 doi: 101371/journalpone0272411 PMID: 36037165; PMCID: PMC9423604

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' UNHCR (2020a) Sexual and gender based violence north-east Nigeria Annual Report

UN Women Nigeria (2024) Implementation of UNSCR 1325 and Nigeria’s National Action Plan (2023–2027)

It is against this background that this research was conducted to examine the implications of Gender Violence (GBV) on Internally Displaced Women in Northeastern Nigeria

1.1 Aims of the Research

The research aimed to explore the implications of gender-based violence (GBV) on internally displaced women in Northeastern Nigeria Four research objectives were explored

1 To assess the pattern and nature of gender-based violence against internally displaced women in northeastern Nigeria

2.To examine the causes of frequent gender-based violence on internally displaced women in northeastern Nigeria;

3 To identify and analyse the implications of gender-based violence on internally displaced women in northeastern Nigeria; and

4 To examine challenges in addressing gender-based violence against internally displaced women in northern Nigeria.

1.2 Research Questions

The following research questions were considered for the study:

1 What is the pattern and nature of gender-based violence against internally displaced women in northeastern Nigeria?

2.What are the causes of frequent gender-based violence on internally displaced women in northeastern Nigeria?

3 What are the implications of gender-based violence on internally displaced women in northeastern Nigeria?

4 What are challenges in addressing the gender-based violence against internally displaced women in northern Nigeria?

2.1 Gender Based Violence

(GBV)

Gender-Based Violence (GBV), as defined by the National Population Commission & ICF Macro²⁷ , encompasses physical violence, emotional damage (humiliation, intimidation), sexual abuse, economic dependence, and social isolation. Ellsberg & Heise²⁸ describe how GBV "saps women's energy, compromises their physical and mental health, and erodes their self-esteem

NPC (National Population Commission) and ICF International (2014) Nigeria demographic and health Survey 2013 Abuja, Nigeria, and Rockville, MD, USA: NPC and ICF International https://dhsprogramcom/pubs/pdf/fr293/fr293pdf

Ellsberg, M, & Heise, L (2005) Researching violence against women: A practical guide for researchers and activists Washington DC: World Health Organization, PATH

Conceptual Discourse: Gender Based Violence and Internal Displaced People (IDP)

In addition to causing injury, violence increases women's long-term risk of several other health problems, including chronic pain, physical disability, drug and alcohol abuse, and depression" GBV may make a woman less effective in employment and caring for her children.²⁹ Genderbased violence is a reproductive health issue prevalent among persons in conflict and postconflict situations but is largely under-reported in northeastern Nigeria Although GBV affects both sexes, the prevalence is higher in women as compared to men³⁰

2.2

Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs):

According to the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (1998), internally displaced people (also known as "IDPs") are "individuals or groups of persons who have been compelled or obliged to flee or to depart their houses or locations of recurring residence In particular, due to or to avoid the results of armed struggle, generalized violence, violations of human rights or human-made failures, and those who have no longer crossed an across the world identified border"³¹ People forced to flee or leave their houses and communities - especially in armed conflicts - are usually a problem of heightened vulnerability in several areas.³² Displaced individuals go through notably better rates of mortality than the overall population. They also continue to be at excessive physical attacks, sexual assault, and abduction and are often deprived of IDPs, refuge, meals, and health services³³ The persistent violent conflicts, insecurity and protracted displacement in the northeastern region have significantly weakened access to basic humanitarian assistance and protection mechanisms, with many displaced women and girls living in overcrowded camps or temporary settlements where poor water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) increase vulnerability to diseases, sicknesses, and other unhealthy.³⁴ The overwhelming majority of internally displaced people are women, young girls, and old adults who are particularly susceptible to abuse of their fundamental rights³⁵

Slabu, E (2014) Family violence-theoretical and practical aspects Public Administration & Regional Studies, 1, 49-60

Adejumo, O A , Ntoimo, L , Odimayo, M S , Adebimpe, W O, Okiei, B, Osungbemiro, W, Olajuyigbe, E , Igbafe, K, TemitayoOboh, A , Faboya, T, Oludiran, O, & Okonofua, F E (2022) Experience of Gender-based Violence by Internally Displaced Women in Southern Nigeria: A Cross-sectional Study Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(15-16), NP12794-NP12819 https://doiorg/101177/08862605211001464

United Nations (1998) Guiding principles on internal displacement https://undocsorg/E/CN4/1998/53/Add 2

Murthy, R S , & Lakshminarayana, R (2006) Mental health consequences of war: a brief review of research findings World psychiatry: official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), 5(1), 25–30

Bendavid, E , Boerma, T, Akseer, N, Langer, A, Malembaka, E B, Okiro, E A , Wise, PH, Heft-Neal, S , Black, RE , & Bhutta, Z A (2021) BRANCH Consortium Steering Committee The effects of armed conflict on the health of women and children Lancet, 397(10273):522-532 doi: 101016/S0140-6736(21)00131-8

Médecins Sans Frontières (2020, February 4) Northeast Nigeria: “The conflict is intensifying and the needs are massive” https://www.msf.org/conflict-intensifying-northeast-nigeria-and-needs-are-massive

Uzobo, E , & Akhueti, RE (2018) Food and health security challenges among vulnerable Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria The Nigerian Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, 16(1), 48-71 DOI:1036108/NJSA/8102/61(0140)

More frequently than refugees, the internally displaced tend to remain near or become trapped in zones of conflict, caught in the cross fire and at risk of being used as pawns, objectives, or human shields by the belligerents.³⁶ Due to ongoing combat with the aid of insurgents and counter-insurgency, efforts with the assistance of the Nigerian army have given an upward push to a humanitarian crisis and adverse outcomes on various populations in the northeastern Nigeria Many humans have misplaced their lives, and homes and livelihoods have been destroyed³⁷ In recent instances, due to profits from the army's counter-insurgency efforts, newly liberated regions or recently attacked communities have thronged into areas where normalcy has been restored.³⁸

3. Theoretical Framework: Structural Violence Theory

One theory that explains the harm inflicted on an individual as a result of institutional and societal violence is called structural violence and was proposed by Galtung J in 1969³⁹ Since violence is inherently opposed to peace, it undermines an individual's sense of autonomy when it makes it difficult for them to achieve their most basic requirements. The concept of indirect or structural violence is one of Johan Galtung's numerous contributions to peace studies; it enables us to explore the connections between indirect and direct violence and draw significant parallels between the two⁴⁰ Gender-based violence (GBV) is a major problem that disproportionately affects women in the world In Nigeria, as well as other countries worldwide, GBV has immediate effects on women’s wellbeing, with one in three women experiencing diverse cases of GBV; the implications are embedded in both physical and reproductive health.⁴¹ Galtung disagrees that the use of violence should be restricted to cases of extreme bodily pain, denial of health, or even death

Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (2020, March 5) The female face of displacement: 21 million women and girls uprooted by conflict and violence around the world. https://www.internal-displacement.org/news/the-female-face-ofdisplacement-21-million-women-and-girls-uprooted-by-conflict-and-violence/

Oghuvbu, E A , & Okolie, UC (2020) Responsibility to protect and the challenges of displaced men in Nigeria: Array Journal of Danubian Studies and Research, 10(1), 359-424

Ibrahim, J, & Bala, S (2018) Civilian-led governance and security in Nigeria after Boko Haram Washington, DC Special Report: United States Institute of Peace

Galtung, J (1969) Violence, peace and peace research Journal of Peace Research, 6(3):167–91

Kent, G (2011) Structural violence http://www2 hawaiiedu/~kent/StructuralViolenceFestschrift pdf

Nguefack-Tsague, G , Amani, A , Dadjie, VD et al (2024) Gender-based violence and its health risks on women in Yaoundé, Cameroon Arch Public Health 82, 90 https://doiorg/101186/s13690-024-01308-2

He argues that this does not reflect other signs of a breakdown in social order⁴² When women and young girls in northeastern Nigeria are not able to reach their full potential - both mentally and physically - despite having access to resources, they become victims of institutional violence.

The notion of structural violence can be applied to determine the primary causes of the high rate of GBV among IDPs in northeastern Nigeria Although gender-based violence is a reproductive health concern that is common among people living in and recovering from conflict, it is mainly underreported in Nigeria GBV affects people of both sexes; however, it affects women more frequently than it does men.⁴³ Gender-based violence is the most prevalent yet least obvious human rights violation worldwide, spanning age, gender, religion, social class, and economic boundaries⁴⁴ The need to have a better structure that will protect vulnerable people, including women and older adults, in the various IDP camps in northeastern Nigeria is vital Understanding the degree of negative implications due to structural violence remains a challenge in achieving sustainable security and protection against GBV in northeastern Nigeria

4. Methodology

The research method for this study is a desk research method This is a qualitative content analysis that engages in an explorative process of understand the themes of the study This design derives data from secondary sources The choice of this study design is informed by the understanding that it enables the researcher to obtain data from various literatures to achieve the study's objectives. Also, various data collected through secondary sources such as journal articles, newspaper articles, and reports from cases of gender-based violence in the IDP camps across northeastern Nigeria were analyzed through content analysis

5. Findings

5.1 What are the pattern and nature of gender-based violence against internally displaced women in northeastern Nigeria?

Internally displaced women in northeastern Nigeria face various forms and patterns of gender based violence, which result in physical and mental issues The incidence of GBV occurs both within the camp and outside the host communities The nature of GBV is also evident when women go to farms, collect wood, attend markets, make displacement journeys, and even within formal settings.

Isola, A A , & Tolulope, A (2022) Women, security, and gender-based violence in the Northeast, Nigeria Journal of International Women's Studies, 24(4), 1-11

Adejumo, O A , Ntoimo, L , Odimayo, M S , Adebimpe, W O, Okiei, B, Osungbemiro, W, Olajuyigbe, E , Igbafe, K, TemitayoOboh, A., Faboya, T., Oludiran, O., & Okonofua, F. E. (2022). Experience of Gender-based Violence by Internally Displaced Women in Southern Nigeria: A Cross-sectional Study Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(15-16), NP12794-NP12819 https://doiorg/101177/08862605211001464

Jhpiego, F (2018) US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Gender-Based Violence Quality Assurance Tool: Facilitation Guide Standards for the provision of high-quality post-violence care in health facilities, Pp: iii-iv

According to the Human Rights Watch⁴⁵, terrorist groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP continue to perpetrate gender-based violence on women and girls as a means of war Within camps, intimate partner violence and community-level exploitation remain widespread. With the high level of conflicts and insecurity as a result of the activities of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups, women continue to face sexual exploitation, abuse, forced marriage, abduction, and survival sex, which is reinforced by poor economic opportunities⁴⁶

Adejumo et al⁴⁷ confirm that although both sexes are affected by GBV, prevalence remains substantially higher among women, especially among those displaced by conflict. In IDP camps and host communities in northeastern Nigeria, current data reveal several recurring patterns and forms of abuse: rape, forced and early marriage, sexual assault, survival sex, physical assault, and denial of basic resources (food, shelter, medical care) Documentation from the reported Amnesty International,⁴⁸ as one 17 - year-old who was forced into marriage and escaped from Boko Haram captivity, lamented: “I didn’t receive anything from the government I don’t know of any support programs.” Another, aged 13, described the brutality under captivity: “We tried to run twice, but they caught us. They just flogged us... If you do something wrong, they just flog us.”

Quadri, Silwal, Archibong and Jibrilla⁴⁹ in a study across Adamawa, Borno, Gombe, and Yobe states found that rape was the most frequently reported GBV incident, followed by domestic violence, in survey responses from over 600 participants The level of incidence of GBV continue to put women and girls in danger of trauma and other health challenges. Additional features in the pattern of gender-based violence in northeastern Nigeria include:

Human Rights Watch (2014, October 27) Nigeria: Victims of Abductions Tell Their Stories https://wwwhrworg/news/2014/10/27/nigeria-victims-abductions-tell-their-stories

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs [OCHA] (2024, June 6) Nigeria Humanitarian Response Plan 2024 https://reliefwebint/report/nigeria/nigeria-humanitarian-response-plan-2024

Adejumo, O A , Ntoimo, L , Odimayo, M S , Adebimpe, W O, Okiei, B, Osungbemiro, W, Olajuyigbe, E , Igbafe, K, TemitayoOboh, A , Faboya, T, Oludiran, O, & Okonofua, F E (2022) Experience of Gender-based Violence by Internally Displaced Women in Southern Nigeria: A Cross-sectional Study Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(15-16), NP12794-NP12819 https://doiorg/101177/08862605211001464

Amnesty International (2025) Nigeria: Girl survivors of Boko Haram still being failed by government inaction –new testimony. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/06/nigeria-girl-survivors-of-boko-haram-still-being-failed-bygovernment-inaction-new-testimony/

Quadri , S. O., Silwal, P. K., Archibong, B., & Jibrilla, A. (2024). Gender Based Violence (GBV): Perceptions, Prevalence and Implications for Socioeconomic Development in Northeast Nigeria: The Role of USAID Feed the Future Nigeria Integrated Agriculture Activity American Research Journal of Contemporary Issues, 2(3), 94-125 https://wwwopenjournalsijaarorg/indexphp/arjci/article/view/687

1 Survivors often face stigmatization, community rejection, or discrimination upon returning after abduction or release from captivity

2.A significant lack of access to support services, including legal, medical, and psychosocial care, results in many incidents going unreported, and referral pathways are often unavailable.

3 Economic vulnerability exacerbates GBV risk: women dependent on humanitarian aid or informal livelihoods are more exposed to exploitation and abuse

4 Duration of displacement matters: newer arrivals are often more vulnerable, and informal settlements or camp-like settings with weak oversight tend to have higher incidences

The above pattern and nature of GBV continue to deprive many women of security and other important need for women in northeastern Nigeria This contradicts, the UNSCR 1325, which emphasizes the need for governments to secure the lives of women in conflict zones and promote their inclusion and participation in peace and security programming within the country In Nigeria, the NAP for UNSCR 1325 has provisions for protecting women in conflict and displacement settings. However, implementation gaps especially in reporting mechanisms, legal redress, resource allocation, and integrating survivors’ voices mean that many of the patterns above persist with limited accountability

5.2 What are the causes of frequent gender-based violence on internally displaced women in northeastern Nigeria?

Gender-Based Violence in IDP camps occurs in surroundings in which lots of contributing factors exist. A lack of livelihood opportunities for each man and woman is listed as the primary concern, followed by limited access to necessities In displacement settings, due to their vulnerable state, many girls and women of reproductive age do not have the funds to accumulate their own sanitary/dignity supplies and other fundamental needs Men use this vulnerability, which contributes to sexual exploitation and abuse An awesome wide variety of IDP women and girls in Maiduguri had been caught in a trap of carrying out survival sex because of a lack of basic needs.⁵⁰ As one young displaced woman in Borno explained, "I agreed to sleep with one of the camp officials because he promised me food for my children I had no choice"⁵¹

Ojengbede et al52 indicated that the number of internally displaced persons in Nigeria's northeast has been steadily rising as a result of insurgency

Ager, A , Bancroft, C , Berger, E et al (2018) Local constructions of gender-based violence amongst IDPs in northern Uganda: analysis of archival data collected using a gender- and age-segmented participatory ranking methodology Conflict and Health, 12(10), 2-12

Human Rights Watch (2016, October 31) Nigeria: Officials Abusing Displaced Women, Girls https://wwwhrworg/news/2016/10/31/nigeria-officials-abusing-displaced-women-girls

Women in this region are particularly vulnerable to abuse of any kind from insurgents, security personnel stationed to guard the camps and host villages, and other community members due to the disturbance of their financial lives

Women in this region are particularly vulnerable to abuse of any kind from insurgents, security personnel stationed to guard the camps and host villages, and other community members due to the disturbance of their financial lives. Northeastern Nigeria suffered from poverty and marginalization before the edge humanitarian disaster. Since 2009, the insurgency of Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād, popularly referred to as Boko Haram, has exacerbated preexisting challenges and prompted massive devastation to houses, livelihoods, and families; meanwhile, more than 15,889 people have been killed and 39 million has been displaced across northeastern Nigeria as at 2025⁵³ One survivor described her ordeal: "Boko Haram killed my husband and took me away. When I escaped to the camp, I thought I would be safe, but the soldiers here also ask us for sex before giving us food".⁵⁴ Gender-based violence, together with conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), is on the rise due to an increase in conflicts in the northeastern region of Nigeria⁵⁵ When no rule of law exists, CRSV is frequently committed with no consequences Forced marriage, forced sterilization, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, forced prostitution, and other forms of sexual violence are examples of further CRSV

The safety of women, girls, and other vulnerable people residing in IDP camps and other temporary housing can be compromised, placing them at increased risk ⁵⁶ This can include shared restrooms for men and women, unlocked bathroom doors, and insufficient lighting Also, there are issues whereby women and children who are IDP might need to look for new sources of income, which raises the possibility that they will be exploited⁵⁷ The most prevalent type of violence against internally women and children in humanitarian situations is intimate partner abuse. According to Falb et al.,⁵⁸ a study indicates that families experiencing incapacity to provide for basic requirements, alcohol and drug usage, and irregular income are more likely to face intimate partner violence (IPV) and child maltreatment and abuse in IDP camps

Bitrus, K. (2025, September 19). ‘We will stay’: Displaced Nigerians fear Boko Haram, stay in closing camps. https://wwwaljazeeracom/features/2025/9/19/we-will-stay-displaced-nigerians-fear-boko-haram-stay-in-closing-camps

Amnesty International (2018, May 24) Nigeria: “They betrayed us”: Women who survived boko haram raped, starved and detained in Nigeria https://wwwamnestyorg/en/documents/afr44/8415/2018/en/

Center for Civilians in Conflict (nd) Nigeria Needs to Do More to Prevent & Respond to Conflict-Related Sexual Violence https://civiliansinconflictorg/blog/nigeria-needs-to-do-more-to-prevent-respond-to-conflict-related-sexual-violence/

Marlow, HM, Kunnuji, M, Esiet, A , Bukoye, F, & Izugbara, C (2022) The sexual and reproductive health context of an Internally Displaced Persons’ Camp in Northeastern Nigeria: Narratives of Girls and Young Women Frontier in Reproductive Health 3:779059 doi: 103389/frph 2021779059

Adimula, B (2016, March 8) Opinion: The plight of women and children in Nigeria’s IDP camps https://data2unhcrorg/en/news/12180

Falb, K., Asghar, K., Pardo, N. M., Hategekimana, J. D. D., Kakay, H., Roth, D., & O’Connor, M. (2022). Developing an inclusive conceptual model for preventing violence in the home in humanitarian settings: Qualitative findings from Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of Congo Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(3-4), 1076-1105

https://doiorg/101177/0886260520922358

In addition to the growing amount of research on the correlation between gender violence and its causes in both stable and humanitarian settings, public health studies are increasingly the significance of comprehending how multiple marginalized identities lead to compounding and cumulative layers of discrimination and oppression.⁵⁹ By using this lens to examine the cooccurrence of violence in the IDP camps, there will be an understanding of the factors promoting GBV in camps in northeastern Nigeria

The belief that males have the authority to make decisions and manage women is maintained and reinforced by the lack of social and economic value placed on women, their labour, and established gender roles.⁶⁰ Women who internalize misogyny also reinforce this onto other women and encourage their submission Individuals and groups in the northeastern region of Nigeria who commit acts of gender-based violence often site holding onto their privileges, authority, and control over others⁶¹ Sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, and religion all influence gender roles and identities in northeastern Nigeria In addition, relationships between men and women, as well as between men and men, are characterized by varying degrees of authority and power that uphold privileges and subordination among the people in the region.⁶² Disregard for or ignorance of gender equity, human rights, and peaceful conflict resolution techniques contribute to the continuation of these disparities⁶³

The majority of Nigerian women from northeastern Nigeria faced a high degree of GBV⁶⁴ Meanwhile, men frequently use religion as a tool to control women.

Falb, K, Asghar, K, Pardo, N M, Hategekimana, J D D, Kakay, H, Roth, D, & O’Connor, M (2022) Developing an inclusive conceptual model for preventing violence in the home in humanitarian settings: Qualitative findings from Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of Congo Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(3-4), 1076-1105 https://doiorg/101177/0886260520922358

UNIFEM, (2002) United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), Progress of the World'sWomen 2002, Vol 1: Women, War and Peace New York: UNIFEM, 2002

Obidike, NF, & Ezeabasili, C E (2020) Coverage of Gender-Based Violence in IDP camps: A critical analysis of select Nigerian Newspapers Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 25(8), 19-26

Mshweshwe, L (2020) Understanding domestic violence: masculinity, culture, traditions Heliyon, 6(10), e05334 https://doiorg/101016/jheliyon 2020e05334

UNHCR Code of Conduct, (2003) Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons Guidelines for Prevention and Response https://wwwunorg/sexualviolenceinconflict/wpcontent/uploads/2019/05/report/sexual-and-gender-based-violence-against-refugees-returnees-and-internally-displacedpersons/3f696bcc4 pdf

Ojemeiri, K.A., Aondover, E.M., & Aruaye A.O. (2022). A critical review on Gender Based Violence in Nigeria: Media Dimension Journal of Gynecology and Women’s Health, 24(2): 1-7 556135 DOI: 1019080/JGWH 2022 23556135

The local, common interpretation of Islam is that males might have to four wives, divorce whenever they want, and demand that their wives lead a particular kind of puritan lifestyle⁶⁵ Women have been made to learn how to live with other wives under duress.⁶⁶ The host communities, which provided shelter to these internally displaced people, face extreme strain on their resources, including the land, businesses, schools, environment, hospitals, and clinics It has become difficult for the IDPs to integrate effectively locally since they have overwhelmed existing communities, causing conflict and animosity The cost of living increased in the host communities, particularly for housing, food, healthcare, and education⁶⁷

Importantly, these realities underscore the urgent need to implement UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security, which emphasizes the vital importance of providing protection for women who are often vulnerable in conflict and post-conflict settings, as well as providing detailed report ⁶⁸

5.3 What are the implications of gender-based violence on internally displaced women in northeastern Nigeria?

Being internally displaced has several social and economic repercussions, including denial of access to essential resources (economic violence), school-aged internally displaced girls are the most vulnerable and the worst group affected by gender violence⁶⁹ Several studies have shown that gender-related violence is the main cause of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to the psychological and emotional trauma involved with GBV.⁷⁰ The rights and dignity of persons as citizens are impacted by gender violence. In addition to the effects above, victims of sexual abuse or rape due to gender violence may also become homeless, drug addicts, or jobless Significant physical and mental health impairments are among the long-term physical effects of GBV Examples include the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), sexually transmitted infections (STDs), and suicides⁷¹

Otaigbe, E K (2023) Gender dynamics in the management care of Internally Displaced Persons: The Boko Haram Insurgency A PhD Dissertation submitted to the College of Health Sciences and Public Policy, Walden University

Ekezie W (2022) Resilience actions of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) living in camp-like settings: a Northern Nigeria case study Journal of migration and health, 6, 100115 https://doiorg/101016/j jmh 2022100115

UN Security Council (2004, October 13) 2004 report of the Secretary-General on Women, Peace and Security https://documentsunorg/doc/undoc/gen/n04/534/14/pdf/n0453414 pdf

CARE Nigeria (2017) Gender and GBV analysis and operational suggestion, CARE Nigeria field assessment Maiduguri https://wwwcareevaluationsorg/wp-content/uploads/Gender-and-GBV-assessment-Maiduguri-032917pdf

Acierno, R, Resnick, H, Kilpatrick, DG , Saunders, B, & Best, C L (1999) Risk factors for rape, physical assault, and post traumatic stress disorder in women: examination of differential multivariate relationships Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 13(6), 541–563, 1999.

Miller, M (1999) A model to explain the relationship between sexual abuse and HIV risk among women AIDS Care, 11(1), 3–

Children were the most vulnerable population in restoration camps, compared to men and women, according to a 2009 study on gender issues in war-torn regions⁷²

Among the Nigerian IDPs, violence was a prevalent issue, especially for those who came from sexist communities where such behaviour was supposedly the standard While in their temporary settlements, the women experienced tremendous harassment, but they chose to remain silent because it was "normal" and "expected" At the IDP camps, where the host government officials and joint armed forces abuse the women, one of the main problems was the "objectification" of women the process of making them into objects for sexual enjoyment.

Depression is a typical occurrence in the lives of oppressed individuals in IDP camps in the northeastern region of Nigeria⁷³ People living in situations of social, economic, and political marginalization frequently experience sadness and despair, which is evidence of the personal effects of structural determinants⁷⁴ The wellbeing of IDP individuals is threatened by structural conditions of GBV that lead to both depression and violence.⁷⁵ However, cultural and structural factors obscure systemic contributions that affect society, allowing GBV against members of marginalized groups to be defined within specific circumstances⁷⁶

Recent findings further show that GBV in camps not only produces immediate physical and psychological trauma but also entrenches cycles of poverty and social exclusion for women A UNFPA⁷⁷ report notes that women who survive sexual violence in Borno often "lose their place in the community, as people look at you as if you are dirty or no longer worthy" (p. 17). One survivor from a Maiduguri camp in Borno state recounted: "They told me if I refused to sleep with them,

Farr, K (2009) Extreme war rape in today’s civil-war-torn states: a contextual and comparative analysis Gender Issues, 26, 1–41

Montesanti, S R (2015) The role of structural and interpersonal violence in the lives of women: a conceptual shift in prevention of gender-based violence BMC Women's Health 15, 93 https://doiorg/101186/s12905-015-0247-5

Burnette C E , Renner L M, Figley C R (2019) The framework of historical oppression, resilience and transcendence to understand disparities in depression amongst indigenous peoples. The British Journal of Social Work, 49(4), 943–962. https://doiorg/101093/bjsw/bcz041

DeVerteuil, G (2015) Conceptualizing violence for health and medical geography Social Science & Medicine, 133(1), 216–222 https://doiorg/101016/jsocscimed 201501018

Gringeri C E , & Roche, S E (2010) Beyond the binary: Critical feminisms in social work Affilia, 25(4), 337–340 https://doiorg/101177/0886109910384194

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) (2021) Voices from the camps: Women’s experiences of conflict-related sexual violence in Borno State UNFPA Nigeria

my family would not eat that night I agreed, but since then, I cannot sleep without crying"⁷⁸ Such testimonies underscore the social repercussions of sexual violence

The implications extend beyond wellbeing into social stigmatization and family fragmentation. Women who become pregnant as a result of rape are often abandoned by their spouses or families As one displaced woman from Yobe state camp explained: "When I became pregnant from the rape, my husband left me He said I had brought shame Now I raise the child alone, with no support"⁷⁹ This abandonment not only increases women's financial-economic vulnerability but also entrenches long-term cycles of inequality for both the mother and child. Furthermore, the psychological scars of GBV have intergenerational effects. Abodunrin, Ashaolu, and Olawoyin,⁸⁰ revealed that GBV generally affects the physical and mental wellbeing living of women and children living in the IDP camps which encouraged stigmatization and low selfesteem Women's diminished agency is also reflected in reduced participation in decisionmaking processes within camps, reinforcing systemic marginalization

Ultimately, GBV against IDP women in northeastern Nigeria has wide-ranging implications eroding physical health, exacerbating psychological trauma, and reinforcing structural inequalities It strips women of dignity, silences their voices, and undermines their prospects for recovery and reintegration into society Unless addressed through survivor-centered interventions, accountability for perpetrators, and stronger protection mechanisms, gender based violence (GBV) will continue to serve as a barrier to durable solutions for displacement in the northeastern region of Nigeria.81

5.4 What are challenges in addressing the gender-based violence against internally displaced women in northern Nigeria?

5.4.1 Access and

Institutional Gaps

Access issues have been the most notable barrier to responding to the pressing desires of women and girls tormented by sexual violence, followed by the limited government presence and funding allocated to protection works, particularly gender-based violence⁸²

Human Rights Watch (2022) Nigeria: Survivors of sexual violence in displacement camps [HRW Report]

International Crisis Group (2023) Gendered impacts of conflict and displacement in Northeast Nigeria ICG Africa Report

Abodunrin, O, Ashaolu, T J, and Olawoyin, KW (2024) Challenges Faced by Women and Children in Internally Displaced Persons Camp in Nigeria New Trends in Psychology, 6(2), 60-80

Ibrahim, A , & Abdu, M (2025) Structural violence and gendered displacement in Nigeria’s Northeast Journal of African Security Studies, 34(2), 77–95

Ajayi, A.I., Alex-Ojei, C. A., & Ahinkorah, B.O. (2023). Sexual violence among young women in Nigeria: a cross-sectional study of prevalence, reporting and care-seeking behaviours African health sciences, 23(1), 286–300 https://doiorg/104314/ahsv23i1 31

In 2013 and 2014, the presence of safety-mandated businesses in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states made it a nearly impossible task to collect records of the security situation in battleaffected regions and displacement sites.⁸³ Following the huge-scale displacement of civilians throughout Borno state and in northern Adamawa and Yobe states, thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) joined informal camps in Maiduguri, Damaturu, and Yola cities throughout 2014 The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) installed eight bases in Maiduguri in June 2014, accommodating 6,000 IDPs from Bama, Konduga, Damboa, and Gwoza Local Government Areas (LGAs)⁸⁴ International aid was extended at some point in 2015, and through mid-2016, NEMA attempted to respond to IDP desires in sixteen civilian-managed camps in Borno and Adamawa states.⁸⁵ Many international nongovernmental organisation has increased in the prevention of sexual and other forms of violence in northeast (Borno, Yobe,and Adamawa) Nigeria between 2015 - 2025 After they arrived in Yola and Maiduguri, what they observed was jarring even to the most experienced safety actors Widespread child protection risks, genderbased violence, and marginalization of minority people and religious communities have been found across northeastern Nigeria.

5.4.2 Everyday Risks and Sexual Exploitation

A safety audit carried out with the aid of one global NGO in host community sites in Maiduguri diagnosed the concerns of displaced girls as home violence, rape, and denial of resources⁸⁶ Women were being beaten when they could not provide food or after they asked for cash to shop for food, and many also experienced sexual violence while looking for work to offer an income. Increased violence and their inability to buy food for their families made girls increasingly susceptible to solicitation and sexual exploitation in exchange for food or other assistance Army personnel, vigilante groups, and camp managers were implicated in dishonest, corrupt, and crooked practices, together in resource diversion, robbery, and sexual exploitation and abuse Restrictions on movement because of protection policies have been compounded by harassment and sexual violence fears.

Read, J (2017) Sexual violence and the Boko Haram crisis in north-east Nigeria https://odihpnorg/magazine/sexualviolence-and-the-boko-haram-crisis-in-north-east-nigeria/

NEMA (2014, June 21) Minister inspects NEMA IDP camps NEMA press http://nemagovng/minister-inspects-nema-idpscamps

NEMA (2015, May 21) Only 6 of 275 rescued women pregnant NEMA press release http://nemagovng/only-6-of-275rescued-women-pregnant

Première Urgence Internationale (2020 March 7) Nigeria: Première Urgence Internationale stands against gender-based violence https://wwwpremiere-urgenceorg/en/nigeria-premiere-urgence-internationale-standsagainst-gender-based-violence/

Negative coping techniques have become increasingly common as families used their assets, including child labour, early marriage, and transactional intercourse for refuge, food, and nonmeal needs.⁸⁷

5.4.3 Inadequacy Reporting and the Culture of Silence

Protection against the various gender-based violence towards women and young girls remains vital, yet there are challenges in achieving this Risk assessments performed through UNHCR on PSEA and survival sex in Bakasi, Goubio, Dalori 1, and Bama Camp revealed that several younger ladies and adolescent girls resorted to survival sex for primary needs and essential services.⁸⁸

While this was not a new problem, it became unclear whether the recent evidence indicated a surge in incidents or an improvement in reporting; therefore, it is necessary to investigate this further

The inaccessibility of target communities and socio-cultural constraints have caused the underreporting of various gender-based violence incidents across northeast Nigeria.⁸⁹ Therefore, organizing the actual scale of GBV among girls, women, men, and boys internally displaced or returnees in Northeastern Nigeria during and after the struggle remains a challenge As one displaced woman described: "We reported to the camp officials, but nothing happened Instead, they told us to keep quiet"⁹⁰

5.4.4 Insecure Camp Environments

The lack of electricity at some stage during the night in camps, mainly out of Maiduguri, exposes many women and young girls to the risks of sexual assault and rape around latrine areas One of the young girls revealed that: "Anything can happen in the bush, like rape Even thinking about going to the toilet there scares me,"⁹¹ she said outside her hut in the Muna Garage camp in Borno

Okunola, A. (2020, June 11). 5 Organisations supporting the fight against sexual violence in Nigeria. https://wwwglobalcitizenorg/en/content/organisations-fighting-sexual-violence-nigeria/

Haruna, A (2020, August 10) Special report: How Boko Haram-displaced women, girls are sexually abused at IDP camps (1) https://wwwpremiumtimesngcom/news/headlines/407902-special-report-how-boko-haramdisplaced-women-girls-are-sexually-abused-at-idp-camps-1html

Premiere Urgence Internationale. (2021, August 4). Gender study in Maiduguri and Monguno LGAS of Borno state. https://wwwhumanitarianresponseinfo/sites/wwwhumanitarianresponseinfo/files/documents/files/pui20gender20study2 0in20maidugiri20and20monguno final20report pdf

International Center for Investigative Reporting (2016, April 21) Nigeria Does Not Care Enough For Displaced Persons, Report Reveals https://wwwicirnigeriaorg/nigeria-does-not-care-enough-for-displaced-persons-reportreveals/

Guilbert, K (2017, February 14) Nowhere to go: Nigeria's crowded camps fuel disease fears from open defecation https://wwwreuterscom/article/idUSKBN15T0YG/?utm

The federal and national authorities' capacity to deal with all GBV-related troubles was overstretched, and IDPs need GBV prevention and response support Survivors additionally need emergency and life-saving offerings from hospital treatment Basic and dignified menstrual kits are lacking in various IDP camps. Psychosocial and support offerings require systematic and institutional support to enhance their capacities.

Many of these obstacles need to be addressed, as the significant gap in realizing the commitment outlined in UNSCR 1325 is highlighted Women living in IDP camps deserve the attention of inclusion and protection against the perpetrators of the incidence of gender based violence. Additionally, Nigeria's National Action Plans (NAPs), particularly the 2nd (2017–2020) and 3 (2021–2024), underscore the urgent need to address sexual violence in conflict, promote survivor- centered services, and establish accountability mechanisms The implementation of UNSCR 1325 and the NAP continues to face a lack of political will and consistency in addressing the wave of GBV rd

Thus, while UNSCR 1325 and Nigeria's NAP provide a strong legal and policy framework, the lived realities of displaced women in northeastern Nigeria reveal persistent structural, cultural, and institutional barriers that hinder the fulfillment of these commitments

6. Recommendations and Conclusion

6.1

Recommendations

The following recommendations are provided to tackle the implications of gender-based violence (GBV) on displaced women in northeastern Nigeria:

1 There is a need to ensure IDP women and girls are meaningfully represented in addressing the menace of GBV in the northeastern Nigeria

2.Deploy more female security personnel in IDP camps to reduce sexual harassment, other forms of violence, and increase reporting confidence.

3 Provision of basic amenities and other essential needs (Water, Sanitation, Health) that women and young girls need for their daily use

4 Training security actors, humanitarian staff, and camp officials on zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), linked to Nigeria’s NAP on UNSCR 1325

5.Strengthen livelihood programs for displaced women and girls to reduce the prevalence of survival sex and economic dependence.

6 Expand psychosocial support, trauma healing, and medical services, especially for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence

7 Fund sustainable reintegration programs for survivors stigmatized after captivity by Boko Haram or sexual exploitation in camps

8.Strong political will in addressing the insecurity and humanitarian challenges across northeastern Nigeria.

6.2 Conclusion

The wave of gender-based violence against internally displaced women across Northeastern Nigeria highlights the disconnect between global commitments and local realities. The understanding of the UNSCR 1325 provides a better platform for screening the high level of cases of neglect of displaced women living in IDP camps across northeastern Nigeria There are still challenges of gender-based violence across the IDP camps in northeastern Nigeria The poor level of reporting and lack of strong institutions in prosecuting the perpetrators of gender based violence against internally displaced women The need to upscale the NAP requires a more effective approach demonstrating political will to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the region. In addition to being a humanitarian priority, addressing GBV is also essential for peacebuilding since long-term healing is undermined when women and girls remain marginalized and unsafe Protecting displaced women and amplifying their voices is critical to achieving inclusive peace and security, as underscored by UNSCR 1325 Stronger accountability, survivor-centered services, and significant participation of IDP women in decision-making processes that impact their safety and futures, like the aforementioned, are necessary to close the gap between policy and practice.

Author:

Olivia Beech

Olivia Beech is a current resident of the Washington, D.C. area and is currently working as an intern and partner with the African Renaissance and Diaspora Network She has a background in diplomatic studies, having received a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University Much of her interest and focus has been about conflict, war crimes, and country fragilities, as well as institutional responses to these crises. She has written and presented on issues pertaining to political developments and conflicts in the sub-Saharan African region, such as Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo

Her hometown is Stamford, Connecticut

How and Why Democracy is Failing to Protect Women in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe does not fit the traditional mold of a conflict-ridden state. It is not currently engaged in conflict abroad or activity that could be classified as a “civil war”, but that does not mean another kind of pervasive conflict isn’t happening, fostering a sense of chaos domestically For women, the reality of violence is an all too familiar anxiety, and in Zimbabwe’s case, that violence is purposeful and targeted In a country thought to be democratic in its governing practices, this is the very institution that is permitting these vile acts to occur, with the possibility of retribution being substantially minimalized. In this report, elements of human rights violations, government-supported atrocities, and disregard for democratic practices will elaborate on the fragility of the state Our primary purpose is to offer a strategic assessment of the issue and propose solutions that can potentially alleviate the burden these women face, especially concerning cases of sexual assault Institutions like the International Criminal Court have no jurisdiction over Zimbabwe due to lack of membership, making a traditional route of condemning atrocities null. It should instill a sense of hopefulness for Zimbabwe’s future and ability to replicate stability like its developed nation counterparts

According to the World Bank, there are many indicators that suggest women are existing in a more equitable space despite personal testimony to the contrary: In 2015, it was reported that 60% of Zimbabwean women have personal autonomy in their sexual and reproductive medical choices, 48% were reported to be employed on a half-time basis in 2019, and 32% are estimated to be active holders of positions in parliament the previous year₁₄,₁₅,₁₆ These are just a few statistical approximations that imply the country is making progress towards greater state-based inclusivity and recognition of personal autonomy in political, economic and social levels

However, these figures do not reflect the reality multiple women are exposed to regularly The stories are more anecdotal in nature, but they are compelling in how they exhibit the issue of targeted gender-based violence and hostility. In 2019, the World Bank had expressed its intention to collectively address GBV on a global scale, but it can be argued that not all crises function similarly, and require diverse solutions₁₇ There’s more nuance and complexity to untangle, requiring policymakers to investigate the living conditions of women and girls and ultimately offer resolutions within these zones of widespread assaults and abuses Similar collective experiences of Zimbabwean women help illustrate the foundational problems the country is confronting, which consequentially impact its male populations as well. The culture reflects toxic patterns of misogyny and systematic abuse that have been affiliated with the government regime under President Emmerson Mnangagwa, as this assessment will demonstrate ₂,₁₁

Women, specifically female voters and activists, are targeted for their presence in the country’s political scene, making them especially vulnerable against attacks endorsed by Zimbabwe’s government. It can be argued that the key solution is presence and visibility to the atrocities that are being endorsed by the state and its government. One woman reported her property being approached by dozens of men threatening harm to her, which she surmises was because of her membership with the Citizens Coalition for Change and intention to run for council One could be forgiven for thinking that this behavior is associated with old world values concerning women in public spaces, but the victim states that her assailants were mostly young men in connection with the ZANU-PF.₁₈ By understanding her experience, we can distinguish a person from a statistic, and give humanity back to those who have been targeted. It is also worth asking how the government can account for these kinds of behaviors going unpunished, or worse, applauded According to Jestina Mukoko, the head of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, an organization dedicated to tracking the progress of developments in human rights, the impunity measures are severely lacking; “There should be steps that deter people from repeating the perpetration of violence [but] the challenge that we have in our country is that those who perpetrate violence are actually rewarded at times.”₁₈ Justice is a crucial theme in how we construct the framework of state development, as it can address the widespread sense of grievance being issued by the general population against governing bodies and institutions that are perpetuating the fragility of Zimbabwe currently It sets a precedent for how fragile states engage with state criminals and individuals that have committed atrocities against their own people, thereby warranting a greater conversation about peacebuilding. In Mark Kersten’s 2016 publication of Justice in Conflict: The Effects of the International Criminal Court’s Interventions on Ending Wars and Building Peace, he asserts the following: “Ending impunity is the primary aim of international criminal justice and is regularly invoked as a necessary ingredient in the establishment and maintenance of peace”₁ Zimbabwe needs to establish a precedent for a greater intolerance against gender based violence, otherwise any attempts made towards advocacy are moot. The government can make an example of itself, showing that progress is always possible if people care enough to intervene.

However, the threats are virtual as well, and not strictly isolated to physical attacks, which makes the conversation of women’s defense more complicated The weaponization of the internet as a tool for intimidation has contributed to the hostility women are met with when they engage in the country’s political sphere. According to the International Foundation for Electoral systems, a wide range of perpetrators have participated in the campaign for harassment both physically and digitally Not just fanatics on behalf of the ZANU-PF, but even individuals in close relation to their victims And although President Mnangagwa publicly denounces this kind of interference, he has benefited from similar conduct in his own political ambitions₆,₁₁,₁₉ According to precedents outlined in the constitution, Mnangagwa is obligated to relinquish his seat in three years, but there seem to be parties willing to overlook that policy, which has sparked both concern and outrage And the response to this dissent has not been gracious According to an article by digital news outlet Al Jazeera published in October of this year, “Ten elderly activists – most in their 60s and 70s – were arrested in Harare on Friday for allegedly planning a protest demanding Mnangagwa’s resignation They were charged with attempting to incite “public violence” and remain in custody pending a bail hearing on Monday.”₁₁ So, although he claims to be against this blight of corruption that he in his own words claims has a “retarding impact on national development”, the political hypocrisy he hides behind would suggest the opposite Women deserve to be included in democratic processes and decision making, not only because it is their right as citizens, but because they will undoubtedly be the recipients of the consequences So why not allow them to vocalize their opinions, even if they are not always favorable to the government regime? These responses are wholly contradictory to the president’s statements and obliterate the point of having voting systems at all.

Protesting is a common practice within democratic states for the greater population to advocate for change, whether it be political, economic, or social In Zimbabwe’s case, party polarization and government corruption have become intertwined with gender-based violence, with cases of female protestors being targeted for their participation in demonstrations being a prime example of how far this crisis has progressed. Notably, an article published by writer Farai Mutsaka in 2020 told of a disturbing retelling about the horrors endured by a group of Zimbabwean women at the hands of law officials They were found to be active members of the Movement for Democratic Change, a party of political opposition to the current government regime, headed by the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF)₂,₁₁,₁₂ Some of the stated causes for arrest were the threat of encouraging a violent public response, and that their actions were in conflicting with COVID-19 regulations. The women stated they were subjected to various forms of physical violence as a tool for retribution for their role in assembling the demonstration; “The women allege that after they were arrested in May for organizing the rally, police allowed them to be taken away from the police station by unidentified men who beat them and raped them them The women were missing for nearly 48 hours before being dropped by a roadside near Bindura, about 90 kilometers (56 miles) northeast of Harare.”₂

According to Mutsaka, those victims were not recipients of any justice for what they endured, and Muleya Mwananyanda, the International Deputy Director and representative of the Southern African region has asserted that these atrocities are a clear act of retaliation from the government in response to these women exercising their fundamental democratic liberties.₂ Detainment of individuals guilty of no wrongdoing is horrific enough, but the added trauma of being subjected to sexual violence illuminates an even bleaker reality

Sexual assault, harassment, or targeting have unfortunately been weaponized countless times in periods of widespread conflict, and despite the inherent rights women have in how they function independently in society, this does not account for the individuals that seek to cause them harm. Rape is a focal point of this analysis of fragility in Zimbabwe due to its relevance to women and its pervasiveness Something that is especially troubling, however, is how complicit the government is in these attacks A system that cannot enforce protections for its civilians in response to criminal behavior is not one that deserves trust According to IFES writer Cait Davin, “Overcoming deeply embedded mistrust of law enforcement as well as fear of re-victimization at the hands of perpetrators, as of writing, 72 cases have been documented and in 24 cases, the victims pressed charges with the police The police made arrests in seven cases, of which prosecutors took four to trial, and as of November 10, there were two judgments”₆ And the statistics do not provide any comfort in the story they tell about sexually motivated attacks; The electoral process is a key feature of democracy and the capabilities it affords individuals to be positive influences in their government, but it offers no protection for female political officials. It seems to stem from a matter of gender-based privilege and the ambivalence that accompanies a woman’s claim that her male counterpart(s) has been inappropriate with her₆

Cases of physical assault and brutality are not the only issues that have to be analyzed, as we also must understand why they are so prevalent Are there internalized hostilities towards women that are subliminal, or even condoned to the degree that they manifest as a culture of their own? What emboldens a person to commit such an act against another person? According to lead researcher, Rumbidzai Dube, from the Research and Advocacy Unit, an organization centered on female empowerment, the cultural response to assaults against women is generally unfavorable In his 2013 analysis piece illustrates the general attitude towards cases of sexual assault in Zimbabwe The culture of violence acceptance runs deep for these communities, and the sequence of cases of sexual assault between 2009 and 2012 demonstrate a harmful trend from the recent past; “According to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat), ‘Quarterly Digest of Statistics,’ there has been incremental rising in the number of reported incidences of rape The total increased from 3,481 in 2009 to 4,450 in 2010, 5,446 in 2011, and an alarming 2,195 cases between January and May of 2012 only₁ 470 of these cases were recorded in May 2012 alone₂,₄ The consistent increase in numbers illustrates a disturbing picture of the repetitive nature of sexually motivated attacks.

Compare that to a report issued by the International Court of Jurists in 2019, and the numbers only seem to escalate in severity and frequency, which showcases the overall fragility of the country; “2019 statistics by Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat)₂ show an increase in the incidence of rape over the last five years. The Zimbabwe Gender Commission₃ reports that 22 women are raped daily, one every 75 minutes On average, 646 women₄ are sexually abused monthly, with one in three girls raped or sexually assaulted before they reach the age of 18 5 The vast majority of sexual offences are committed by men against women, children and other men”₅ Looking at these numbers, we can deduce a greater social phenomenon, the disease of internalized misogynistic tendencies both implied and felt by many men on a large scale. If teenage girls are also being subjected to this abuse, we can see that the issue is more complete in its mission to victimize the female population holistically Internally these incidents seem to be commonplace, but what about perspective could an external source provide?

To address this cycle of local impunity, one viable solution is to take these violations outside of the country and have them scrutinized by legal bodies that are independent of state jurisdiction. International court systems assist in these matters by shouldering some of the responsibility a country possesses in its assessment of crimes against humanity The International Criminal Court, as an institution, is designed to offer a more universal approach to global jurisprudence, thereby establishing standards its members are expected to maintain and uphold under international legal principles Currently, Zimbabwe is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which authorizes the ICC to enforce its jurisprudence over these clear violations which would normally be eligible for prosecution.₃,₂,₁ This pertains to what Zimbabwe’s female population is enduring presently, but the parameters for intervention under the statute are evidently limited According to the ICC, one of its primary functions is to “prosecute crimes against humanity, which are serious violations committed as part of a large-scale attack against any civilian population The 15 forms of crimes against humanity listed in the Rome Statute include offences such as murder, rape, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, enslavement – particularly of women and children, sexual slavery, torture, apartheid, and deportation.”₃ Compared to the 33 other states in the African continent that are in support of this policy, it is very striking that Zimbabwe has not followed suit, but this could possibly be attributed to the issue of accountability Answering a third-party institution could pose a threat to corrupted leadership, making their movements more restricted and prone to scrutiny Abuse is a cycle that relies on enablement and continuity, and that cannot happen with this kind of interference.

Manipulation of the facts from public servants paints a concerning image of how misinformation can obscure the facts, which was the case with the female protestors They were not only denied their democratic right to protest, but they were assaulted and even kidnapped, as writer Futsaka writes in his article; “President Mnangagwa and the minister in charge of police Kazembe Kazembe last week claimed that the three women had fabricated the story of their abductions as part of a wider plot to destabilize the government.”₂ This was a method to distract from the bigger issue, which was that these women were dissenting against the government and being punished for it

No reasonable person could look at these facts and believe that the government response was justified or warranted in any capacity It is difficult to say if Zimbabwe will agree to become a permanent party to the Rome Statute, but there is potential for this to occur if the country comes under new leadership soon. If the country can distance itself from these autocratic practices and adopt a more progressive approach to institutional justice, the quality of life can change for women collectively However, that does not mean Zimbabwe cannot become an active collaborator with the ICC in obtaining international criminal justice According to the court’s policies, a non-signatory state can still engage in prosecution proceedings if they choose to; “While States Parties to the Rome Statute have an obligation to cooperate with the Court, countries that are not yet States Parties may also provide ad hoc voluntary cooperation.”₃ If Zimbabwe wants to address the specific issue of female targeted crimes, then this ad hoc system could be beneficial to that process

Economic constraints, specifically cases of mass inflation, have only exacerbated the sense of grievance and civil discontent. Development and Cooperation (D+C) writer Jeffrey Moyo shared an alarming statistic published by the World Bank in his piece in 2019, saying that year’s unemployment rate was at a staggering 4 9%, but a more recent report says that number has nearly doubled to 86% in only five years₉,₂₀ Women are taking on jobs that are even outside their area of profession and have had to settle for lesser paid positions, and even ones that one would typical expect to be held by men, to compensate for the economic loss In the capital Harere, this reality applies to 40% of the female population, or 46,000 individuals.₉ The resulting public outcry in response to these setbacks has warranted acts of aggression and retaliation from the government As the Human Rights Watch shares in its report from mid-March of 2019, “Zimbabwe security forces used excessive lethal force to crush nationwide protests in midJanuary 2019 President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s sudden announcement of a fuel price increase of 150 percent resulted in three days of demonstrations throughout Zimbabwe in which security forces fired live ammunition, killing 17 people, and raped at least 17 women.”₇ The range of concern is multifaceted, resources shortages and financial deficits reaching levels to warrant violence Aside from fuel prices being maximized to the extreme, the country’s collective debt seems to have elevated to crisis levels, reaching nearly 20 billion in 2018, according to data provided by the International Monetary Fund₈ The government needs to employ other methods to quell concern outside of violence, as that response only serves to further alienate itself from the public and any potential supporters. A possible way to address this issue would be to request debt forgiveness, to alleviate some of the financial stress the country is collectively being burdened with It is not the most attractive approach to state development for many economists and financial institutions, but it could provide breathing room for new solutions to be adopted Much of this crackdown has a sequence of connections to other preexisting circumstances, so it would be safe to assume that a positive ripple effect could manifest from releasing the tension on areas of immediate concern like the economy. This will hopefully produce a domino effect of reducing public dissention and subsequent retaliation.

Despite documented proof of women breaking gender norms in areas concerning employment, those changes are not being internalized as they are still being regarded as second-class citizens in their own country. This is applicable to personal matters as well. To elaborate further on this point, Dube’s 2013 report states that marital sexual assault was not considered a crime until as late as 2010 But even with those current legislative protections, that still does not reconcile the prevalence of cultural masculine entitlement to women’s bodies in Zimbabwe₄ Dube addresses the role of the economy in a woman’s ability to consent to intimacy It is alarming to think that a woman’s financial status has any influence on the validity of her choice, but that seems to be the reality of many. As Dube points out; “Mungweni₂₆ argues that the ability of married Zimbabwean women to negotiate for safer sex is reduced by their inferior social, economic, legal, and political status, which makes them dependent on their male counterparts, and hence reduces their negotiating power”₄ Resources are valuable in sustaining a person’s life, but also their autonomy Financial dependency can leave individuals vulnerable to abusive behaviors and practices by the individual who oversees and controls the household income It establishes a hierarchy and imbalance within the relationship, leaving the dominant party with the final say in decision making that calls for mutual consent and input. As the report outlines, this abusive dynamic also has an underlying psychological element, warping a woman’s perception on what she can and cannot consent to; “This assertion also rings true when it comes to women’s ability to negotiate for sex where women think negotiation is impossible or are afraid to try given their socialisation This socialisation suggests that a woman cannot refuse sexual advances, particularly if she is married to the man in question. Given that the majority of the women in this study were married, this could possibly explain why most of them also thought that negotiating for sex is not possible”₄ Refusing a life partner carries that shadow of cultural entitlement, making it harder for women to exercise autonomy in even their most private relationships The commitment seems to embolden the presumption that a husband should and will have intimate contact with his spouse at his leisure In essence, the monetary investment made into a marriage by the man dictates how it proceeds, specifically in the form of a lobola, which according the write Nicola Ansell’s 2001 publication in the Journal of Southern African Studies, 27(4) is to function as a sharing of goods between the families of a married couple Ansell has stated that there is a method for how this practice “establishes the nature of relationships between people”₂₂ Dube also references the believed benefits a husband enjoys when he has paid to secure the marriage, similar to a dowry, with access to the wife’s body being a component; “It has also been argued that the commercialisation of lobola/bride price aggravates married women’s inability to negotiate for sex given that men believe they “purchase” conjugal rights when they pay large sums of lobola and so the right to demand for sex -as and when the men need it -comes with the territory₂₈,₄ In some aspects, the practice is functional, as Ansell writes that it can be about equitable resource sharing and security for future generations But it has warped into something more nefarious and harmful The conversations begin to happen away from the brides, making “women conduits of the relationship, rather than partners to it.”₂₂ The stage is set for what is expected going forward. The woman has no say, and intimacy, no matter how forceful, is considered a right by these men, leaving women with little agency in how they proceed

It possesses an underlying motive for control and dominance, offering little reciprocity or respect for the woman’s autonomy over her role in the relationship or her body The abuse is culturally condoned.

Offering women a chance to access valuable resources that will free them from this cycle of dependency and abuse would be a critical step in ensuring their freedoms Financial literacy and education can benefit a female employee, as it will naturally promote her awareness of independence and smart monetary management And in turn, if she obtains a stable income, she must be knowledgeable on how to maintain and protect her earnings. Government sponsored programs for financial education should be implemented, but if there is unwillingness to engage in this idea from Mnangagwa, then humanitarian organizations and NGOs could offer assistancebased programs that can override that longstanding tradition of institutional toxicity and neglect This inspiration could come from abroad, providing a blueprint for future leaders eager to advocate and enact change One ideal candidate to draw inspiration from, could be the Financial Literacy Organization for Women and Girls (FLOW), which promotes this kind of work for women that find themselves in financial unideal circumstances in the US. Zimbabwe could benefit from education programs that encourage and equip their female population to be mindful and active participants in their economy Consequently, more of the country’s civilians can collaborate and provide a viable long-term strategy to improve financial circumstances for themselves and each other₁₀

To better assess how to proceed with strategy, we must understand the trends that accompany widespread discontent and dysfunction The pervasive culture of internalized hostilities directed towards women makes them a substantially vulnerable population and adds to the frailty of the relationship the general population has with its government It appears that the best way to proceed is to push for greater accountability and global jurisprudence to compound enforcement on impunity, and this needs to be directed to even those at the highest level of power. No preventive measures are being employed to improve the quality of life for many within a country that has plenty to offer a global partner to its neighbors and beyond the African continent While much of what Zimbabwe is encountering is embedded in its cultural framework, we must acknowledge that while cultural patterns are difficult to extinguish, it is not impossible to break them and internalize the lessons that will inevitably follow Sexual violence operates as a tool for control and degradation, something which cannot be reconciled with minimal acknowledgement from governing bodies. That is only possible if proper attention is allocated to the problem centers that push for the conflict to continue, robbing the country of any potential to advance beyond its fragility The things Zimbabwean people aspire to achieve, like economic reform, stronger institutional development, and a sense of protection from widespread criminal activity starts with a shift in government practice and priorities, as they are not being conducted with the people’s best interests in mind. However, it is important to remain optimistic about what is possible for Zimbabwe to achieve for itself if enough pressure is applied in the right areas.

Non-Hyperlink Citations

1 Kersten, M Justice in Conflict: The Effects of the International Criminal Court’s Interventions on Ending Wars and Building Peace, Oxford University Press 2016.

2.Mutsaka, F. 3 Zimbabwean women denied bail, accused of lying about abuse, ABC News, June 15th, 2020 https://wwwabc4 com/news/3-zimbabwean-women-denied-bail-accused-of-lyingabout-abuse/

3 International Criminal Court, How the Court Works, The crimes, https://wwwicccpiint/about/how-the-courtworks#:~:text=States%20Parties%20support%20the%20Court,under%20the%20Rome%20Stat ute%20system.

4 Dube, R “She probably asked for it!” A Preliminary Study into Zimbabwean Societal Perceptions of Rape”, The Research and Advocacy Unit, 2013 https://reliefwebint/sites/reliefwebint/files/resources/A-study-into-Zimbabwean-Societalperception-of-rapepdf

5.International Commission of Jurists, “The Case for Reform: Criminal Law and Sexual Violence in Zimbabwe”, October 2020. https://www.icj.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Zimbabwe-Sexualviolence-Advocacy-Analysis-brief-2020-ENG-1pdf

6 Davin, C “Ending Impunity for Violence Against Women in Elections in Zimbabwe”, International Foundation for Electoral Systems, November 14th, 2018 https://wwwifesorg/news/ending-impunity-violence-against-women-elections-zimbabwe

7.Human Rights Watch, “Zimbabwe: Excessive Force Used Against Protesters: Investigate, Prosecute Responsible Security Forces”, March 12th, 2019. https://wwwhrworg/news/2019/03/12/zimbabwe-excessive-force-used-against-protesters#

8 BBC News, “Zimbabwe crackdown: We are angry, we are desperate,’” January 24th 2019 https://wwwbbc com/news/world-africa-46986151

9 Moyo, J “Women take on menial jobs”, D + C: Development and Cooperation, December 16th, 2019. https://www.dandc.eu/en/article/zimbabwean-women-are-taking-difficult-menial-jobsonce-held-onlymen#:~:text=Nationwide%2C%20an%20estimated%2046%2C000%20women,unofficial%20rate %20is%20considerably%20higher

10 Empower Women, Financial Literacy for Women and Girls, 2016 https://wwwempowerwomenorg/en/resources/documents/2016/11/financial-literacy-forwomen-and-girls?lang=en

11.https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/18/zimbabwes-governing-party-moves-to-extendmnangagwa-presidency-to-2030

12 https://enwikipediaorg/wiki/ZANU%E2%80%93PF

13 https://researchandadvocacyunitorg/

14 https://dataworldbankorg/indicator/SG DMK SRCRFN ZS?locations=ZW&view=chart

15 https://dataworldbankorg/indicator/SG DMK SRCRFN ZS?locations=ZW&view=chart

16 https://dataworldbankorg/indicator/SLTLFPARTFE ZS?locations=ZW

17. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SG.GEN.PARL.ZS?locations=ZW

18. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/socialsustainability/brief/violence-against-women-andgirls

19 https://wwwaljazeeracom/features/2022/7/25/stereotypes-violence-keep-women-out-ofpolitics-in-zimbabwe

20 https://wwwreuterscom/article/us-zimbabwe-politics/zimbabwes-mnangagwa-promiseszero-tolerance-in-corruption-fight-idUSKBN1EE25P/

21. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS?locations=ZW

22 https://aspicc-cpiint/states-parties#Z

23 https://wwwresearchgatenet/publication/49399362 %27Because it%27s Our Culture%27

Renegotiating the Meaning of Lobola in Southern African Secondary Schools

H.E Lady Tee Thompson

Dr Lipika Sharma is a UN Women Senior Consultant and a leading expert on Gender, Climate Change, and Disaster Management A licensed Advocate and Attorney at the Supreme Court of India, she holds a PhD in Climate Change Law She serves as the Asia Head of the Eurasia Afro Chamber of Commerce and is recognized globally for her expertise in gender, GBV, sexual harassment, women’s rights, and climate resilience, with a strong background in legal, human rights, and policy frameworks Dr Sharma is also an expert in AI ethics, specializing in survivor-centered data governance, and has contributed to policy dialogues at the United Nations, international organizations, and academic forums She advises UN Women, UNDP, UNDRR, and other multilateral bodies, advancing the WPS agenda and survivor-led governance models

H.E. Lady Tee Thompson is a renowned Transformational Architect, global human rights leader, and Executive Director of AgroBiz.org. With a portfolio impacting over one million women and youth across 14 countries and over $60 million USD in enterprise value supported, she champions intergenerational leadership, economic inclusion, and antitrafficking frameworks across Africa, the MENA region, and the Americas. She currently serves as Co-Chair of United Nations Association-USA Women and is a Human Trafficking Fellow under the Office of Trafficking in Persons. Her legacy includes multi-stakeholder engagements across UN mechanisms and across CERD, CEDAW, CSW, UNGA, UNODC, the African Union, and Generation Equality Forums. Lady Thompson is known for her grassroots-global methodology and policy influence in developing rights-based, survivorled economic solutions in peace and post-crisis settings.

Ruby Guillen is a cybersecurity professional and community advocate dedicated to advancing digital safety and equity With extensive experience in information technology for public institutions in California, she has led initiatives to strengthen cybersecurity and raise awareness on emerging digital risks. Beyond her professional role, Ruby mentors young leaders, particularly women of color, and co-designs hackathons and innovation programs that empower youth with critical STEM and cybersecurity skills. Recognized for bridging technology and social impact, she is committed to combating online exploitation and fostering digital justice, ensuring technology serves as a tool for equity, safety, and intergenerational empowerment.

The Integrity Grid: AI-Powered Early Warning & Survivor-Centered Protection

Ruby Guillen

Abstract

Twenty-five years after the adoption of UNSCR 1325, women remain on the frontlines of conflict, displacement, and trafficking crises, now accelerated by climate change and digital exploitation

According to the 2025 Global Report on Internal Displacement, Internal displacement is where conflict, poverty and climate collide, hitting the most vulnerable the hardest. There were 83.4 million internally displaced people across the world at the end of 2024. Of the 83.4 million, 73.5 million were displaced by conflict and violence, and 98 million by disasters As women across the world are, on average, economically, legally, politically and socially less empowered than men, internally displaced women are twice disadvantaged They often suffer greater challenges in the labour market of their host community than displaced men. According to the UNODC global human trafficking report, it detected victims up 25 per cent as more children are exploited and forced labour cases spike. These realities underscore the urgent need to evolve the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda from reactive commitments to intervention and preventionbased, predictive, survivor-centered systems

This article introduces the Integrity Grid, an AI-powered early warning and survivor-led governance framework. It integrates climate displacement data, trafficking risk indicators, and predictive analytics into WPS-YPS policy implementation. Drawing on case studies from Cyclone Amphan, the Sahel trafficking corridor, and the World Food Programme’s HungerMap LIVE, the Integrity Grid demonstrates how anticipatory systems can mitigate exploitation before crises escalate

Our methodological framework emphasizes:

1.Predictive Protection AI-driven monitoring of displacement and trafficking risks.

2 Structural Reparations Policies addressing root causes of displacement and exploitation

3 Intergenerational Resilience Survivor councils co-designing algorithms to ensure human rights compliance

By aligning with UNSCR 1325, the Palermo Protocol, and SDGs 5, 10, 13, and 16, the Integrity Grid positions gender justice at the core of UN reform (2025–2030). It calls for bold multilateral investment, survivor-led accountability dashboards, and AI platforms with binding response triggers

The significance is clear: without economic agency, digital inclusion, and predictive protection, women and girls will remain disproportionately vulnerable to cycles of inequality and violence. The Integrity Grid offers a transformative, rights-based model for the next generation of WPS implementation

Introduction & Contextualization

In October 2000, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), establishing a global mandate to protect women’s rights and ensure their participation in conflict prevention, resolution, and peacebuilding Twenty-five years later, the global landscape has profoundly shifted Conflicts are increasingly protracted, intersecting with climate-induced disasters, rapid digitalization, and complex displacement patterns Women and girls remain disproportionately affected often as first responders, informal peacebuilders, and simultaneously, as targets of exploitation within widening protection gaps.

Climate change is now a major driver of displacement and trafficking In 2024, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) reported 759 million people displaced globally, with 45 8 million due to disasters and 98 million remaining displaced within their own countries at year’s end Climate emergencies intensify vulnerabilities: when communities are uprooted, traffickers exploit weakened protection systems, fractured social networks, and economic desperation. The UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons (2024) recorded a 25 % increase in detected trafficking victims, with a growing proportion of cases linked to environmental crises and forced migration

Digital technologies both enable protection and exploitation For instance, form an exploitive perspective, potential offenders are able to gain enhanced access to victims and to child sexual abuse material through the use of Information and communication technology [ICT], which increase their pool of potential victims, offer the opportunity of creating false identities, and facilitate the transmission of harmful content to children Human traffickers may also recruit new victims, including children, and market child sex tourism through the use of ICTs ICTs can deliver increased profits for criminal enterprises by markedly reducing the costs of production and distribution of child sexual abuse material.

Connectivity gaps, algorithmic opacity, and unregulated digital spaces have created new vectors of harm, including sextortion, digital grooming, and online trafficking networks, where victims often do not know their traffickers At the same time, artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics have emerged as powerful tools for early warning and humanitarian action For example, the World Food Programme’s HungerMap LIVE integrates satellite data, mobility records, and machine learning to predict food insecurity in real time, enabling anticipatory responses These converging dynamics expose the limitations of the current WPS architecture, which remains largely reactive: responding after displacement and exploitation occur rather than preventing harm through predictive, survivor-centered systems Current National Action Plans (NAPs) under UNSCR 1325 rarely integrate anticipatory methodologies, AI early warning systems, or survivor- led digital governance models. As a result, protection gaps persist between policy frameworks and operational realities on the ground.

Furthermore, sustaining the integrity of the grid requires a multi-layered approach due to pervasive corruption and exploitative technological practices Hence, it is imperative to enhance transparency within digital environments. This requires implementing strong oversight and control measures, as well as encouraging active citizen participation to foster collaborative efforts among governments, the private sector, and civil society Law enforcement plays a vital role in ensuring accountability for all stakeholders and in mitigating digital risks It is imperative to cultivate a culture of genuine integrity throughout the digital realm, with trust prioritized at every level In the effort to integrate and incorporate authentic and risk alerts that strengthen an AIpowered early warning and survivor-centered protection framework, it should integrate predictive analytics, legal obligations, survivor governance, and multilateral accountability mechanisms to prevent exploitation before crises escalate It bridges humanitarian early warning, climate adaptation, anti-trafficking policy, and WPS implementation, positioning survivor leadership at the heart of technological innovation and governance

Literature & Policy Review

3.1 International Legal & Policy Frameworks

This Policy Paper provides the first comprehensive methodological exposition of the Integrity Grid, detailing its predictive protection architecture, risk assessment and trigger mechanisms, survivor-led algorithm design, and governance frameworks It situates this model within feminist political economy, complex adaptive systems theory, and algorithmic impact assessment, offering both conceptual foundations and operational pathways for replication in diverse contexts.

The Integrity Grid aligns with and advances multiple binding and normative international instruments These include UN Security Council resolutions, General Assembly commitments, international treaties, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

UN Security Council Resolutions provide the normative backbone for the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda:

Resolution 1325 (2000) establishes the principles of women’s participation, protection, and prevention in conflict settings

Resolution 1820 (2008) condemns sexual violence as a tactic of war and calls for strengthened response mechanisms.

Resolution 1888 (2009) institutionalizes accountability through the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict

General Assembly resolutions also underscore complementary obligations A/RES/70/1 adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including SDG 13 (Climate Action), which calls for resilience to climate hazards. A/RES/76/186 (2021) strengthens coordination in anti-trafficking efforts across national and international actors.

The Palermo Protocol (2000) remains the principal international treaty against human trafficking It obligates States Parties to prevent trafficking, protect victims, and promote international cooperation. Integrating AI-powered early warning into Palermo Protocol implementation can operationalize its preventive mandate in the context of climate-induced displacement and digital exploitation

3.2 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The Integrity Grid simultaneously advances multiple SDGs:

SDG 5 – Gender Equality: Ensuring that women and girls are empowered as co-designers of predictive protection systems.

SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities: Addressing intersecting vulnerabilities caused by conflict, climate change, and exploitation

SDG 13 – Climate Action: Embedding anticipatory protection within climate adaptation strategies

SDG 16 – Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions: Building institutional accountability through binding response triggers and dashboards.

SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals: Enabling multi-stakeholder data sharing, survivor networks, and public-private collaboration

3.3 Feminist Political Economy and Survivor-Centered Governance

Feminist political economy frameworks argue that gendered power relations shape economic and governance structures, often relegating women’s contributions to informal or invisible spheres In conflict and crisis contexts, women act as first responders, informal peacebuilders, and social safety net providers, but their knowledge and leadership are rarely embedded in institutional decision-making

The Integrity Grid directly addresses this gap by institutionalizing survivor councils at global and regional levels. These councils co-design algorithms, review AI outputs for bias, and influence governance decisions, moving beyond tokenistic consultation toward structural power-sharing This approach is rooted in survivor-centered governance models that prioritize lived experience as epistemic authority a critical methodological intervention in humanitarian technology

3.4 Predictive Analytics and Early Warning Systems

Predictive analytics are increasingly used in humanitarian contexts. The World Food Programme’s HungerMap LIVE, for example, integrates satellite imagery, mobility data, and machine learning to predict food insecurity and trigger early action

However, these tools often lack integration with trafficking risk indicators, gender analysis, and survivor-led governance.

The Integrity Grid advances this field by combining quantitative risk classification (percentiles, thresholds), AI-driven alerts, and binding response mechanisms to trigger protection within 72 hours of emerging risks. This represents a methodological evolution from descriptive analytics to predictive protection, an anticipatory governance model that can be codified in National Action Plans and UN reform agendas

3.5 Theoretical Underpinnings

The methodological frameworks of the Integrity Grid draw from three intersecting theoretical lenses:

1.Complex Adaptive Systems Theory viewing displacement–trafficking dynamics as nonlinear, multi-scalar systems that require adaptive, iterative intervention models

2 Algorithmic Impact Assessment emphasizing bias detection, subgroup model cards, and human-in-the-loop protocols to ensure rights-based AI governance

3 Feminist Political Economy centering gendered power structures and survivor agency in economic and technological governance frameworks.

Together, these provide the conceptual foundation for the Integrity Grid’s phased pilot-to-scale methodology and its survivor-centered algorithmic co-design protocols

Methodical Frameworks

The Integrity Grid employs a multi-phase, survivor-centered methodology to transform existing humanitarian early warning systems into anticipatory protection mechanisms that integrate AI predictive analytics, quantitative risk assessment, binding governance triggers, and survivor-led algorithmic oversight Each component is designed for replicability, ethical rigor, and scalable adaptation across contexts with varying capacities

4.1 Predictive Protection Framework

The first methodological pillar is Predictive Protection, which operationalizes AI for early warning and anticipatory intervention in displacement and trafficking contexts The Integrity Grid applies a three-phase pilot-to-scale approach, combining technical validation, operational deployment, and independent evaluation

Phase 1: Technical Validation (0–6 months)

Data Mapping: Identify and catalogue relevant displacement, trafficking, and environmental datasets Sources include satellite indices, anonymized mobility data, and survivor-led reporting

Retrospective Back-Testing: Obtain historical data, process, and analyze statistical outcomes to initialize a baseline. Then use this baseline layer to train predictive algorithms and continue processing data while observing displacement spikes, trafficking patterns, and anomalies to improve the accuracy and reliability of the predictive outcomes

Model Cards & Subgroup Analysis: Document model performance across demographic and geographic subgroups to detect bias and ensure fairness

Ethical & Legal Review: Complete a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA), privacy-bydesign integration, and algorithmic impact assessments before any pilot activity.

Phase 2: Operational Pilots (6–18 months)

Context Selection: Conduct pilots in one high-capacity (eg, existing digital infrastructure) and one low-capacity humanitarian context to test adaptability

Data Integration: Deploy aggregated satellite indices, mobility flow data, and community reports through secure protocols. Raw personal identifiers are excluded unless DPIAcompliant

Human-in-the-Loop SOPs: Integrate decision-makers and survivor councils into the alert verification loop to avoid false positives and ensure contextual appropriateness

Cross-Sector Coordination: Align with national disaster risk management frameworks, WPS NAP focal points, and humanitarian clusters for response readiness.

Phase 3: Independent Evaluation (18–24 months)

Performance Metrics: Assess model precision, recall, and alert action rates within 72 hours

Privacy and Bias Audits: Evaluate incidents of privacy breaches, subgroup performance differentials, and survivor-led review corrections

Institutional Readiness Assessment: Review whether SOPs are embedded within existing governance systems for scale-up.

Budgeting & Sustainability: Itemize costs for technical integration, cloud hosting, staff secondments, monitoring & evaluation, and external audits, following WFP and UN budgeting guidance

This phased approach is rooted in complex adaptive systems theory, recognizing that predictive systems must evolve through iterative testing, stakeholder feedback, and contextual adaptation.

4.2 Quantitative Risk Assessment & Resource Matrix

The second methodological pillar is a standardized quantitative classification system that enables early detection of trafficking and displacement risk

Risk Assessment Model

Develop a universal data identifier matrix using percentiles, ratios, and weighted indicators

Define “weighted indicators” briefly (eg, socioeconomic vulnerability, mobility trends)

Classify risk levels from Low (baseline vulnerabilities) to Critical (imminent exploitation) using mathematical computational “risk” index scores paired with statistical thresholds

Integrate diverse data sources: meteorological indices, sudden mobility anomalies, digital platform activity spikes, and survivor-reported incidents.

This methodology allows emergency field agents, law enforcement, and NGOs to interpret risk scores through color-coded dashboards and numeric ratings, enabling rapid decision-making and prioritization.

Resource

Matrix

Link each risk classification level to a resource response protocol (eg, alerting local NGOs, activating relocation assistance, deploying patrols)

Use digital tools to map proximity to support services, ensuring that victims or responders can identify real-time connections to trusted actors.

Standardize data entry protocols to ensure interoperability across humanitarian agencies and national authorities

This quantitative framework provides the empirical backbone for trigger-based alerts and governance accountability

4.3 Trigger Alert & Accountability Dashboard Mechanism

The third methodological pillar focuses on governance enforceability Unlike most humanitarian early warning systems, the Integrity Grid embeds binding trigger mechanisms that obligate action within fixed timelines once computational scores that govern the AI thresholds are crossed

Trigger

Alerts

72-Hour Activation Rule: When predictive thresholds indicate critical risk, designated agencies must act within 72 hours Actions include releasing emergency funds, relocating vulnerable populations, or deploying trafficking route blockades

Color-Coded + Numeric Alerts: Enable intuitive interpretation across varied capacity settings

Multi-Actor Notification: Simultaneously notify national authorities, UN agencies, civil society, and survivor councils to ensure redundancy and reduce bureaucratic delays.

Accountability Dashboard

Transparent Alert Tracking: A public dashboard displays alerts, responsible agencies, response times, and delays

Survivor and Civil Society Oversight: Survivor councils and NGOs can flag non- compliance, triggering escalation mechanisms.

Independent Audit Functions: Regular external audits ensure data integrity, privacy compliance, and operational effectiveness

Embedding accountability mechanisms into predictive systems is crucial to overcoming institutional inertia, a recurrent challenge in humanitarian operations

4.4 Survivor Council Algorithmic Co-Design

The fourth methodological pillar ensures ethical, participatory governance through survivor councils that co-design and oversee algorithmic systems.

Participatory Governance Structures

Establish regional and global survivor councils with formal decision-making authority in algorithm design and alert governance

Embed survivor representatives within AI development teams to influence data selection, model tuning, and deployment strategies.

Bias Mitigation & Continuous Review

Conduct iterative review cycles where survivor councils, human rights experts, and data scientists evaluate AI outputs for false positives/negatives and gender or demographic bias

Publish model cards and audit findings to ensure transparency and scholarly replicability

Digital Knowledge Platform

Create an online toolkit that integrates “wisdom of the crowd” models, enabling survivors, responders, and researchers to share experiences, research, and tools

Archive monthly developments and enable real-time interaction through comment and annotation features

This approach operationalizes feminist political economy and algorithmic impact assessment principles by redistributing epistemic authority to those with lived experience and centering their leadership in technological governance

4.5 Ethical and Legal Safeguards

Across all methodological pillars, the Integrity Grid integrates privacy-by-design architecture, strict access controls, and independent audits. Data collection adheres to DPIA standards, and no personal identifiers are processed without explicit legal and ethical clearance Algorithmic errors are mitigated through human-in-the-loop protocols, preventing harmful automation in sensitive protection contexts

Section V Case Studies

5.1 Cyclone Amphan (2020): Climate Displacement and Exploitation

Cyclone Amphan, one of the strongest storms to hit the Bay of Bengal in decades, displaced millions across India and Bangladesh In its aftermath, human trafficking incidents surged, particularly affecting women and children Families facing sudden homelessness and economic precarity became vulnerable to traffickers exploiting gaps in protection systems.

Traditional response systems lagged, relying on post-disaster victim identification rather than anticipatory protection Under the Integrity Grid methodology, Phase 1 and Phase 2 predictive protection could have been applied retrospectively in the following ways:

Predictive Indicators: Meteorological warnings combined with mobility data (eg, sudden movements from high-risk coastal districts) would have triggered early alerts

72-Hour Activation Rule: Binding alerts could have obligated authorities to deploy trafficking patrols and relocate vulnerable groups within 72 hours of displacement spikes

Resource Matrix Activation: Color-coded dashboards would have enabled rapid coordination between NGOs, law enforcement, and community networks for victim protection.

Survivor Council Feedback: Regional survivor councils could have advised on gender-specific vulnerabilities during cyclone evacuations and recovery phases

This case illustrates how AI-enabled anticipatory systems could have prevented trafficking escalation, highlighting a critical gap the Integrity Grid addresses

5.2 The Sahel Region: Conflict, Climate, and Trafficking Corridors

The Sahel region has become a significant trafficking corridor due to a convergence of armed conflict, climate-induced displacement, and state fragility According to UNODC, trafficking networks exploit population movements across porous borders, targeting displaced communities and migrants seeking safer livelihoods. In addition, the collection of granular victim-perpetrator data elements generated from emergency response teams and field agents, through a multiagency framework, will facilitate a more nuanced and comprehensive representation of the data This approach is essential for enhancing analytical capabilities and fostering a deeper understanding of the complexities involved in such incidents

The Sahel case underscores the need for multi-scalar predictive systems:

Cross-Border Data Integration: Satellite monitoring and mobility pattern analysis could identify unusual flows along known trafficking routes

Inter-Agency Trigger Alerts: A shared AI platform among Sahelian states, UN agencies, and NGOs could trigger synchronized actions, such as tightening patrols or deploying mobile survivor support units.

Localized Survivor Councils: Councils composed of survivors from Sahelian communities would inform culturally sensitive algorithm parameters and flag emerging trafficking tactics

Given the complex adaptive nature of Sahelian trafficking networks, a multi-phase, iterative predictive framework like the Integrity Grid offers a replicable methodology to bridge data, governance, and lived experience.

5.3 WFP HungerMap LIVE: Predictive Analytics in Humanitarian Response

The World Food Programme’s HungerMap LIVE platform is an operational proof-of-concept for predictive humanitarian action. It leverages AI and satellite data to monitor and forecast food insecurity, enabling anticipatory measures before crises escalate

Applying the Integrity Grid framework to trafficking prevention:

Phase 1 (Technical Validation): Historical food insecurity data could be cross-analyzed with trafficking incident records to identify lagging and leading indicators of exploitation.

Phase 2 (Operational Pilots): HungerMap LIVE’s existing predictive infrastructure could be expanded to include human trafficking risk layers, using the universal data identifier matrix

Phase 3 (Evaluation): Independent audits would assess whether trafficking alerts generated via integrated food and mobility indicators improve response times and reduce victimization rates

This demonstrates how existing AI early warning systems can be strategically augmented to address exploitation dynamics, avoiding duplicative structures and leveraging existing multilateral investments

5.4 Synthesis: Methodology-to-Practice Interface

Across these cases, three methodological insights emerge:

1.Timeliness and Predictive Precision are critical. Delays in activation allow traffickers to exploit displaced populations before protective mechanisms are in place

2 Governance Triggers and Survivor Councils ensure that predictive alerts translate into accountable action, not just data points

3 Integration with Existing Humanitarian Infrastructure (eg, WFP, UNHCR) makes scaling feasible without creating parallel bureaucracies.

These cases validate the Integrity Grid as a replicable methodological model that strengthens early warning and survivor-centered protection in real-world crisis contexts

Section VI Risks & Mitigation Strategies

The deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) in humanitarian protection introduces significant technical, ethical, and governance risks. For predictive protection frameworks such as the Integrity Grid to function credibly and sustainably, these risks must be systematically identified, assessed, and mitigated This section outlines three major risk domains and the corresponding mitigation strategies embedded in the Integrity Grid’s methodological design

6.1 Technical Risks: Data Quality, Algorithmic Bias, and Predictive Error

Risk Description

AI models are only as reliable as the data they are trained on. In humanitarian contexts, datasets are often incomplete, inconsistent, or biased, particularly regarding gender, displacement, and trafficking dynamics. Vulnerable groups including rural women, Indigenous communities, and informal migrants are frequently underrepresented This can produce false negatives, leaving at-risk populations invisible to predictive systems, or false positives, leading to misallocation of scarce resources and erosion of trust.

Mitigation Measures

Model Cards and Subgroup Performance Audits: The Integrity Grid mandates model documentation with disaggregated precision and recall metrics to detect bias early (Phase1)

Survivor Council Algorithmic Oversight: Survivors participate in reviewing alerts to contextualize algorithm outputs and correct false signals (Phase 2 and 3).

Iterative Learning Loops: Continuous model updates incorporate new, localized data streams to address drift and emergent trafficking tactics

Multiple Data Modalities: Integration of satellite, mobility, and survivor-led reporting ensures diversity of inputs, reducing dependence on any single biased dataset

6.2 Privacy and Data Protection Risks

Risk Description

Humanitarian predictive systems often process sensitive information mobility flows, geolocation, or survivor-reported incidents that, if misused or exposed, could place individuals at further risk Aggregating such data without strong privacy protections may contravene international data protection standards, compromise survivor safety, and undermine trust.

Mitigation Measures

Privacy-by-Design Architecture: Personal identifiers are excluded unless Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) explicitly authorize their use

Access Controls and Encryption: Multi-layered security protocols protect data at rest and in transit, following UN and EU data protection guidelines.

Independent Privacy Audits: Regular external reviews evaluate compliance with legal frameworks and ethical standards

Survivor Consent Protocols: Survivor reporting mechanisms include transparent informed consent, ensuring data agency

6.3 Institutional and Governance Risks

Risk Description

Even the most advanced predictive systems fail without governance mechanisms that enforce timely action Bureaucratic inertia, political sensitivities, fragmented coordination between agencies, and unclear lines of responsibility often delay humanitarian responses, allowing traffickers to exploit protection gaps

Mitigation Measures

Binding Trigger Alerts: The Integrity Grid’s 72-hour activation rule obligates governments and multilateral actors to act once thresholds are met, reducing discretion-based delays

Accountability Dashboard: Public tracking of alerts and response times introduces transparency and peer pressure to comply

Survivor and Civil Society Oversight: Survivor councils and NGOs can flag non-compliance, triggering escalation to independent oversight bodies.

Institutional Embedding: Integrating SOPs into national disaster risk management frameworks ensures predictive alerts are not treated as optional add-ons but as operational mandates

6.4 Operational Sustainability Risks

Risk Description

Humanitarian AI systems require long-term funding, technical expertise, and institutional commitment Without sustained resources, systems degrade, updates lapse, and protection gaps re-emerge

Mitigation Measures

Costed Pilot-to-Scale Framework: The Integrity Grid’s phased approach includes itemized budgeting for cloud infrastructure, personnel, audits, and M&E

Pooled Funding and Private Sector Co-Investment: Engagement with multilateral funds and private technology actors supports financial sustainability

Interoperability with Existing Platforms: Leveraging WFP and UNHCR infrastructures minimizes duplication and ensures economies of scale.

6.5 Synthesis

The Integrity Grid treats risk management not as a peripheral concern, but as a methodological core By embedding bias audits, privacy safeguards, and governance triggers into each phase of deployment, the framework creates ethical, accountable, and adaptive predictive protection systems. These strategies reflect algorithmic impact assessment principles, feminist political economy insights on power and inclusion, and complex adaptive systems theory, ensuring both technical robustness and survivor-centered legitimacy

Section VII Recommendations & UN Reform Agenda (2025–2030)

The Integrity Grid is not merely a technological proposal; it is a governance and policy innovation designed to strengthen the international system’s capacity to anticipate, prevent, and respond to trafficking and displacement crises This section outlines strategic recommendations for operationalizing the Integrity Grid within the 2025–2030 UN reform agenda, ensuring alignment with the Palermo Protocol, UNSCR 1325, and SDGs 5, 10, 13, and 16.

7.1 Member States

Ratify and Implement an Integrity Protocol

Integrate the Integrity Grid into national disaster risk management and anti-trafficking strategies through formal protocols This includes embedding predictive alerts within National Action Plans (NAPs) under UNSCR 1325, ensuring legal obligations for activation and response

Allocate National Budgets for Anticipatory Action

Move beyond donor dependency by dedicating domestic funds to AI early warning integration, survivor council operations, and accountability mechanisms

Legislate Binding Timelines

Codify the 72-hour activation rule into domestic legal frameworks, ensuring that alerts generate mandatory actions by relevant agencies, rather than discretionary responses

Cross-Border Coordination

Particularly in regions like the Sahel, Member States should establish joint early-warning task forces to share data and synchronize predictive interventions across borders

7.2 UN Agencies and Multilateral Institutions

Develop Interoperable Systems for Data Sharing

Build on existing infrastructures such as WFP HungerMap LIVE and UNHCR early warning systems by integrating trafficking risk layers and survivor-led governance components

Create Rapid Response Funds for Predictive Protection

Allocate pre-approved, flexible financing to ensure that once alerts are triggered, funds for relocation, patrols, or survivor services can be deployed immediately

Institutionalize Survivor Councils

Establish survivor councils within UN frameworks (e.g., UNODC, UN Women, OCHA) with formal advisory and oversight mandates on predictive protection systems.

Support Standardization and Ethical Guidelines

Develop UN-wide standards for algorithmic transparency, privacy-by-design, and humanin-the-loop governance, ensuring consistency across humanitarian contexts

7.3 Civil Society and Survivor Networks

Lead Ground-Truthing and Validation

Civil society organizations and survivor-led groups are essential for validating predictive alerts against ground realities, ensuring cultural and contextual accuracy.

Embed Survivor Reporting into the Grid

Create structured pipelines for survivor-reported data to feed directly into predictive models, with clear consent and anonymization protocols

Shadow Reporting and Oversight

Monitor state and UN compliance with activation rules and publicly report delays, nonresponsiveness, or mismanagement, enhancing accountability through independent documentation

Participate in Algorithm Co-Design

Institutionalize the role of survivor networks in co-designing and periodically auditing algorithmic systems to ensure continued relevance and justice orientation

7.4 Donors and Private Sector

Fund Infrastructure for Predictive Protection

Prioritize investments in AI integration, data systems, survivor council capacity building, and governance dashboards

Ethical Data Collaborations

Telecom and satellite companies should collaborate on data-sharing agreements with robust privacy safeguards and ethical oversight, ensuring their technologies support rights-based interventions

Support Innovation Sandboxes

Establish co-funded testing environments where new predictive models, risk matrices, or governance mechanisms can be piloted in controlled, ethically reviewed settings

7.5 Global Normative Developments

Secretary-General’s Report and Task Force

Recommend that ECOSOC and the General Assembly request a Secretary-General’s report aggregating member states’ progress on technology-facilitated violence, trafficking, and predictive protection Establish a UN Task Force on Digital Justice for Women and Girls, empowered to consolidate model laws, publish preservation protocols, and set global benchmarks.

UN Reform Integration

Position predictive protection as a pillar of humanitarian reform, alongside anticipatory action and climate adaptation This involves mainstreaming Integrity Grid methodologies into Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) processes and humanitarian response plans.

7.6 Synthesis

These recommendations collectively shift the international anti-trafficking and displacement response from reactive to anticipatory, from fragmented to interoperable, and from technocratic to survivor-led. By integrating AI methodologies, quantitative risk frameworks, binding governance triggers, and survivor co-design, the UN system and Member States can address the structural and temporal gaps that traffickers currently exploit Operationalizing the Integrity Grid within the 2025–2030 UN reform agenda provides a pathway toward predictive, ethical, and accountable protection systems that align with both human rights obligations and technological realities.

References

Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre IDMC (2023) Global report on internal displacement Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre Retrieved from https://wwwinternal displacement.org/global-report/grid2023/

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime UNODC (2024) Global report on trafficking in persons United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Retrieved from https://wwwunodc org/unodc/en/dataand-analysis/glotiphtml

World Food Programme. WFP (2023). HungerMap LIVE: Predictive analytics for humanitarian response. World Food Programme. Retrieved from https://hungermap.wfp.org/

United Nations General Assembly UNGA (2000, November 15) Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children,(Palermo Protocol) Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime https://www.refworld.org/legal/agreements/unga/2000/en/23886

United Nations Security Council UNSC (2000) Resolution 1325 New York: United Nations https://wwwunorg/womenwatch/osagi/wps/

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime UNODC (2024) Rising concerns of climate, crime, and exploitation addressed at Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Side Event. https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/glo-act2/Countries/rising-concerns-ofclimate--crime-and-exploitation-addressed-at-commission-on-crime-prevention-and-criminaljustice-side-event html

UNODC (2023) Trafficking in the Sahel: Guns, Gas, and Gold https://www.unodc.org/unodc/frontpage/2023/May/trafficking-in-the-sahel -guns--gas--andgold.html

UNHCR (2024) Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees https://docsunorg/en/A/79/12

UNHCR. (2023). Global Trends Report 2023. https://www.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/202406/global-trends-report-2023pdf

Author:

Cathia Moon

Cathia A Moon is a PhD candidate in International Conflict Management at Kennesaw State University and a 5+ year experienced crime analyst at the University of New Mexico. Her research examines the intersections of community resilience, collective efficacy, participatory decision-making, and empowerment in a community context. Her orthcoming dissertation explores resilience frameworks in marginalized communities with an emphasis on community efficacy and empowerment. She has presented research at the Peace and Justice Studies Association, the Atlanta Peace Education Initiative: Spring 2021 AGSC Collaboratorium, the Association for Conflict Resolution: 2020 Vision Focusing Resolutions in an Imperfect Time Conference, and the Southern Criminal Justice Association. Her article, “First-time mediator stories: Keys to better training and mediator preparation” was published in Mediation Theory and Practice (2021). In addition to her academic research, she is committed to bridging the gap between scholarship and practice, emphasizing the value of community-based approaches to public safety and conflict resolution.

The Phantom of Empowerment: Rethinking Resilience in Community-Based Participatory Decision-Making for the

Women, Peace, and Security Agenda

Abstract

This theory-driven analysis offers a contribution to Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) by challenging resilience discourse in community-based participatory decision-making (CBPD) on a global, national, and regional scale Resilience has become a dominant discourse in CBPD, often presented as a pathway to empowerment through community adaptation and engagement. Yet when uncritically applied, resilience can mask structural inequalities creating the appearance of collective efficacy while leaving entrenched power hierarchies intact Drawing on critical theories of resilience, empowerment, and the Resourcefulness framework (MacKinnon & Derickson, 2012), this article examines how resilience discourse can maintain structural power under the guise of inclusion and empowerment rather than serving as a conflict transformative force

As an illustrative case, using preliminary insights from qualitative interviews and community documents from the Community Trust process implemented by a regional community action agency, this article explores how community-based participatory decision-making can, knowingly and unknowingly, simultaneously include some marginalized voices while still excluding others, raising urgent questions about the influence of resilience discourse This article serves as a foundation for a forthcoming dissertation study, that will extend these arguments through a multi-site qualitative case study of a dialogue-based intervention, analyzing how resilience discourse functions in practice and how claims of empowerment are constructed and contested In doing so, this article contributes to Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security, and Conflict Transformation (WCAPS) scholarship by questioning the role resilience in shaping future policies and challenging assumptions that participation automatically leads to empowerment This article is also intended for scholars and practitioners who design and evaluate community-based interventions and for those who seek a deeper understanding of the intersections between discourse, power, and practice In marking the 25 Years of UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security, this article calls for critical reflection on how resilience discourse shapes whose voices are recognized in peacebuilding processes and how empowerment is defined in practice.

Keywords: resilience, empowerment, Women Peace and Security, participatory decision-making, conflict transformation

Introduction

“Reaffirming the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peacebuilding and stressing the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security, and the need to increase their role in decision-making with regard to conflict prevention and resolution” (UN Security Council, 2000). Twenty-five years later and over 100 countries adopted Resolution 1325. We have seen woman make impacts across the globe as leaders, participating in peacekeeping operations, and participating in other vital roles to assist in maintaining global peace and security With any landmarking decisions, comes successes and critiques (Office of the Special Adviser on Gender, nd; UN Women HQ, 2025; Wisotzki & Paffenholz, 2025) After twenty-five years, has anything authentically changed or has this resolution only become a symbolism of change? In a climate of polarization and seeming backtracking of human rights, are policies like Resolution 1325 and others that promote inclusion going to survive? Further, the programs that are supported by these same policies that promote participation and collaboration, will the people who have experienced these inclusive programs that promoted resilience remain empowered?

Resilience has become a dominant discourse in many domestic and international-based programs In programs that follow community-based participatory decision-making (CBPD), the goal is to create resilient communities by providing a space for community members to collaborate, resolving their own conflicts, and thereby creating a conflict transformative system that empowers the people to remain resilient This method of building resilience makes the assumption that people who participate in the CBPD process will feel empowered to promote change within their community The idea that the community is empowered by making them more resilient distracts from the necessity that structural changes to address conflict must occur not only within the community, but externally as well. Are communities sustainably empowered for change when the external systems of power that the community has to operate in continues to promote inequality never addressing the root causes of conflict?

Thinking along those lines, does the goal of resilience act as an excuse to continue inequitable practices, upholding the exploitative power structures? Because the community is more resilient, then the inequitable systems can continue to cause harm or conflict because people are empowered to address the conflicts that arise. If there is no conflict or if the root causes of conflict are addressed how can the people within the community feel empowered and thereby be resilient? Are people being falsely empowered by being labeled as resilient when the same structural inequalities continue to exist? This conceptual analysis article will discuss the role of resilience discourse acting as a mask for structural inequalities acting as empowerment Critiquing the role of resilience discourse as a pathway to empowerment should cause practitioners and scholars alike to determine if they are empowering people for sustainable conflict transformation or if they have created, intentionally or unintentionally, false empowerment within communities that foster the power system that continues to marginalize groups Being aware of false empowerment and how resilience discourse feeds it will help shape future policies and challenge the idea that having more resilience does not always produce conflict transformative solutions.

Resilience, Empowerment, and the Resourcefulness Framework

Resilience is a multifaceted concept used across disciplines such as psychology, social work, public health, engineering, and disaster recovery It is often described as both a process and an outcome that reflects an individual's or community's capacity to adapt and recover from adversity (McCubbin, 2001; Southwick et al., 2014; Koliou et al., 2020). The definition and application of resilience can vary depending on the context. In psychology, it often refers to internal strengths; in community settings, it may refer to networks, institutions, and systems that contribute to wellbeing While many scholars highlight its value in promoting strength and adaptability, others critique the concept as overly individualistic and potentially problematic when it shifts responsibility away from structural reform

Resilience, a construct, can have different definitions based on academic context and social contexts and can act as an outcome or as a process (McCubbin, 2001; Southwick, et al, 2014) As described in McCubbin (2001), resilience is a general term about overcoming or bouncing back from adversity and adapting to the environment (Koliou, et al., 2018). Two elements are mentioned in defining resilience: exposure to a threat or adversity and accomplishing positive adaptation (McCubbin, 2001; Herman, et al, 2011) In further research, resilience has additional elements of having positive outcomes despite hardship, maintaining skills under stress, and recovery reduction time (McCubbin, 2001; Koliou, et al, 2018) As an outcome, resilience examines the risk factors and the subsequent results.

As a process, resilience acts as a factor that influences or moderates the relationship between risk factors and outcomes (McCubbin, 2001) It is also important to note that individual and community or group resilience have some the same characteristics In general, what resilience means for an individual and potentially for a group or community changes over time as experience and knowledge is gained and varies within different cultures (McCubbin, 2001; Southwick, et al., 2014; Denckla, et al., 2020). Focusing on community, resilience in context to social systems looks at how well the community uses physical and economic resources with little to no dependence on external resources including their ability to retain the basic structure and ways of functioning, the ability to self-organize, and prepare for disturbances (Koliou, et al, 2018) Because of the variation of factors that contribute to how resilience is defined and operationalized the outcomes can be positive or negative which can make defining resilience difficult.

Resilience Discourse

As defining resilience can be difficult based on the context, the discourse of resilience becomes complex as well A growing body of critical scholarship interrogates how resilience functions as a discourse. MacKinnon and Derickson (2012) argue that resilience is frequently used to mask systemic issues, placing the burden of adaptation on marginalized communities while ignoring underlying causes of vulnerability This neoliberal framing of resilience aligns with broader narratives of self-responsibilization, where individuals and communities are expected to "bounce back" with or without inadequate or non-sustainable institutional support

False Empowerment

When people take part in interventions and promoting resilience is one of the objectives, sometimes a corresponding goal is how to empower the community toward change From the business, women and feminist studies, and student success literature, empowerment, on a community level, provides people with the ability to make their own decisions about concerns in their environment (Ciulla & Ciulla, 2020; Nelson 2018; Sobieraj & Humphreys, 2021) People will feel empowered and believe the work they are doing is changing life for the better because the power dynamic relationship changes between each other and those that have power.

There is a sense of trust between the empowered and those empowering (Goody & Simons, 2018; Ciulla, 2020; Sobieraj & Humphreys, 2021) The dark side of empowerment is when leadership, intentional or unintentional, gives people a false sense of empowerment, or false empowerment. False empowerment looks like motivating people saying they have the capacity and personal resources to overcome or adapt to any obstacle (resilience) but can cause people to feel discouraged and not capable because they did not meet an expected goal (Nelson, 2018) Simply encouraging people to work harder does not mean you will overcome hardship, especially if there are factors that the people cannot control or their ability to choose is taken (Sobieraj & Humphreys, 2021). False empowerment or referred to as bogus empowerment, is when leadership gives followers figurative power not changing the power dynamics between leadership and followers; the leadership remains in power (Ciulla, 2020; Sobieraj & Humphreys, 2021)

In other words, those who hold the power will give people choices/options, but if the shared choice by the group is not acted upon by the leadership, then the capability or power to choose becomes useless. Hence the relationship is unchanged, and nothing changes for the people. It takes both parties to create the change In business/labour literature, leadership gives power for favor and self-gain (Ciulla, 2020) False empowerment is a method for people to not deprioritize inequality, or social structures that contribute to why people are marginalized (Wilson, 2021; Sobieraj & Humphreys, 2021)

Participatory Dialogue in Community-based Interventions

Participatory processes (PP) help build citizen capacity to cope with conflict by building confidence and skills (Pincock, 2012; Pincock, 2013; Kincaid, et al, 2009) Participatory dialogue is a balanced two-way process of communication (Kincaid, et al, 2009) As a part of building the capacity to cope with conflict, participatory processes have the assumption to reinforce citizen engagement. This citizen engagement is focused on people making collective decisions about shared concerns and/or issues. As used in participatory development, community members have the goal of determining outcomes for themselves (Kincaid, et al, 2009) These collective decisions are more easily made in smaller groups The participatory process is developed through iterations Mediation as a part of the iteration helps people develop empowerment, perspective taking, and reconciliation

As people experience the participatory process more, it increases inclusivity and diversity, decreasing the intensity of the conflict and anything that would irritate more conflict (Kincaid, et al, 2009) To quote Pateman (2012), “individuals learn to participate by participating” (10) The iterative process also promotes mutual respect and a sense of community Related to the participatory process, deliberation has the goals of producing engagement, tolerance, understanding of preferences, identifying common interests, empowerment, and social capital (Pincock, 2012). Like transformative mediation, which uses participatory process, also promotes efficacy, understanding self and other interests, and build positive relationships (Pincock, 2012; Kincaid, et al, 2009)

Power sharing is an element that should be considered Something interesting that Pateman (2012) says is that for participatory processes to be more successful, changes within the community, as I am using it, need to be structural. Context is important when considering the effectiveness of dialogue and collective action (Kincaid, et al., 2009).

Resourcefulness Framework

Resourcefulness is a framework used in human geographical research Resourcefulness is an alternative perspective to resilience According to MacKinnon and Derickson (2012), resilience is a concept used in and promotes capitalism in social spaces that are vulnerable to disruption to support the capitalist system. To quote, “resilience of capitalism is achieved at the expense of certain social groups and regions that bear the costs of periodic waves of adaptation and restructuring” (254) In other words, the concept of resilience in capitalistic social systems is to produce and reproduce systems of inequality and conflict so that the capitalistic social system can continue to thrive Resourcefulness seeks to encourage communities to participate in dialogue to develop methods that benefit the community and challenge the power dynamics with their current social system. Resources, skillsets and technical knowledge, indigenous and folk knowledge, and recognition are the four key elements of resourcefulness (MacKinnon and Derickson, 2012) In the Housel, et al (2018) case study completed in Dayton, Ohio, the researchers used the theory of intentional recognition to measure resourcefulness The intervention used, examined how immigrants were welcomed into the community As a part of the welcoming process, social structures had to be changed with the goal of having shared humanity with immigrants and recognizing their agency.

Illustrative Case: Community Trust Process

This article draws from a portion of the upcoming dissertation of (Moon, 2025) qualitative materials from the JFCAC Community Trust initiative (2019-2021), including semi-structured interviews with community members and staff, as well as secondary data collected during the intervention (i.e., meeting notes, surveys, artifacts). Thematic analysis identified patterns focused on how participants described resilience, empowerment, and inclusion The Resourcefulness framework provided a theoretical lens for interpreting these themes

“Helping people help themselves and each other” is one of the principles promoted in the Jefferson Franklin Community Action Corporation (JFCAC) operating in Hillsboro, Missouri, an initiative funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services in conjunction with the Missouri Department of Social Services The JFCAC is a non-profit organization established in 1965 under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 The JFCAC is a part of a nationwide network combatting poverty through programs designed to adapt to specific community needs (JFCAC, 2020)

Assisting low-income families, the JFCAC had a unique opportunity to implement a Community Trust process to empower families and improve the quality of life for those living in poverty The Community Trust process is based on the participatory dialogue decision-making process, like the Community Trust initiative completed in Clarkston, Georgia (Hayes, 2017; Hayes, 2015).

Modeled from participatory budgeting, which fairs from participatory democracy, the Community Trust process focuses on participatory dialogue to ensure that all opinions about a chosen concern are heard A key perspective of participatory budgeting, like in the Community Trust process, is the idea that the process “tries to break away” from the power dynamics found within social systems of inequality and conflict (de Sousa Santos, 1998). In the case of participatory budgeting in Porto Alegre, Brasil, the community wanted to change from an authoritarian patrimonial tradition of public policy to a democratic process where community members can participate in making decisions on how funds are used, especially for the marginalized within society (de Sousa Santos, 1998) Participatory budgeting (PB) follows three principles: 1) all members of the community have the right to participate, 2) participation by community members is managed by democratic based rules which are established by those participating, and 3) funding for projects are provided based on an objective method that uses general criteria developed by a participatory institution to identify priorities considering the technical and economic feasibility The institutions under participatory budgeting administrative units which are government-based organizations, community organizations, and regularly functioning institutions of community participation. Again, the aim of participatory budgeting is to build and sustain a cooperative system that allows for both government and the community to make decisions together on how to allocate funds and hold the government accountable in executing agreed upon decisions

The participatory process in PB, as described by de Sousa Santos (1998), begins with having multiple groups of government agencies and community organizations. The participants meet repeatedly, an iterative process, to discuss how funds would be used within the Porto Alegre community In Porto Alegre, the government was directly involved

In similar fashion and revised to fit their context, the JFCAC used the Community Trust process in rural Jefferson and Franklin County, Missouri In this case, the government was not directly involved, but participants from the selected cities were either already aware of JFCAC, involved in community work, or had an interest in improving their community. The JFCAC identified four different communities in Jefferson and Franklin County, Missouri to participate in the Community Trust process, inviting and providing a space for community members to dialogue and decide what a thriving community means to them

As a part of the Community Trust process the members that participate have a series of community meetings to identify a project that helps them achieve their vision of the community

The meetings included prioritizing project ideas (initial Community Trust Meetings), selecting one of the projects to implement within the community (Trust prioritization meetings), community member elected trustees to manage the chosen project (Trustee selection), seed funding provided by JFCAC (Next Steps Meetings, Final Next Step Meeting) and pursue investment monies as needed (Community Trust Funding)

Initial Community Trust Meetings

Small, randomized groups of community residents 16+ years old who live within the specific school district will brainstorm and share ideas concerning ways to enhance the vibrancy and resiliency of the community so that all residents may thrive

Trust Prioritization Meeting

Small, randomized groups of community residents 16+ years old who live within one of four school districts will work through a consensus-based process of discussion and ranking to identify a community theme, or area of emphasis, for the year based on thoughts and ideas shared at the initial community trust meetings From the selected area of emphasis, a community project will be chosen

Trustee Selection

Each small group identifies a person from its group and a person “not at the table” or “not in the room” as “Trustees” Non-resident Trustees must own a business, or work, in the community and be 16+ years old Such a process ensures that at least 50% of Trustees are residents, allows for organization/agency representatives (those “not in the room”) to be considered for Trustee roles, and provides for proportional representation (ie the number of Trustees increases/decreases based on the number of individuals participating in the initial Trust meeting).

Next Steps Meetings

Following the Trustee Selection meeting, Trustees host a series of “next steps” sessions to invite/consider project proposals based on the theme/emphasis chosen at the initial Trust meeting Trustees use a consensus-based discussion process to select some number of projects (4-6) to present back to the community at a final Next Step meeting.

Final Next Step Meeting

At this meeting, community residents select a project to be undertaken from the proposals presented by the Trustees Trustees then craft a plan for project funding and implementation, meet as needed to fund and/or implement the project, and report back to the community the completion of funding and implementation (at the following year's Community Trust event, if not sooner).

Community Trust Funding

The Trust is implemented with seed funding from JFCAC, then sustained by individual donations from residents and businesses that may be eligible for a tax benefit for the donation as well as the benefit of “owning” the decision-process related to Trust fund allocation(s), by possible grant “matches,” and by revenues generated by local economic activity (ex, buy-local campaigns in which a portion of sales revenue is designated for Trust use) Utilizing multiple sources of funding in this way would not only sustain the Trust fund but also increase the fund over time

Policy and Practice Implications

During the Community Trust process there were some indicators that there was a struggle to get community members to participate in the process Some preliminary findings suggest that there was a communication gap between the JFCAC and the community due to lack of or weakened technological access, one participant sharing the need to “improve internet access” and how “mobile hotspots do not work” (Moon, 2025) The participants expressed the need to include the youth and elderly while needing to provide for basic needs. In each community, the participants identified a group that was not included in the Community Trust process including youth from the local college and one participant wanted to potentially “disconnect from low-income, poor environments” (Moon, 2025) In other meetings, as people met multiple times, it was expressed that an inclusive community needs to make sure that everyone is included in this process but also in building a resilient community sharing “no matter their walk of life” (Moon, 2025)

The different communities had different needs that needed to be met, those that participated expressed what was needed and in doing so identified places of inclusion and exclusion Interestingly, some of the final projects that emerged from the Community Trust process did not resolve basic need issues or other issues that would be considered an important aspect in creating a resilient community, ie one community had participants clearly indicate a need for eye healthcare, yet the resulting project was a school track (Moon, 2025). In another community, there was a large lot that wasn’t being used. The participants wanted to use that space to enhance the community, but they noted that there was a lot of “red tape” hindering them from using the property to benefit the community (Moon, 2025)

It should be noted that while creating a space that encourages dialogue and strategies for conflict transformation, WPS and similar organizations need to be cognizant of making sure that their approaches are not falsely empowering those they are working with in the name of making them more resilient As shared in some preliminary research, the participants from various communities were aware of their needs, and described what inclusion and resilience meant to them, yet finalized projects did not address the basic needs of the community, making them further susceptible to new problems and dealing with the same issues as before The participants potentially felt “empowered” because, through the Community Trust process, their voices were heard and they experienced a democratic process of selecting their projects, but I argue that they were falsely empowered because the same issues that the participants expressed were problems

within the community and even what they felt defined a resilient and inclusive community was not addressed The final project was like a band-aid to distract from the real issues plaguing the community and the same power dynamics and structural issues remained.

Similar patterns appear in other participatory and WPS-related initiatives where dialogue, inclusion, and resilience are emphasized but deeper structural changes move more slowly These recurring challenges, especially around representation, evaluation, and accountability, indicate that the gap between participation and tangible impact is not unique to one program but reflects broader systemic barriers. The Community Trust process first conducted and completed, in Clarkston, Georgia while done in an urban and largely immigrant community (Hayes, 2017; Hayes, 2015) There were similar challenges with inclusion as issues of childcare and language barriers needed to be addressed They also recognized that they needed to follow more purposeful participant recruit strategies Additional issues with inclusion included considering the meeting locations and times to accommodate as many participants as possible There was not only a challenge of inclusion in the sense of participation, but also in assuring all members of community participating in the Community Trust process understood what they were voting for. In this Clarkston case, the participants came from various cultural backgrounds and languages (Hayes, 2017) Translators were used to improve communication between participants so that the participants could continue through the Community Trust process

These disconnections reflect larger structural limitations that affect what community-based programs can genuinely accomplish. Even when participation is strong, through collaborative decision-making concerning funding and the allocations of resources, there are policies and other priorities that often remain outside community control The resourcefulness framework calls for community-based programs and interventions to evaluate their outcomes As a result, people may feel empowered through participation, but the external systems that contribute to inequality remain unchanged, allowing the same patterns to continue. Strong community processes or even communities deemed more resilient after implementing an intervention with the goal of increasing resilience, cannot overcome structural barriers unaided

It is important to consider who may still be left out of these processes Even within participatory frameworks, some groups like youth, older adults, low-income residents, or those without reliable internet access may remain excluded from full participation. Recognizing these layered exclusions is necessary to make empowerment both authentic and transformative.

If resilience is to remain a part of WPS programming on a local or global scale, it must be reframed in ways that focus on both structural change and community strength This means shifting policy language from celebrating women in the community’s ability to “bounce back” to ensuring systems of power remove the barriers that force them to do so repeatedly.

For example, instead of praising women’s resilience in rebuilding communities after conflict, programs could highlight equitable access to resources, land rights, and decision-making power, by transforming resilience from a coping mechanism (i.e. false empowerment) into an indicator of structural empowerment. Monitoring and evaluation frameworks can also be adapted to track not only women’s participation rates but also whether participation leads to measurable shifts in power, representation, and protection (UN Women, 2020) By considering the resourcefulness framework and reframing WPS policy, we can avoid perpetuating false empowerment and instead align resilience discourse with the original transformative intent of UNSCR 1325

Literature Review

As researchers and practitioners of conflict transformation with the goal of promoting global positive peace and security, it is important to critique aspects of resilience and inclusive concepts and what they mean Programming outcomes with goals of, for example, increasing participation or building resilience, are a good goal to have, but it is also imperative that the unintentional outcomes are recognized, and steps are taken to divert those outcomes as much as possible. For this more detailed and upcoming study (Moon, 2025) on resilience discourse and false empowerment, to have sustainable conflict transformation within a community, it is important to consider how resilience is used as a mask to cover issues that are vital to community well-being thereby leaving the systems in power intact The people in the community felt empowered for several months and selected a project that was perceived as a benefit to the community, but temporarily. Just because community members have voiced their concerns and recognize their needs, it does not mean that their final choice or the intervention outcome positively transforms conflict within the community

References

Ciulla, J. B. (2020). Leadership and the problem of bogus empowerment. The search for ethics in leadership, business, and beyond, 177-195.

Coy, PG and Hedeen, T (2005), A STAGE MODEL OF SOCIAL MOVEMENT CO- OPTATION: Community Mediation in the United States Sociological Quarterly, 46: 405-435 https://doiorg/101111/j1533-8525 200500020x

de Sousa Santos, B. (1998). Participatory Budgeting in Porto Alegre: Toward a Redistributive Democracy Politics & Society, 26, 461 - 510

Denckla, C A , Cicchetti, D, Kubzansky, L D, Seedat, S , Teicher, M H, Williams, D R, & Koenen, K C (2020) Psychological resilience: An update on definitions, a critical appraisal, and research recommendations. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 11(1), 1822064.

Goody, K and Simons, T (April 16, 2018) Taking aim at false empowerment: How leaders can build a culture of trust Cornell SC Johnson College of Business https://businesscornelledu/hub/2018/04/16/false-empowerment-leaders-build-trust/

Hayes, Sherrill. (2015). Analysis of the CDF Clarkston Early Learning Community Trust Process Phase I. 10.13140/RG.2.1.1066.0725

Hayes, Sherrill (2017) Clarkston Families Decide Project - Phase 3 evaluation 1013140/RG 2 2 2763955207

Herrman H, Stewart DE, Diaz-Granados N, Berger EL, Jackson B, Yuen T. What is Resilience? The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. 2011;56(5):258-265. doi:10.1177/070674371105600504

Housel, J, Saxen, C , & Wahlrab, T (2018) Experiencing intentional recognition: Welcoming immigrants in Dayton, Ohio, 55(2), 384-405 doi: 101177/0042098016653724

Jefferson Franklin Community Action Corporation. (2020). Jefferson Franklin Community Action Corporation (JFCAC). https://www.jfcac.org/

Kincaid, D L , & Figueroa, M E (2009) Communication for participatory development: Dialogue, action, and change In Routledge handbook of applied communication research (pp506-531) Routledge

Koliou, M, van de Lindt, J W, McAllister, T P, Ellingwood, B R, Dillard, M, & Cutler, H (2018) State of the research in community resilience: progress and challenges Sustainable and resilient infrastructure, No Volume, 10.1080/23789689.2017.1418547. https://doi.org/10.1080/23789689.2017.1418547

MacKinnon, D and Derickson, KD (2012) From resilience to resourcefulness: A critique of resilience policy and activism, 37(2), 253-270 doi: 101177/0309132512454775

McCubbin, L. (2001). Challenges to the Definition of Resilience. Moon, C. (2025). A Sheep in Wolf Clothing: The Façade of Resilience as Empowerment in a Participatory Dialogue-Based Community Intervention [Unpublished doctoral dissertation in progress] Kennesaw State University

Nelson, R (2018) Failing with Student Success: The Hidden Role of Bad Luck and False Empowerment. Higher Education Research and Development, 37(5), 1050–1061. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2018.1462306

Office of the Special Adviser on Gender (nd) Landmark resolution on Women, Peace, and Security OSAGI https://wwwunorg/womenwatch/osagi/wps/

Pateman, C. (2012). Participatory democracy revisited. Perspectives on politics, 10(1), 7-19.

Pincock, H (2012) Does deliberation make better citizens? In Democracy in motion: Evaluating the practice and impact of deliberative civic engagement, 135 -162

Pincock, H (2013) Does mediation make us better? Exploring the capacity-building potential of community mediation. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 31 (1), 3-30. DOI: 10.1002/crq.21077

Retrieved on May 15, 2024 Sobieraj, S , & Humphreys, L (2021) Forced empowerment and the paradox of mobile dating apps Social Media+ Society, 7(4), 20563051211068130

Southwick, S M, Bonanno, G A , Masten, A S , Panter-Brick, C , & Yehuda, R (2014)

Resilience definitions, theory, and challenges: interdisciplinary perspectives. European journal of psychotraumatology, 5(1), 25338

UN Women HQ (2025, September 01) In Focus: 25 years of the women, peace, and security agenda in asia and the pacific in 2025 UN Women Asia and the Pacific https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/stories/in-focus/2024/10/in-focus-25-years-of-the-womenpeace-and-security-age

United Nations Security Council (2000) Resolution 1325 (Resolution No S/RES/1325) https://documentsunorg/doc/undoc/gen/n00/720/18/pdf/n0072018 pdf

Wilson, Lee. (2021). Why They Know Not What They Do: A Social Constructionist Approach to the Explanatory Problem of False Consciousness Journal of Social Ontology, 7(1), 45–72 https://doiorg/101515/jso-2020-0012

Wisotzki, S & Paffenholz, T (2025, July 17) Title of blog post in italics 25 Years of 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS: Birthday Party or Funeral? https://blog.prif.org/en/2025/07/17/25-yearsof-unscr-1325-on-women-peace-and-security-wps-birthday-party-or-funeral/

Elomo Jemea Mokwe

Elomo Jemea Mokwe is a scholar-practitioner specializing in international law, peacebuilding, and women’s human rights. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Winning Woman Africa, an organization dedicated to advancing gender justice and community resilience. She holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and a Bachelor’s degree in Common Law, and is currently engaged in studies on International Law and dispute settlement at UNITAR/UPeace. Her work bridges academia, advocacy, and grassroots engagement, amplifying African women’s voices in global peace and security debates.

The Role of Grassroots Women’s Movements and Civil Society in Advancing the WPS Agenda

Abstract

Since the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000, grassroots women’s movements and civil society organizations have played a pivotal role in operationalizing the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda This paper examines the contributions of grassroots actors as co-authors, rather than mere implementers, of WPS in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Using a comparative case study approach, it focuses on the Women for Women International program in conflict-affected northern Uganda, the Mothers for Peace initiative in Sri Lanka, and the Kenya Women’s Peace Network (KWPN), mapping their interventions across the UNSCR 1325 pillars: participation, protection, prevention, and relief & recovery Methodologically, the study combines qualitative interviews with local leaders, program evaluation reports, and secondary literature Evidence is analyzed to assess outcomes such as increased women’s participation in local governance, reduction in community-level gender-based violence, and the establishment of peacebuilding networks The paper also addresses structural constraints, including shrinking civic space, donor withdrawal, and co-optation within securitized frameworks, and proposes strategies for sustaining grassroots-led WPS implementation. Findings underscore that local women’s movements not only implement WPS commitments but shape their interpretation, localization, and sustainability. By centering community-led agency, the paper contributes to policy debates on strengthening WPS frameworks in fragile contexts and offers practical recommendations for international actors, governments, and civil society alike

Keywords: Grassroots Women’s Movements, Women, Peace and Security (WPS), UNSCR 1325, Participation, Protection, Prevention, Relief and Recovery, Gender-Based Violence (GBV), Peacebuilding, Reconciliation, Local agency, Community Dialogue, Post-Conflict recovery, Feminist Peacebuilding, Intersectionality, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Empowerment, Inclusion, Sustainable Peace, Leadership

Introduction

In October 2000, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325), which formally established the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda in October 2000, upon recognition of the disproportionate impact of armed conflict on women and girls after so many years, while affirming their critical role in conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and post-conflict recovery 1 Twenty-five years later, the WPS framework stands as both a normative milestone and a contested site of practice, as it is still deeply debated, unevenly applied, and politically contested Although its four pillars, participation, protection, prevention, and relief & recovery have shaped national action plans, donor strategies, and international programming, much reflection is still required on persistent gaps between global commitments and lived realities in conflict-affected contexts.One main gap lies in the tension between top-down implementation of WPS and the often overlooked role of grassroots women’s movements For instance, while governments and international organizations have created strategies to implement the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, their approaches often risk tokenism by treating women’s participation as a symbolic gesture or a tool to achieve other goals This overlooks the central role of grassroots women’s movements and civil society organizations, which are not merely implementers of UNSCR 1325 but co-authors of its meaning and practice Through sustained advocacy and their lived experiences in conflict and peacebuilding, local women have shaped both the content and evolution of the WPS framework, ensuring that it reflects real community needs and priorities rather than remaining a top-down policy instrument.These actors play a key role in translating abstract international norms into culturally resonant and locally sustainable interventions, whether through mediating community disputes, monitoring gender-based violence, or building peace across ethnic and political divides 2

1 United Nations Security Council (2000) Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security S/RES/1325 United Nations

2 Tripp, A M (2015) Women and Power in Post-Conflict Africa Cambridge University Press

This paper argues that grassroots women’s movements are indispensable to advancing the WPS agenda They are key players in transforming international norms into tangible local realities Thus, making peace processes more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient The thesis is twofold: firstly, that grassroots movements are essential co-authors of the WPS agenda, and secondly, that sustainable peace requires amplifying their voices within both national and international frameworks The paper is structured in five parts, including an introduction and a literature review that examines scholarly and policy debates on WPS, highlighting gaps with regard to grassroots agency The methodology outlines the comparative case study approach across Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The case study analysis presents empirical evidence from Uganda, Kenya, Cameroon, and Sri Lanka, mapping interventions against the four WPS pillars. The discussion section critically examines the challenges of co-optation, shrinking civic space, and donor dependency Finally, the conclusion and recommendations propose pathways for strengthening the role of grassroots women’s movements in shaping the next 25 years of WPS

Literature Review

The Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda is anchored on four interrelated pillars, namely: participation, protection, prevention, and relief & recovery The participation pillar emphasizes the need for women’s inclusion in peace negotiations, political processes, and governance structures The protection pillar calls for safeguarding women and girls from gender-based violence and ensuring their human rights are protected in conflict and post-conflict settings The prevention pillar underscores addressing root causes of conflict and preventing the recurrence of violence, including through gendersensitive early warning mechanisms. Finally, the relief & recovery pillar highlights women’s needs and leadership in post-conflict reconstruction, humanitarian response, and transitional justice processes3 Despite the wide reach of this framework, research has highlighted gaps in its implementation, with much of the academic and policy focus remaining on state-centric approaches, such as National Action Plans (NAPs), high-level negotiations, and formal institutional mechanisms4 While these measures are essential, the critical role of grassroots women’s movements and local civil society organizations is often left out or overooked. As a result, the agency of community based actors who play a role in translating global norms into practical, context-specific strategies lacks adequate scholarly attention5 Civil society has nonetheless proven central to advancing WPS principles Local organizations often act as advocates, pressing governments to adopt and implement gender-sensitive policies They equally serve as monitors, tracking compliance with international commitments and documenting women’s experiences in conflict-affected contexts. At the community level, civil society facilitates interventions such as mediation, early-warning networks, trauma healing, and the provision of essential services.6 These roles position grassroots actors as indispensable intermediaries between international frameworks and local realities

3 United Nations Security Council (2000) Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security S/RES/1325 United Nations

4 Shepherd, L J (2021) The Women, Peace and Security Agenda: A Politics of Institutionalization Routledge

5 True, J (2012) The Political Economy of Violence Against Women Oxford University Press

6 Moser, C., & Clark, F. (2001). Victims, Perpetrators or Actors? Gender, Armed Conflict and Political Violence. Zed Books.

Another key dimension in academic work on WPS is intersectionality. The experiences of women in conflict cannot be reduced to gender alone; they are shaped by overlapping structures of inequality, including race, ethnicity, class, disability, sexuality, and age 7 Intersectional approaches highlight that if these overlapping vulnerabilities are not addressed, Women, Peace and Security (WPS) initiatives may end up benefiting only elite women or reinforcing existing inequalities, thereby limiting the inclusiveness and sustainability of peace processes The literature therefore demonstrates that while the WPS agenda has established a powerful normative framework, meaningful progress requires centering grassroots women and civil society because they not only localize international norms but also advance intersectional inclusion, thereby broadening the transformative potential of UNSCR 1325.

Methodology

This study adopts a comparative qualitative case study approach, suitable for capturing the depth, nuance, and contextual specificities of grassroots women’s movements, which are not easily measurable through quantitative indicators alone.8 Comparative analysis helps to identify both shared strategies and region-specific adaptations in advancing the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda. Case selection was conducted through purposive sampling, focusing on four illustrative grassroots movements with demonstrable engagement in the four WPS pillars and measurable community level impact 9 These cases, drawn from Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, were chosen because of their diversity of context, accessibility of evaluative data, and relevance to the central research question of how grassroots actors co-author the WPS agenda. Data was collected from multiple sources of evidence, including semistructured interviews with leaders of grassroots organizations, NGO reports, independent program evaluations, and secondary academic literature10 This multi-source approach ensured a robust and comprehensive understanding of both the activities and outcomes of the selected initiatives Thematic coding was employed for analysis in order to align data with the four pillars of the WPS framework namely: participation, protection, prevention, and relief & recovery Coding also captured cross-cutting themes such as intersectionality and structural challenges. Combining evidence from multiple sources, such as interviews, reports, and literature, strengthened the credibility and validity of the findings.11

7 Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299

8 Yin, R K (2018) Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods (6th ed ) SAGE Publications

9 Patton, M Q (2015) Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods (4th ed ) SAGE Publications

10 Creswell, J W , & Poth, C N (2018) Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.

11 Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2019). Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.

The study, however, has some limitations. Its scope is confined to a select number of case studies, which may limit generalizability across all regions where WPS is applied Furthermore, restrictions on access to sensitive political contexts created some data gaps, particularly with respect to government-community relations and donor negotiations The chosen methodology, however, offers valuable insights into grassroots women’s agency and its contribution to the WPS agenda 12

Case Studies and Analysis

This section examines four grassroots women’s movements and civil society initiatives with the aim of illustrating how local actors advance the WPS agenda These movements include: Women for Women International (Uganda), Kenya Women’s Peace Network (Kenya), Rural Women’s Center for Education and Development (Cameroon), and Mothers for Peace (Sri Lanka). Each case is analyzed against the four pillars of UNSCR 1325: participation, protection, prevention, and relief & recovery. While global institutions have often been credited with shaping the normative framework of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325), the actual implementation of its four pillars has frequently been led by women at the grassroots level

The initiatives analyzed here reveal how women mobilize within fragile contexts to rebuild communities, resist exclusion, and advance sustainable peace.

1. Women for Women International – Uganda

Northern Uganda endured over two decades of brutal conflict with the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a violent insurgency that terrorized communities and led to far reaching consequences in the region. The conflict, which persisted from the late 1980s until the mid-2000s, was marked by atrocities such as mass displacement, abductions of children, forced marriages, sexual slavery, and the destruction of villages13 Women and girls were disproportionately targeted during this period, with many subjected to rape, forced pregnancies, and the trauma of losing family members. Furthermore, the conflict entrenched women in cycles of poverty, marginalization, and social exclusion, making post-war recovery especially difficult.

7 Crenshaw, K (1991) Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299

8 Yin, R. K. (2018). Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods (6th ed.). SAGE Publications.

9 Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.

10 Creswell, J W , & Poth, C N (2018) Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (4th ed ) SAGE Publications

11 Miles, M B , Huberman, A M , & Saldaña, J (2019) Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook (4th ed ) SAGE Publications

12 Maxwell, J A (2013) Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach (3rd ed ) SAGE Publications

13 Chris Dolan, Social Torture: The Case of Northern Uganda, 1986–2006 (New York: Berghahn Books, 2009), 33–35.

It is in this context that Women for Women International (WfWI), an NGO, intervened with programs tailored to the unique needs of conflict-affected women in Uganda Its approach went beyond immediate humanitarian relief, aiming instead for sustainability through empowerment by organizing combined vocational training with literacy classes, psychosocial counseling, and community dialogue platforms 14 These programs sought to equip women with both the skills and confidence to rebuild their lives, restore their dignity, and take on leadership roles within their communities

Through vocational training, women learned trades such as tailoring, agriculture, and handicrafts, enabling them to secure income and provide for their families. Literacy classes were equally transformative, as many rural women had previously been denied access to education 15 The ability to read, write, and manage finances not only improved their economic prospects but also enhanced their participation in community decision-making Psychosocial counselling addressed the often overlooked emotional wounds of war sustained by these women, helping them process trauma and regain resilience Dialogue platforms created safe spaces where women could share experiences, while collectively advocating for their rights, and engage in peacebuilding activities.

One of the key impacts of WfWI’s work has been the redefinition of women’s roles in post-conflict Ugandan society, from being sidelined to occupying leadership positions. Conflict-affected women began to emerge as economic actors and peace mediators 16 In villages where the organization operated, women started small businesses, engaged in cooperative farming, and even contributed to family incomes at levels comparable to or higher than men This economic independence greatly influenced living standards within households and communities Furthermore, by serving as mediators in local disputes, women began to challenge traditional gender norms that had excluded them from public life.

WfWI also played an important advocacy role, which led to greater female representation in local councils and community committees, creating opportunities for women to participate in governance 17 At the same time, the organization supported the establishment of community-based monitoring mechanisms for gender-based violence (GBV), which provided women with accessible reporting systems and local committees trained to respond to incidents of violence, ensuring protection and accountability Such interventions directly align with the protection and participation pillars of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, which emphasizes safeguarding women from violence and promoting their inclusion in peacebuilding processes.18

14 Women for Women International, Annual Impact Report (2022), 14. 15 Ibid., 15.

16 Dyan Mazurana, “Women, Girls, and Non-State Armed Opposition Groups,” in Women and Wars: Contested Histories, Uncertain Futures, ed Carol Cohn (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013), 150

17 Women for Women International, Annual Impact Report (2022), 17

18 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, S/RES/1325 (2000)

Upon recognizing that sustainable peace required changing mindsets, especially among younger generations, WfWI created Prevention strategies by successfully advocating for Peace education to be integrated into schools and community training workshops, thus fostering values of tolerance, dialogue, and coexistence 19 By targeting both youth and adults, WfWI helped reduce the risk of cyclical violence while promoting social cohesion

Relief and recovery initiatives by WfWI further supported displaced women as they attempted to rebuild their lives after decades of instability. Livelihood projects included agricultural training, provision of seeds and tools, and microfinance opportunities to support small-scale businesses.20 For many women, these programs were the first steps toward regaining economic security. Access to credit also allowed them to invest in their children’s education, thereby breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty

Reports on outcome evaluations demonstrate that WfWI’s work had tangible, measurable effects In some districts, women’s leadership roles increased by more than 30 percent, showing a remarkable shift in local governance dynamics 21 Simultaneously, reported cases of gender-based violence significantly declined in program areas, a development attributed to the dual impact of GBV monitoring systems and increased women’s empowerment.22 Communities where WfWI worked displayed higher levels of resilience, social trust, and collaboration between men and women compared to areas without similar interventions

Generally, Women for Women International in Uganda serves as a strong example of how grassroots interventions can operationalize the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda in conflict-affected societies By integrating protection, participation, prevention, and recovery in its programming, the initiative not only addressed immediate humanitarian needs but also laid the groundwork for longterm peace and stability. It highlights the critical role of empowering women as agents of change and demonstrates that sustainable peace cannot be achieved without their active involvement.

19 Juliet Were, Women’s Contribution to Peacebuilding in Northern Uganda (Kampala: Isis-WICCE, 2011), 20–21.

20 Women for Women International, Annual Impact Report (2022), 18

21 Ibid , 20

22 Isis-Women’s International Cross-Cultural Exchange (Isis-WICCE), Women’s Experiences of Armed Conflict in Uganda, 1986–2003 (Kampala, 2004), 65–66

2. Kenya Women's Peace Network (KWPN) – Kenya

Kenya’s political history has been deeply shaped by recurring cycles of electoral violence, often marked by ethnic polarization, contested elections, and weak institutional safeguards From the 1992 and 1997 clashes to the large-scale violence following the 2007/2008 elections, Kenya’s fragile democratic institutions and the dangers of ethnicized politics were exposed.23 Women have constantly been disproportionately affected during these crises. They have been victims of targeted attacks, including sexual violence, forced displacement, and the destruction of livelihoods24 However, despite this vulnerability, women have also emerged as some of the most active and resilient peacebuilders in these turbulent contexts

The consequences of this volatile political landscape gave birth to the Kenya Women’s Peace Network (KWPN). KWPN mobilized women from across ethnic and regional lines to confront the structural drivers of electoral violence while simultaneously responding to its immediate impacts Its multifaceted approach has included peace monitoring, coalition-building, and community dialogue forums, particularly during electoral cycles when tensions run high25 KWPN has managed to build trust across ethnic divides and create mechanisms that enhance both community resilience and national stability through organization at the grassroots level and leveraging women’s social networks

One of the main contributions of KWPN lies in advancing the participation pillar of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda The organization has trained women to serve as peace monitors during elections, equipping them with skills in conflict observation, mediation, and reporting26 These monitors have played critical roles in documenting human rights abuses, preventing escalation of disputes, and feeding information into broader electoral observation systems. Beyond monitoring, KWPN has equally enabled women to assume leadership roles in community peace committees, ensuring that women’s voices are included in local decision-making structures This not only challenges patriarchal norms but also helps build legitimacy for peace processes within communities

23 Karuti Kanyinga and James D Long, “The Political Economy of Reforms in Kenya: The Post-2007 Election Crisis and the New Constitution,” African Affairs 111, no 443 (2012): 102–104

24 Human Rights Watch, Ballots to Bullets: Organized Political Violence and Kenya’s Crisis of Governance (New York: HRW, 2008), 38–42.

25 Kenya Women’s Peace Network, Conflict Monitoring Report (2023), 5–6.

26 Federation of Women Lawyers–Kenya (FIDA), Women’s Experiences of Election-Related Violence in Kenya (2018), 12–13

The protection pillar is also central to KWPN’s work Kenyan elections have often been characterized by election-related gender-based violence, ranging from sexual assault to harassment and intimidation of women candidates27 KWPN has brought sustained advocacy to highlight these issues, pressing for stronger legal and institutional frameworks to protect women before, during, and after elections Its campaigns have amplified women’s experiences, ensuring that electoral violence is not seen as a general experience, but as a phenomenon that disproportionately harms women. Additionally, in partnership with legal aid organizations, KWPN has facilitated access to justice for survivors and promoted reforms that integrate gender-sensitive measures into electoral security planning

On the prevention front, KWPN has been particularly innovative KWPN developed grassroots earlywarning mechanisms after realizing that women often hold critical local knowledge and are deeply embedded in community networks.⁶ These systems allowed women to monitor signs of potential violence, such as inflammatory political rhetoric, youth mobilization, or unusual movement of arms, and link this intelligence with broader rapid-response mechanisms coordinated by national authorities or international observers By bridging local insights with institutional frameworks, KWPN demonstrated how women’s participation can improve the timeliness and effectiveness of conflict prevention measures.

The organization also addresses the relief and recovery needs of those directly affected by electoral violence through the provision of trauma counselling programs with many of these led by trained local women, provision of psychosocial support to survivors, helping them cope with grief, displacement, and the stigma of gender-based violence28 Reintegration support for women and families displaced by violence includes livelihood restoration programs and community reconciliation dialogues, aimed at rebuilding trust in areas scarred by conflict. These activities underscore the holistic approach that KWPN has adopted, recognizing that post-violence recovery is not limited to physical reconstruction but requires rebuilding the social fabric

Independent assessments and reports have credited KWPN with making significant contributions to peace and security in Kenya. For instance, during the 2013 and 2017 elections, violence levels in certain hotspots where KWPN operated were demonstrably lower compared to areas without such interventions29 Community members and local officials have also reported greater trust in mediation processes facilitated by KWPN-trained peace monitors Moreover, the organization’s partnerships with county governments and electoral bodies have fostered stronger institutional collaboration, integrating grassroots insights into state-level security responses30 This dual impact on both community dynamics and government practices illustrates the transformative potential of grassroots women’s organizations.

27 International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), Violence Against Women in Elections in Kenya: A Case Study (2013), 7

28 Catholic Relief Services, Healing the Wounds of Violence: Trauma Counseling in Post-Election Kenya (2010), 19.

29 National Democratic Institute, Election Observation Report: Kenya 2013 (2013), 44.

30 International Crisis Group, Kenya’s 2017 Elections: Pulling Back from the Brink (Africa Report No 256, 2017), 28

Generally, the case of KWPN highlights the essential role that grassroots initiatives play in operationalizing UNSCR 1325 in politically unstable environments By strengthening women’s participation, ensuring protection, developing preventive strategies, and supporting recovery, KWPN exemplifies how women’s movements can both mitigate immediate risks of electoral violence and contribute to long-term democratic consolidation. Kenya’s experience shows that the sustainability of peace cannot rest solely on top-down electoral reforms; it also depends on the empowerment and mobilization of women at the grassroots level

3. Rural Women’s Center for Education and Development (RUWCED) – Cameroon

The ongoing Anglophone crisis in Cameroon, which began in 2016, has escalated into one of the country’s most severe humanitarian emergencies in decades What started as peaceful protests by teachers and lawyers in the North-West and South-West regions quickly evolved into violent conflict between separatist armed groups and state forces.31 The consequences have been devastating as thousands of civilians have lost their lives, more than 700,000 people have been displaced, and there has been widespread disruption of basic services such as health care and education32 Women and girls in particular are the most affected as they are faced with displacement, sexual and gender-based violence, child marriage, and the collapse of educational opportunities It is against this backdrop, the Rural Women’s Center for Education and Development (RUWCED) emerged as a crucial actor in protecting vulnerable populations, fostering resilience, and advancing peacebuilding initiatives.

RUWCED works at the intersection of humanitarian assistance, women’s empowerment, and conflict transformation The four pillars of UNSCR 1325 shape its activities: participation, protection, prevention, and relief and recovery, which have been adapted to the unique realities of rural communities affected by the crisis. By focusing on women and girls in rural areas, who are often excluded from formal peace processes, RUWCED has positioned itself as a vital bridge between local needs and national and international policy frameworks33

Participation has been a central component of RUWCED’s strategy The organization invests heavily in capacity-building programs that train rural women leaders in governance, advocacy, and peace dialogue.34 These trainings provide women with the knowledge and confidence to engage in local decision-making structures, such as village councils and community mediation committees. Women have been encouraged to take on leadership roles in grassroots peace dialogues, challenging traditional norms that exclude them from public decision-making RUWCED also organizes forums where women can articulate their concerns directly to local officials, thereby creating channels of communication that amplify rural voices in governance processes

31 International Crisis Group, Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis: How to Get to Talks? Africa Report No 272 (2019), 4–7

32 United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Cameroon: Humanitarian Needs Overview 2022 (Yaoundé, 2022), 10.

33 Hilary Matfess, “The WPS Agenda and Local Peacebuilding in Africa: Case Studies from Nigeria and Cameroon,” African Security Review 29, no. 2 (2020): 174–176.

34 Rural Women’s Center for Education and Development (RUWCED), Annual Program Report (2021), 8

260

With regard to protection, RUWCED has established safe spaces for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) These safe spaces offer immediate shelter, psychosocial counselling, and access to reproductive health services35 Many survivors of violence, including girls who experienced rape or forced marriage at the hands of armed actors, have benefited from RUWCED’s protection scheme In partnership with health professionals, the organization provides reproductive health services such as access to contraceptives, prenatal care, and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. These interventions not only address immediate protection needs but also challenge the culture of silence and stigma that often surrounds sexual violence in conflict settings

RUWCED also contributes significantly to prevention efforts through integration of peace education into both formal and informal schooling systems to break cycles of violence.36 Workshops and training programs are being organized to promote nonviolent conflict resolution, tolerance, and inter-communal cooperation, particularly targeting youth who are vulnerable to recruitment by armed groups By instilling values of peace and coexistence, RUWCED helps to create a culture that resists violence and supports long-term reconciliation The organization also engages traditional and religious leaders in these efforts, acknowledging their influence in shaping community norms and ensuring that messages of peace reach diverse audiences.

In the area of relief and recovery, RUWCED has responded to the acute humanitarian needs generated by the Anglophone crisis It provides educational continuity programs for children, particularly displaced girls whose schooling has been disrupted by the conflict 37 These programs include community learning centers, the provision of school materials, and advocacy for the reintegration of displaced children into formal education systems. Beyond education, RUWCED delivers humanitarian support such as food assistance, clothing, and hygiene kits to displaced families. The organization also supports women’s livelihoods through income-generating projects, enabling them to rebuild their economic independence even amid displacement

The outcomes of RUWCED’s interventions are significant as evaluations indicate that its programs have increased women’s visibility and agency in local peacebuilding structures, giving rural women a platform to influence decisions that affect their lives.38 Girls’ return to school rates in areas supported by RUWCED have risen, reversing some of the educational setbacks caused by the conflict Importantly, the organization has documented community-level reductions in stigma against survivors of sexual violence, showing progress in shifting harmful social norms Community members have also reported improved cooperation across conflict lines as a result of RUWCED’s peace education initiatives

35 Ibid , 12

36 RUWCED, Peace Education Initiative: Training Manual (2020), 15–18

37 OCHA, Cameroon: Humanitarian Needs Overview 2022, 16

38 RUWCED, Annual Program Report (2021), 22.

RUWCED’s work illustrates how grassroots women’s organizations can advance the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda in conflict contexts that international actors often overlook By centering the experiences of rural women and girls, the organization ensures that peacebuilding is not just an elite, top-down process but one that reflects the realities of marginalized populations.39 Its integrated approach linking protection, participation, prevention, and recovery demonstrate the interconnected nature of the WPS pillars and the necessity of addressing them simultaneously

In conclusion, RUWCED stands as a testament to the power of grassroots mobilization in contexts of protracted conflict. While national and international actors struggle to find durable political solutions to the Anglophone crisis, local initiatives such as RUWCED continue to sustain communities, build resilience, and plant the seeds of peace Its work highlights that in the absence of inclusive political settlements, grassroots women’s organizations can keep the vision of peace alive and ensure that the needs of vulnerable populations are not forgotten

4. Mothers for Peace – Sri Lanka

The end of the decades-long civil war in Sri Lanka in 2009 left the nation grappling with deep ethnic divisions and the painful legacy of conflict as communities across the country continued to experience mistrust, unresolved grievances, and the challenges of reintegration. Women were disproportionately affected, not only as victims of displacement, sexual violence, and loss of family members, but also through their marginalization in formal recovery and peacebuilding processes40 In response to these challenges, Mothers for Peace emerged as a grassroots initiative committed to rebuilding trust and fostering reconciliation from the bottom up

The organization has prioritized inclusive approaches by creating safe spaces for dialogue and healing with its community dialogue circles, bringing together women from different ethnic and religious backgrounds, such as Tamil, Sinhalese, and Muslim, to share experiences of loss, trauma, and survival41 These sessions not only build mutual understanding but also promote cross community empathy, thus overcoming the narratives that fueled division during the war Alongside dialogue, the initiative runs trauma-healing workshops led by trained facilitators, offering psychosocial support to survivors and equipping women with coping strategies for long term resilience.42

39 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, S/RES/1325 (2000)

40 Dyan Mazurana and Kristopher Carlson, Women and Children After War: The Impact of Conflict on Gender Roles and Relations (Kumarian Press, 2006), 47–49

41 Neloufer de Mel, “Gendering Reconciliation: Women’s Voices from Sri Lanka,” Gender & Development 11, no. 3 (2003): 60–69.

42 Ruki Fernando, Healing Wounds: Psychosocial Interventions in Post-War Sri Lanka (Colombo: Centre for Peacebuilding, 2011), 22.

Mothers for Peace also plays an important advocacy role by campaigning for women’s meaningful participation in local governance, ensuring their representation in municipal peace committees and community decision-making forums. The movement further links grassroots perspectives with broader governance structures by pressing for accountability and gender-sensitive policies.43 Its advocacy extends to the protection of vulnerable populations For instance, it provides legal aid for survivors of wartime sexual violence and helps women navigate bureaucratic processes to secure reparations, land rights, and access to public services44

Regarding prevention, the initiative has established cross-ethnic solidarity groups that serve as earlywarning mechanisms against the re-escalation of conflict. These groups mediate disputes, particularly those involving returning ex-combatants and host communities, and diffuse potential areas of tension45 Community resilience and a culture of non-violent dispute resolution are therefore strengthened through the efforts of Mothers for Peace, as both men and women engage in these local peace mechanisms

The holistic approach of Mothers for Peace is further demonstrated through its Relief and recovery activities Special focus is given to war widows and displaced families who face acute socio economic challenges For instance, livelihood programs such as skills training, microfinance schemes, and smallbusiness development enable women to rebuild their economic independence and regain their dignity46 These efforts not only improve household welfare but also contribute to broader community stability by reducing poverty-driven grievances.

Independent evaluations and field reports show that Mothers for Peace has had a measurable impact There has been great improvement in relationships across ethnic divides through reconciliation dialogues, creating a more conducive environment for coexistence47 Similarly, Women’s engagement in municipal structures has increased access to public services, while their active role in local peace councils demonstrates a shift toward inclusive governance. Perhaps most significantly, the initiative has redefined women’s roles from passive victims of war to active agents of peace and reconciliation.

43 Kandy Women’s Centre, Women and Local Governance: Post-War Realities in Sri Lanka (2014), 13

44 International Crisis Group, Sri Lanka: Women’s Insecurity in the North and East (Asia Report No 217, 2011), 15–17

45 Jonathan Goodhand, “Sri Lanka in 2010: End of War and Continuation of Crisis,” Asian Survey 51, no 1 (2011): 135–137

46 United Nations Development Programme, Livelihoods Recovery in Post-Conflict Sri Lanka (2012), 9 11.

47 Women and Media Collective, Grassroots Peacebuilding: Women’s Dialogues in Sri Lanka (Colombo: WMC, 2016), 27

The role played by Mothers for Peace highlights the critical impact grassroots women’s organizations can have in post-conflict societies By addressing protection, participation, prevention, and recovery in an integrated way, it exemplifies the spirit of UNSCR 1325.48 Its work highlights that sustainable peace is not achieved solely through top-down agreements but through community-based reconciliation and empowerment Sri Lanka’s experience suggests that initiatives like Mothers for Peace are indispensable for bridging divides, healing trauma, and laying the foundations for inclusive and lasting peace

Comparative Analysis of Grassroots Women’s Movements

The case studies of Women for Women International (Uganda), the Kenya Women’s Peace Network (Kenya), the Rural Women’s Center for Education and Development (Cameroon), and Mothers for Peace (Sri Lanka) reveal both convergences and divergences in how grassroots women’s movements address conflict and peacebuilding through the framework of UNSCR 1325. A comparative analysis of these initiatives highlights their shared strategies, context-specific adaptations, and the broader implications for the inclusivity and sustainability of peace processes

A clear point of convergence is the emphasis placed on women’s participation in peacebuilding All four organizations work actively to place women at the center of decision-making, be it through local councils in Uganda, community peace committees in Kenya, village councils in Cameroon, or municipal peace committees in Sri Lanka These efforts challenge entrenched patriarchal systems that exclude women from governance, ensuring that women are not only beneficiaries of peacebuilding initiatives but also key decision-makers By elevating women’s leadership, these grassroots movements demonstrate that participation is not a symbolic gesture but a transformative force that redefines the structure of peace processes.

Another shared feature is the provision of protection mechanisms, particularly for survivors of genderbased violence (GBV) Uganda and Cameroon stand out in this regard, with structured psychosocial counselling, safe spaces, and reproductive health services Kenya emphasizes protection in the context of electoral violence, while Sri Lanka provides psychosocial and legal support to survivors of wartime atrocities. Although the protection pillar is not implemented uniformly, it is, however, tailored to the context of each conflict. Uganda and Cameroon respond to systemic GBV in protracted crises, Kenya addresses cyclical electoral violence, and Sri Lanka focuses on post-war trauma Despite these differences, all cases converge on the recognition that meaningful protection is indispensable to the sustainability of peace

48 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, S/RES/1325 (2000).

In terms of prevention, each organization has innovated unique approaches that reflect their sociopolitical realities In Uganda, peace education was integrated into schools, aiming to shape a generation resistant to cycles of violence. In Kenya, grassroots early-warning mechanisms directly addressed election-triggered instability. Cameroon emphasized youth-focused peace education as a strategy to counter armed group recruitment Sri Lanka’s cross-ethnic solidarity groups served as mediators between ex-combatants and host communities, preventing the re-emergence of ethnic tensions These examples underscore the adaptability of grassroots organizations in framing prevention strategies that are both context-specific and forward-looking, reducing the likelihood of conflict recurrence.

Relief and recovery programs also emerge as a unifying feature Uganda prioritized vocational training and economic empowerment for displaced women, while Kenya focused on trauma counselling and reintegration for survivors of electoral violence In Cameroon, RUWCED addressed livelihood insecurity through agricultural and business initiatives, complementing education and health services Sri Lanka’s Mothers for Peace concentrated on livelihood support for widows and displaced families. These initiatives highlight the practical recognition that recovery is not only about healing trauma but also about restoring dignity, agency, and self reliance in conflict-affected communities

The divergences across these case studies are equally instructive Uganda’s context of prolonged insurgency required long-term empowerment strategies that addressed the deep social scars left by the Lord’s Resistance Army. Kenya’s challenges were cyclical and tied to political contestation, necessitating preventive systems linked to electoral calendars. Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis, as an ongoing conflict, demanded simultaneous humanitarian aid and advocacy for women’s inclusion in governance Sri Lanka’s post-war setting placed reconciliation and cross-ethnic dialogue at the center of its grassroots agenda These contextual differences show that while UNSCR 1325 provides a common normative framework, the operationalization of its pillars is shaped by the specific nature of the conflict

Another important distinction lies in the scale of impact. Uganda and Kenya’s organizations have influenced both community dynamics and state structures, with documented increases in women’s leadership and institutional collaboration with governments Cameroon and Sri Lanka, while impactful at the grassroots level, face greater barriers in scaling up due to ongoing conflict dynamics (Cameroon) or entrenched post-war ethnic divides (Sri Lanka) This divergence underscores the tension between locallevel success and national-level transformation, highlighting the need for stronger linkages between grassroots initiatives and formal peace processes.

Finally, these case studies illustrate that grassroots women’s movements are not simply implementers of international norms like UNSCR 1325 but are co-authors of peace practice They adapt global frameworks to local realities, ensuring that peacebuilding is both inclusive and sustainable Their work demonstrates that peace is not only negotiated in high-level talks but also cultivated in everyday practices, whether through women mediating electoral disputes in Kenya, war widows rebuilding livelihoods in Sri Lanka, rural women advocating in Cameroon, or survivors of abduction in Uganda reclaiming agency

Generally, the comparative analysis reveals that grassroots women’s movements share a core commitment to participation, protection, prevention, and recovery, but their strategies are molded by the unique conflict contexts in which they operate. They exemplify the critical role of local agency in advancing global peace and security agendas, while also exposing the challenges of scaling impact and bridging grassroots action with formal political processes

Conclusion

The examination of grassroots women’s movements across Uganda, Kenya, Cameroon, and Sri Lanka highlights the indispensable role of local agency in advancing peace and security within fragile and conflict-affected contexts These case studies collectively demonstrate that women at the grassroots level are not passive recipients of aid but active architects of peace, justice, and reconciliation By working through the four pillars of UNSCR 1325, these organizations have expanded the meaning of peacebuilding beyond elite negotiations to encompass the lived realities of communities most affected by violence

Worthy of note is the fact that grassroots women’s organizations address both immediate needs and long-term transformation They provide urgent relief and protection to survivors of violence, while simultaneously investing in leadership, advocacy, and cross-community dialogue to ensure sustainable change. Their ability to tailor interventions to specific contexts is a clear illustration of the flexibility and resilience of local actors in adapting global frameworks like UNSCR 1325 to local realities

These movements, however, face significant challenges such as structural inequalities, limited financial resources, and resistance from patriarchal or militarized systems, which often constrain their capacity to scale impact from the community level to broader political arenas. This highlights the need for stronger linkages between grassroots initiatives and national, regional, and international peace processes. Support from governments, donors, and international organizations must move beyond symbolic recognition toward substantive partnerships that amplify grassroots voices in policymaking

Above all, the research reaffirms that sustainable peace cannot be imposed from above It must be built from the ground up, through inclusive, participatory processes that recognize the agency of women and communities most affected by conflict. Grassroots women’s movements exemplify this bottom-up peacebuilding, offering models of resilience, solidarity, and transformation that are vital not only for their respective countries but also for global uWe already drafted a Policy and Practice Recommendations section, but let me give you a refined, stand-alone set of recommendations (clear, actionable, and structured for governments, donors, and civil society)

Recommendations

1. For Governments

Institutionalize the participation of grassroots women’s groups in all phases of National Action Plans (NAPs) on UNSCR 1325, that is: design, implementation, and monitoring.

Establish inclusive peace platforms that guarantee representation from conflict-affected and marginalized communities

Harmonize national security policies with gender-sensitive frameworks to prevent tokenistic inclusion and ensure women’s participation has substantive influence

2. For Donors and International Partners

Shift from short-term, project-based funding toward multi-year, flexible financial support tailored to grassroots initiatives

Prioritize capacity-building for women-led organizations, such as leadership training, digital literacy, financial management, and advocacy skills

Create direct funding streams that bypass elite intermediaries and reach local organizations in fragile

3. For Civil or Society conflict-affected and Grassroots regions. Movements

Strengthen coalitions across local, national, and regional levels to enhance advocacy power and sustainability

Develop systems for sharing best practices, monitoring risks of co-optation, and amplifying women’s voices in peace and security spaces.

Embed intersectional approaches, incorporating the perspectives of youth, displaced women, persons with disabilities, and ethnic minorities to build inclusive and resilient peace movements

4. For Future Research and Policy Communities

Support longitudinal studies to evaluate the lasting impact of grassroots WPS initiatives.

Explore scalable models of community-based peacebuilding that can be adapted across regions while remaining sensitive to local contexts

Document innovative practices For instance, women-led early warning systems, community peace huts, or informal negotiation platforms, to inform global WPS strategies

Author:

Mahnan Omar

Mahnan Omar is a valedictorian and graduate of the Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs program at the University of British Columbia, specializing in security She is a researcher and policy consultant focusing on human security, humanitarian response, and international cooperation, with particular expertise in the Global South and Indigenous issues Mahnan has contributed to research and policy projects with the Dallaire Centre of Excellence for Peace and Security on United Nations Peacekeeping Missions, the UBC Centre for Climate Justice, and the Media Ecosystem Observatory, Aga Khan University, interned at Pakistan’s Ministry of Law and Justice, and gained experience working within the Canadian federal government Her humanitarian engagement includes volunteering with Moiz Shaukat Humanities and Door of Awareness Selected as a delegate for the 2025 International Leadership Program by Voice for Rights International, Mahnan is striving to strengthen inclusive approaches to peace, security, and the protection of vulnerable populations

Unseen and Unsung Critical Contributions: Women’s

Voices & Caregiving Challenges in Humanitarian Crises

Abstract

This study explores an underexplored aspect of the WPS agenda, specifically how gendered caregiving roles in conflict settings intersect with those in humanitarian settings within the broader human security ecosystem. It employs qualitative and secondary research findings, including an analysis of humanitarian reports, academic literature, media coverage, existing policy documents, and efforts or the lack thereof Pakistan and Bangladesh serve as the primary case studies with [¹,²] the Philippines to a lesser extent Broader examples from the Global North and South are also leveraged to substantiate the scale of impact This paper argues that it is time to advance and extend the WPS agenda, starting with UNSCR 1325 in both policy and operational settings, encompassing both conflict and other humanitarian situations, such as disaster and climate-induced emergencies.

Keywords: health, safety, conflict, humanitarian crises, women, gender inequality, sexual violence, climate change

Introduction

Why has the global community still not realized that it can and must adapt the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 to extend to humanitarian crises beyond armed conflict and post-conflict circumstances (eg disaster and climate-induced emergencies)? At this pivotal juncture in time, how can the frameworks and principles outlined in UNSCR 1325 be applied in these broader humanitarian crises to address women’s rights, agency, and disparate statuses in societies from a policy perspective with a future-facing adaptation of the WPS agenda at its core? While UNSCR 1325 was created to emphasize women’s safety, participation, and agency in conflict and post-conflict settings, its principles can also help guide policy on the ground to alleviate the burdens of women navigating displacement, survival, and compounded caregiving responsibilities in extreme conditions outside of conflict

On October 31st, 2000, a landmark resolution (for women and arguably all humanity) - UNSCR 1325 - was adopted to advance peace and security efforts in armed conflict and post-conflict settings[³] It did so, most importantly, by acknowledging women as agents of change The UNSCR 1325 gave women (1) recognition as critical actors for achieving and retaining lasting peace and security, instead of casting them aside as mere victims, and (2) called for their equal and full participation in peacekeeping and peacebuilding practices.[⁴] Additionally, it recognized that women are disproportionately affected by violence and armed conflict and called for preventative and protective intervention measures to safeguard them from sexual, armed, and other forms of violence[⁵] Since its adoption, it has become a core policy tool for assessing and creating gender sensitive policies and has been integrated into the national action plans (NAPs) of several member

Ibid 1 2 3 4 5

Mala, Mahfuza, Mark Johnson, Meoldy Wei, Oona Mitchell, and Elisabeth Ashley Haugen “BEYOND BARRIERS BANGLADESH CASE STUDY: WOMEN-LED EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM” USAID, September 2024 https://beyondbarriersconcernusaorg/reports/bangladesh-case-study-women-led-emergency-response-teampdf

“Rapid Gender Analysis of Flood Situation In North and North-Eastern Bangladesh” Gender and Humanitarian Action Working Group Bangladesh | UN Women, June 2022 https://asiapacificunwomenorg/sites/default/files/2022-07/bd-Rapidgender-analysis-north-northeaster-flood-2022pdf

“Resolution 1325 (2000)” United Nations Security Council, October 31, 2000 https://documentsunorg/doc/undoc/gen/n00/720/18/pdf/n0072018pdf

states, including Bosnia,[⁶] the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),[⁷] Canada,[⁸] and Sweden[⁹] The UNSCR 1325 has established itself as a pillar of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda, and therefore, found itself serving as a gender-inclusivity tool in countries such as Canada and Sweden that do not suffer armed conflict or violence in any form, the way, for instance, Bosnia has and the DRC is These countries in the Global North leverage UNSCR 1325 to promote its principles as national values and improve their decision-making processes at all levels We have established that the resolution serves several purposes and can be adapted and effective; furthermore, it can be applied in completely different environments beyond conflict and peacebuilding.

Twenty-five years later, as we mark this significant milestone in celebrating UNSCR 1325, we are presented with an opportunity to examine how we can adapt the WPS agenda to address security challenges beyond armed conflict For example, climate change disproportionately affects women who are more vulnerable to its many complexities, particularly in high vulnerability countries, the majority of which are Global South states that also suffer high levels of gender disparity and GBV. This paper demonstrates (1) how women’s lived realities in disasterstricken communities reveal that gaps in protection and participation are akin to those identified in traditional peace and security contexts and (2) stresses the critical need to expand the agenda to include disaster and climate-related emergencies

This paper proceeds in several parts. The first will examine the criteria and circumstances that led to the creation of UNSCR 1325, with much credit to the advocacy and efforts of women, as an introduction to the key principles of the resolution The second part will consist of a literature review of endorsements and criticisms of the resolution by experts, as well as their forwardlooking suggestions The third will compare on-ground realities, in disaster-stricken areas and communities, as well as the broader threat that encompasses us all within the global community, particularly women who face heightened risks due to a fast-changing climate. This part will have several case studies drawing from lived realities of caregiving roles and responsibilities, displacement, access to healthcare, gender-based violence (GBV), and decision-making

“National Action Plan (NAP) on UNSCR 1325 ‘Women, Peace and Security’COUNTRY: Bosnia and Herzegovina” Agency for Gender Equality / Ministry for Human Right | European Institute for Gender Equality, nd https://eigeeuropaeu/sites/default/files/bosnia and herzegovina proposal 1 nap on unscr 1325 finalpdf

“DRC: Breakthrough in the Implementation of the National Action Plan in Line with the UNSC Resolution 1325 Peacekeeping” United Nations Peacekeeping, 2022 https://peacekeepingunorg/en/drc-breakthrough-implementationof-national-action-plan-line-with-unsc-resolution-1325

“Foundations for Peace: Canada’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security” National Defence Canada, May 15, 2024 https://wwwcanadaca/en/department-national-defence/maple-leaf/defence/2024/05/foundations-peace-canadasnational-action-plan-women-peace-securityhtml

“Sweden’s 2024–2028 National Action Plan for the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security” Regeringen, November 9, 2023 https://wwwgovernmentse/contentassets/3941dc43555b4a90943a2e5de064937f/swedens-20242028-national-action-plan-

This paper employs several case studies to ground its argument, predominantly from Global South states, but also includes certain communities located in the Global North Lastly, this paper will unveil gaps in protection and humanitarian responses at various levels. It will also demonstrate how UNSCR 1325 can be implemented in humanitarian crises beyond the scope of conflict, as well as the urgency of doing so before concluding

The Trigger(s) for the Creation of UNSCR 1325

Prior to diving into the urgency of extending the resolution to broader humanitarian crises, it is essential to understand what necessitated its creation. Several conflicts during the 1990s sent shockwaves across the world. These include:

1 The Rwandan Genocide of 1994 – a hundred days of violence that claimed the lives of 800,000 civilians - whereby the Tutsi population (major ethnic group) was vilified and brutally persecuted by extremists within the Hutu population (another major ethnic group)[¹⁰] In Rwanda, reportedly 500,000 women and children were raped, sexually mutilated, or killed.[¹¹] Women are estimated to make up between 100,000 and 250,000 of the victims in this figure of half a million[¹²] The genocide weaponized rape, and survivors continued to face stigma and experienced a lack of support [¹³]

2 The Bosnian War (1992-1995), and one of its most horrific events was the Srebrenica massacre, which was the genocide of Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks) primarily by the Serbian forces[¹⁴] Approximately 8000 Muslim men and boys were murdered and buried in mass graves.[¹⁵]

“Rwanda Genocide of 1994” Encyclopædia Britannica, September 24, 2025 https://wwwbritannicacom/event/Rwandagenocide-of-1994

Nicole Wesson, Chloe “The Generational Impacts of Sexual Violence” Seattle Pacifi, 2022 https://digitalcommonsspuedu/cgi/viewcontentcgi?article=1166&context=honorsprojects

“Rwanda, Genocide, Hutu, Tutsi, Mass Execution, Ethnic Cleansing, Massacre, Human Rights, Victim Remembrance, Education, Africa” United Nations Accessed September 29, 2025 https://wwwunorg/en/preventgenocide/rwanda/supporting-survivorsshtml

“SHATTERED LIVES: Sexual Violence during the Rwandan Genocide and Its Aftermath.” Human Right Watch Africa,September 1996. https://www.hrw.org/reports/1996/Rwanda.htm.

“The Bosnian War – a Brief Overview” Remembering Srebrenica June 24, 2021 https://srebrenicaorguk/what happened/history/bosnian-war-a-brief-overview

“Bosnia and Herzegovina Country Case Study” United States holocaust memorial memorial museum Accessed September 29, 2025https://wwwushmmorg/genocide prevention/countries/bosnia-herzegovina

1 It is remembered as the worst massacre and ethnic cleansing in all of Europe in the years after World War II[¹⁶] Rape camps were established and used to instill and retain terror in communities. Thousands of women are reported to have experienced rape during this period. [¹⁷]

2 Afghanistan is another notable example of the crushing impact of conflict and violence on vulnerable groups, particularly women The shocking treatment of Afghan women by local actors, predominantly the oppressive Taliban, galvanised feminist movements worldwide and sparked conversations that argued that governments cannot achieve lasting peace and security without the protection and involvement of women.[¹⁸][¹⁹]

3.Sierra Leone and Liberia, located in West Africa, are another such example. The two experienced civil wars in the 1990s There, women and girls experienced trafficking, enslavement, and widespread rape, including becoming victims of forced marriages[²⁰][²¹] They were also used as girl soldiers[²²]

With respect given to the horrors faced during the conflicts listed above, it is essential to remember that the pain experienced by victims and survivors, as well as the complexity of each, is too profound to be confined to a single paragraph

Despite having suffered so profoundly and being active agents in local community peacebuilding efforts, women were almost completely absent from peace conversations and negotiations, such as the Bosnian Dayton Accords (1995 peace deal).[²³]

“Srebrenica 1993-1995” United States holocaust memorial museum Accessed September 29, 2025 https://wwwushmmorg/genocide-prevention/countries/bosnia-herzegovina/srebrenica-1993

Memišević, Ehlimana. “Višegrad’s Rape Camps: Denial and Erasure.” Al Jazeera, October 17 2020. https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2020/10/17/visegrads-rape-camps-denial-and-erasure.

“The Taliban & Afghan Women” Feminist Majority Foundation Accessed September 29, 2025 https://feministorg/ourwork/afghan-women-and-girls/the-taliban-afghan-women/

“Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan: Campaign for Afghan, Afghan Women & Girls” Feminist Majority Foundation Accessed September 29, 2025 https://feministorg/our-work/afghan-women-and-girls/

Betancourt, Theresa S, Ivelina I Borisova, Marie de la Soudière, and John Williamson “Sierra Leone’s Child Soldiers: War Exposures and Mental Health Problems by Gender” The Journal of adolescent health: official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, December 24, 2010 https://pmcncbinlmnihgov/articles/PMC3124662/

“How to Fight, How to Kill Child Soldiers in Liberia” Human Rights Watch, February 2, 2004 https://wwwhrworg/report/2004/02/02/how-fight-how-kill/child-soldiers-liberia

Similarly, women in Rwanda, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, and Liberia were excluded and sidelined At the time, it became clear that there was a global pattern of systemic and societal exclusion of women from peacekeeping participation and decision-making tables. At the same time, women remained disproportionately affected during conflict and faced higher levels of gender-based violence The fact that women and girls were subject to decisions with no regard for their input, let alone giving them a seat at the table (undemocratic exclusion), while they were, undeniably, the most impacted, was a clear case of marginalization and structural inequality

Women’s rights groups across the world began to tirelessly campaign for women’s inclusion in all decision-making that impacts them, particularly in peacekeeping and building, and subsequently security processes[24] Civil society demanded that the UN Security Council recognize women as agents of change and not limit them to victimhood[25] Another salient development was the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action, a UN conference, which declared that lasting peace was inseparably linked to female empowerment [26]

The resolution (1325) was not created by the efforts of a single country or actor. It is the fruitful result of the culmination of countless efforts by actors at all levels, especially women-run and women-centric organizations, through persistent advocacy and public outcry[27] Today, we see more women-focused groups, more women in leadership positions and at decision-making tables leading change from the ground up There is increasing awareness of women’s lived realities in and outside conflict zones as the global community becomes more interconnected. Today, there exist more efforts and programs in place for their much-needed inclusion. Much has improved for women in the last twenty-five years, but it’s not enough Women experiencing extreme humanitarian situations, such as climate disaster aftermaths, continue to face exclusion and suffering resembling that experienced previously by women in conflict settings analyses For instance, several UN reports and country case studies also found that country-level WPS agendas remain underfunded.[²⁸] Some have described the lack of funding as perhaps the most serious impediment that risks crippling all efforts and subdues the endorsements of member states to mere paper commitments[²⁹]

McLeod, Laura, “Investigating “Missing” Women: Gender, Ghosts, and the Bosnian Peace Process.” International StudiesQuarterly, Volume 63, Issue 3, September 2019, Pages 668–679, https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqz027.

“Facts and Figures: Women, Peace, and Security” UN Women – Headquarters, October 18, 2024 https://wwwunwomenorg/en/articles/facts-and-figures/facts-and-figures-women-peace-and-security

Ibid

Ibid

“Preventing Conflict: Transforming Justice Securing the Peace” UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UNWOMEN) | Refworld, 2015 https://wwwrefworldorg/reference/themreport/unwomen/2015/en/109678

Ibid 29

commitments[²⁹] Without financial consistency and accountability, there can be no effective long-term impact in any capacity Reporting, also, remains irregular, resulting in poor data and weakening monitoring mechanisms.[³⁰] UN experts view monitoring shortfalls as a fundamental problem.[³¹]

Moreover, women participants often fall victim to tokenism instead of meaningful empowerment [³²] In many cases, elite classes seem to benefit from tokenism, as do women from urban areas in general compared to those in rural or underprivileged areas[³³][³⁴] In other words, systemic inequalities may favor the participation of politically well-connected women over marginalized women. Elite capture is another shortfall which leads to superficial consultancy, sidelining the voices and participation of more vulnerable women whom UNSCR 1325 sought to extend engagement to[³⁵] Their involvement is just as crucial for resolutions to be truly effective This is not to say that the WPS agenda should include some and exclude others, but rather to stress the need for equitable access to participation and protection, regardless of economic stature or geographic location. Their involvement is just as crucial for resolutions to be truly effective. This is not to say that the WPS agenda should include some and exclude others, but rather to stress the need for equitable access to participation and protection, regardless of economic stature or geographic location

Instability too has a major role to play in the shortcomings of UNSCR 1325 in practice Many policy practitioners describe this to be a case of a “lack of political will.”[³⁶] Official country statements should not serve as the sole guarantee that signifies change is in progress or has been achieved. Instead, the success of UNSCR 1325 and adherence to a country’s WPS agenda should be assessed based on the measure of change in the lives of women and girls[³⁷]

Ibid

Lyytikäinen, Listen Articles Capitalising on UNSCR 1325: The Construction of Best Practices for the Women, Peace and Security Agenda Minna, and Punam Yadav “Capitalising on UNSCR 1325: The Construction of Best Practices for the Women, Peace and Security Agenda.” Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, 16(2), 123–14., 2021. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17502977.2022.2030627. 34

El-Amraoui, Anaïs F. “TOWARS CANADA’S THIRD NATIONAL ACTION PLAN TO IMPLEMENT UN1325: (MEANINGFULLY) ENGAGING WITH COMMUNITY-LEVEL ACTORS.” Queens University | Research Network on 2022. Women, Peace, and Security, March 25, 2022. https://www.mcgill.ca/rnwps/files/rnwps/final eng rnwps cso best practices.pdf.

35 El-Amraoui, Anaïs F “TOWARS CANADA’S THIRD NATIONAL ACTION PLAN TO IMPLEMENT UN1325: (MEANINGFULLY) ENGAGING WITH COMMUNITY-LEVEL ACTORS” Queens University | Research Network on 2022 Women, Peace, and Security, March 25, 2022 https://wwwmcgillca/rnwps/files/rnwps/final eng rnwps cso best practicespdf

36 UNSCR 1325 at 20 Years” Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, October 2020 https://wwwwilpforg/wpcontent/uploads/2020/11/WILPF UNSCR-1325-at-20-Years Webpdf

37Ibid

Other criticisms, such as those by the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and an Oxford journal edition authored by O’Rourke, even describe the incorporation of the resolution by member states as disillusioned and “ambivalent” with its feminist aims.[³⁸][³⁹] An example of this is seen in how member states favor incorporating UNSCR 1325 into their NAPs, most of which focus on counter-terrorism and stabilization efforts[⁴⁰] This, in turn, can dilute the focus from WPS efforts, thereby reproducing traditional, militarized responses instead of transformed, gender-sensitive understandings of peace and security[⁴¹] The UNSCR 1325 was created, in great part, to address the root causes and lasting impacts of gendered insecurity on a vulnerable populous. These inappropriate, and at times, inadequate exports of the resolution result in an ingenuine effort to implement the WPS agenda and counter local gender norms[⁴²] In short, the WPS agenda often finds itself overshadowed and deprioritized over other competing security priorities

Another key critique of the resolution includes the lack of guidance provided for intersectional factors that can further compound marginalization between groups.[⁴³] These include ethnicity, indigeneity, socioeconomic stratification, geographical exclusion (urban vs rural), immigrationbased exclusion, sexual orientation, disability, and age[⁴⁴] Intersectional approaches are integral for successfully reaching the most excluded groups, especially in women

O’Rourke, Catherine “Disarming the Women, Peace and Security Agenda: The Case for Centring the United Nations GeneralAssembly” Journal of Conflict and Security Law Volume 29, Issue 1, Spring 2024, Pages 1–20 | Oxford academic, March 27, 2024 https://academicoupcom/jcsl/article/29/1/1/7636364

42

“UNSCR 1325 at 20 Years” Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, October 2020 https://wwwwilpforg/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/WILPF UNSCR-1325-at-20-Years Webpdf

43 Kaufman Dr. Joyce, “Critique of UNSCR: 1325 Intersectionality Matters” Institute of World Affairs, November 24, 2024. https://iwa.org/critique-of-unscr-1325-intersectionality-matters/.

44 Ibid

45 “What the Women Say: Participation and UNSCR 1325 (Fall 2010) - International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN)” International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN), October 8, 2010 https://icanpeaceworkorg/2010/10/what-the-womensay-participation-and-unscr-1325/

None of this is to say that the resolution has not had a noticeably positive impact on a great scale. Still, we must be careful to ensure that the resolution does not evolve into a meagre rhetorical exercise Experts state that for any resolution or agenda to be effective with a longstanding impact, there (1) needs to be predictable, steady funding and a dedicated staff[⁴⁵] (2) Governments should establish accountability, which can be in the form of clear lines of responsibility at ministerial levels and on-ground missions[⁴⁶] (3) Experts also state that efforts should also be undertaken to ensure stronger civil society involvement.[⁴⁷] 47Ibid

(3a) As each state has its own regional makeup (eg ethnic, religious or cultural), they should assess influencing factors that impact marginalization in their individual female populous to move away from tokenism and elite capture. This will ensure intersectionality and genuine diversity (3b) Besides, in the long-run it is more efficient to rely on local community-led support as opposed to donor funding,[⁴⁸] which can change with a donor’s priorities

Additionally, a 2023 United Nations Thematic Review on Climate Security and Peacebuilding briefly reported that climate-related insecurities could lead to conflict, with foreseeably worsening scarcity and rising social tensions.[⁴⁹] (4) The review also stressed that women again are disproportionally impacted in such scenarios, by which rationale WPS agendas should work in tandem with increasing climate and conflict risks[⁵⁰] Similarly, in line with this fact, this paper further goes on to argue that we must adapt UNSCR 1325 to extend its application to disaster and climate-induced emergencies, as we have already begun to see such grand-scale devastation

Section IIITwo Arenas, Common Struggles: Understanding Overlapping Realities in the New Frontlines:

Admittedly, armed conflict and its aftermath are much harder in many ways, but this should not be used to diminish the harshness of climate change This section employs three country case studies to demonstrate the similarities in on-the-ground challenges that women face both in conflict and disaster. The three case studies below are based on climate catastrophes:

Case Study 1 - Pakistan

The Pakistan floods of 2022 and 2025, as well as, the infamous Sahel droughts across Africa, have already begun to displace millions[⁵¹][⁵²] In Pakistan’s case, the floods are the result of fast melting glaciers and intense monsoon rains, due to the changing climate and poor infrastructural planning to match its rapid pace.[⁵³] It is also worth noting that Pakistan, a Global South state in South Asia, is home to the highest number of glaciers outside the polar regions.[⁵⁴]

O’Rourke, Catherine “Disarming the Women, Peace and Security Agenda: The Case for Centring the United Nations GeneralAssembly” Journal of Conflict and Security Law Volume 29, Issue 1, Spring 2024, Pages 1–20 | Oxford academic, March 27, 2024 https://academicoupcom/jcsl/article/29/1/1/7636364

51 “‘The Needs Are Huge’: Pakistan Reels from Floods as Millions Left Homeless” United Nations, September 16, 2025 https://newsunorg/en/story/2025/09/1165864#:~:text=Around%2025%20million%20people%20have,told%20UN%20News%2 0from%20Islamabad 50Ibid

52 “Climate Displaced Non-Returning Travelers?” We Are Water, November 8, 2023 https://wwwwearewaterorg/en/insights/climate-displaced-non-returning-travelers/

53 Chughtai, Alia, and Marium Ali “Behind Pakistan’s Repeated Floods: Melting Glaciers, Depleted Forests” Al Jazeera, August 28, 2025 https://wwwaljazeeracom/news/2025/8/28/behind-pakistans-repeated-floods-melting-glaciers-depleted-forests

54 Craig, Tim “Pakistan Has More Glaciers than Almost Anywhere on Earth but They Are at Risk ” The Washington Post, April 12, 2016 https://wwwwashingtonpostcom/world/asia pacific/pakistan-has-more-glaciers-than-almost-anywhere-onearth-but-they-are-at-risk/2016/08/11/7a6b4cd4-4882-11e6-8dac-0c6e4accc5b1 storyhtml

A Women in International Security report on the record-breaking 2022 floods reads that pregnant women were the most badly affected and estimated that approximately 650,000 pregnant Pakistani women and girls were impacted. A staggering 33 million people were affected.[55] Entire roads and bridges were destroyed, and many cities in Pakistan’s northern region were inaccessible for a while, which meant help had to be flown in[56][57] This gravely impacts women, especially pregnant women and other vulnerable populations, who are experiencing time sensitive medical emergencies

Infrastructure is bound to suffer gravely as situations escalate, whether they’re related to conflict or climate change. In recent times, against international law, we have seen Israel bombard hospitals in Gaza and target healthcare workers with impunity[58] In past years, the global community saw healthcare facilities targeted deliberately or accidentally in the Syrian Civil War, the Yemen Civil War, the Kosovo War, the Bosnian War, in Afghanistan, Iraq, and others Some may counter this by stating that the destruction of healthcare facilities and other infrastructure is just a reality of war and conflict, be this foreign or domestic, and therefore to be expected. While plausible, this perspective is flawed for it fails to discern that infrastructure damage and destruction in conflict context is manmade, whereas climate catastrophes are truly accidental Regardless, civilians suffer in both arenas

For pregnant women, prenatal care is imperative for the welfare of mother and child, as is medical care post-birth. As in war, access to medical care during climate catastrophes is difficult to find and even harder in mountainous regions within the country. In many cases, cities located in the North of Pakistan are connected with more developed cities through narrow roads and bridges, which can be blocked or broken during such emergencies, leaving entire populations isolated, without care This was the case for Quetta, a major city in the Balochistan province, which was left isolated after a rail bridge collapse[⁵⁹] Moreover, when victims do receive support, this does little to alleviate the suffering of women, particularly when they are expecting. Plastic or cloth tents for survivors, who have lost their homes and all they had, provide shelter, indeed, but relief camps should not be considered “safe” spaces for several reasons

55

56 Aamir, Farwa “Pakistan Floods: Women Should Be at the Forefront of Relief Efforts & Future Climate Policies” Stimson Center, September 1, 2022 https://wwwstimsonorg/2022/pakistan-floods-women-should-be-at-the-forefront-of-reliefefforts-and-future-climate-policies/

57 Mehsud, Rehmat “Rains, Floods Kill Nearly 200 in Northern Pakistan as Relief Helicopter Crash Leaves Five Dead” Arab News, August 15, 2025 https://wwwarabnewscom/node/2611923/pakistan

58 “Pakistan - Road Access and Flood Situation Overview” Logistics cluster website, September 9, 2025 https://wwwlogclusterorg/en/node/48481

Marsi, Fredrica. “’Horrific’ Israel Bombs Hospitals, Residential Towers amid Gaza Onslaught.” Al Jazeera, September 28, 2025. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/28/horrific-israel-bombs-hospitals-residential-towers-amid-gaza-onslaught.

59 Shahid, Saleem “Quetta Isolated as Vital Rail Bridge Collapses” Dawn, August 26, 2022 https://wwwdawncom/news/1706835

Those in these temporary encampments in Pakistan struggle to meet their daily basic nutritional needs, such as adequate food and clean drinking water, let alone have a place to give birth[⁶⁰]

The report further states that 1,460 medical facilities were damaged and 432 completely destroyed. With the shortage of healthcare workers, facilities, and medical supplies in the region, vulnerable populations are in a dire situation[⁶¹] While these were preexisting issues for vulnerable populations, especially the destitute, climate change has compounded these problems unlike ever before[⁶²] These are overlapping realities in conflict and post-conflict zones, where healthcare facilities may be destroyed, abandoned, and women have little choice but to deliver without the presence of healthcare workers. Reportedly, 180,000 pregnant and lactating women struggled to cling to life during the 2010 Pakistan floods, many of whom ultimately passed away[⁶³] Still, their loss was not included in the death toll figure[⁶⁴] It is also welldocumented how conflict fuels food insecurity[⁶⁵] In both arenas - climate and conflict - this means high mortality rates and high risk of miscarriages Access to sanitary health (eg pads) also remains a top challenge for women in these relief camps[⁶⁶]

Additionally, those affected are at an increased risk of starvation and malnutrition.[⁶⁷] A vast number of children in Pakistan already suffer from stunted growth due to malnutrition[⁶⁸] This problem has become more acute following the 2022 and 2025 Pakistan floods, described by UN General Secretary António Guterres as a “monsoon on steroids”[⁶⁹] Similarly, Pakistan’s school

60 62 Ibid 61 Thakar, Tristan “Gender and Climate Disaster: A Worsening Situation for Pakistani Women” University of Pittsburgh WIIS Chapter | Women in International Security, 2022 https://wiisglobalorg/gender-and-climate-disaster-a-worseningsituation-for-pakistani women/#: :text=%5B2%5D%20Everyone%20in%20Pakistan%20is,were%20expected%20to%20give%20birth

63 Ibid Aamir, Farwa “Pakistan Floods: Women Should Be at the Forefront of Relief Efforts & Future Climate Policies” Stimson Center, September 1, 2022 https://wwwstimsonorg/2022/pakistan-floods-women-should-be-at-the-forefront-of-reliefefforts-and-future-climate-policies/

64 Ibid

65 Sova, Chase, and Eilish Zembilci “Dangerously Hungry: The Link between Food Insecurity and Conflict” CSIS, April 1, 2023 https://wwwcsisorg/analysis/dangerously-hungry-link-between-food-insecurity-and-conflict

66 “Unseen Victims: The Gendered Toll of Pakistan’s Climate Crisis - Migrant Women Press.” Migrant Women Press, February 12, 2025. https://migrantwomenpress.com/2025/02/12/unseen-victims-the-gendered-toll-of-pakistans-climate-crisis/.

67 “Climate Crisis and Malnutrition - A Case for Acting Now” UN World Food Programme, September 20, 2021 https://wwwwfporg/publications/climate-crisis-and-malnutrition-case-acting-now

68 Dias, Avani. “AYear after a Natural Disaster Struck Pakistan, Something Strange Is Happening to Children’s Bodies.” ABC News, December 11, 2023. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-12/pakistan-climate-change-disasters-childmalnourishment-education/103059696.

69 “Pakistan Facing Monsoon ‘on Steroids’Climate Catastrophe, Secretary-General Says, Urging Global Support of Flash Appeal for Flood Response Plan | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases” United Nations, August 30, 2022 https://pressunorg/en/2022/sgsm21429dochtm

going children suffer, and dropout rates have increased[⁷⁰] This is not to say that the climate catastrophes are the sole cause or start for rising dropout rates; however, they have exacerbated the problem.[⁷¹] 30,000 schools were destroyed in the 2022 floods.[⁷²] In the 2025 Pakistan floods, the entire country remained on high alert. People faced flash flooding across the provinces and territories from Sindh, Punjab, and the disputed territory of Kashmir (locally referred to as Azad Kashmir, bordering India to the East), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (bordering Afghanistan to the West), Balochistan (bordering Afghanistan and Iran in the Southwest), and Gilgit-Baltistan (bordering China in the North)[⁷³] Young girls suffer the most, whose perceived roles in society make their access to education more fragile to that of boys to begin with, especially in families feeling the full force of economic pressures. Child marriage is then seen as an avenue to alleviate from the financial burden of caring for young girls who are largely still considered liabilities versus boys who are perceived as being future breadwinners In the case of conflicts and their aftermaths, especially in societies entrenched with patriarchal values, such as in Iraq, we see child marriages and school dropout rates in young girls increased during the nine-year war (2003-2010)[⁷⁴]

Another consideration is that survivors of sexual assault may similarly lack access to essential healthcare or emergency obstetric attention[⁷⁵] The overcrowded living conditions within relief camps offer ripe breeding grounds for increased violence against women, including sexual violence[⁷⁶] Women in countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan carry the brunt of responsibilities from being primary caregivers, managing the household, tending to livestock, to community building.[⁷⁷] These responsibilities multiply during humanitarian crises, while they face the most restrictions, societal and situational in nature. They further have limited to no access to decisionmaking[⁷⁸] For instance, a large percentage of the population relies on livestock as the lifeline for their financial survival[⁷⁹][⁸⁰][⁸¹]

Dias, Avani “AYear after a Natural Disaster Struck Pakistan, Something Strange Is Happening to Children’s Bodies” ABC News, December 11, 2023 https://wwwabcnetau/news/2023-12-12/pakistan-climate-change-disasters-child malnourishment-education/103059696 73

“Unseen Victims: The Gendered Toll of Pakistan’s Climate Crisis - Migrant Women Press.” Migrant Women Press, February 12, 2025. https://migrantwomenpress.com/2025/02/12/unseen-victims-the-gendered-toll-of-pakistans-climate-crisis/.

“Pakistan: Flash Floods” ReliefWeb,June 2025 https://reliefwebint/disaster/fl-2025-000100-pak

“Sharp Rise in Teenage Childbearing during Iraq War” London School of Economics | ScienceDaily, December 15, 2014 https://wwwsciencedailycom/releases/2014/12/141212084946htm

“Unseen Victims: The Gender Toll of Pakistan’s CLimate Crisis - Migrant Women Press” Migrant Women Press, February 12, 2025 https://migrantwomenpresscom/2025/02/12/unseen-victims-the-gendered-toll-of-pakistans-climate-crisis/

Ibid 77

Ibid78

79 “‘For the First Time, I Felt Free’: Pakistan’s Women-Led Livestock Market.” The Guardian, January 20, 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/jan/20/for-the-first-time-i-felt-free-pakistans-women-ledlivestock-market.

80 Dilawar, Ismail “As Monsoons Arrive, Livestock Shelters Stand between Survival and Ruin for Pakistani Farmers” Arab News, July 6, 2025 https://wwwarabnewscom/node/2607072/pakistan

81

animal abuse and neglect remain rampant [⁸²][⁸³][⁸⁴][⁸⁵] Many animals from beloved household pets to livestock end up losing their lives or injured in such disasters as is the case in Pakistan This places them in a more vulnerable position, requiring more care. Men are not removed from caring for animals and saving their lives, but in the broader scheme of things, Pakistani women shoulder responsibilities for the most part in isolation, whether in the household or in the country’s few and largely women-run, overburdened animal shelters[⁸⁶]

Still, in many cases, women’s mobility remains controlled as patriarchal structures dominate global norms. For instance, in rural parts of the country, tribal regions, and in some cases urban centres, women are not permitted to leave their homes without a male chaperone.[⁸⁷] This impacts them in all aspects of life, from pursuing an education, wanting to start a career, to developing their own identity The results of these shackles surface during humanitarian crises Due to such domestic policing, the majority of women in Pakistan cannot swim[⁸⁸] They lack an essential skill that could otherwise save their lives and those of their dependents in the case of a flood. Instead of realizing the adverse impact of such policing and seeking to reform these norms, during the recent 2025 floods, a video circulated across Pakistani social media platforms demanding an end to the “sham” that is gender equality[⁸⁹] It showcased men jumping in flood waters to bring other men to safety and read that as no women jumped in, this is where gender equality ought to end[⁹⁰] In other words, it suggested that there are some things only men are willing and able to do and therefore should be privileged over women Many women and sane voices criticized the video, arguing that if men had let women learn to swim and created an environment safe enough for them not to face harassment, there would be women diving in flood waters to rescue others should-to shoulder with men[⁹¹][⁹²]

Asghar, Huzaifa “Livestock Sector’s Role in Pakistan’s Economy” The Agricultural Economist, June 15, 2025 https://wwwagrieconomistcom/livestock-sectors-role-in-pakistans-economy

82

“Pakistan | World Animal Protection Index” Animal Protection Index, March 10, 2020 https://apiworldanimalprotectionorg/country/pakistan#: :text=Pakistan’s%20Prevention%20of%20Cruelty%20to,their%20i mportance%20in%20Pakistani%20society

83

Bhutto, Fatima “I Love Pakistan but with Rampant Cruelty in the Country, There’s Much to Mourn” Zeteo, August 15, 2024 https://zeteocom/p/i-love-pakistan-but-with-rampant

84

“‘Camel Victim of Cruelty, Whose Leg Was Chopped Off, Received Pakistan’s First Animal Prosthetic’” Kluchit, July 15, 2025 https://wwwinstagramcom/p/DMIgev0oqUl/?igsh=ajdrOHdneTYyeGZihttps://tribunecompk/story/2504882/k-pfinally-gives-voice-to-the-voiceless

85

Parveen, Shahida “K-P Finally Gives Voice to the Voiceless” The Express Tribune, October 24, 2024 https://tribunecompk/story/2504882/k-p-finally-gives-voice-to-the-voiceless

86

87

Bhutto, Fatima “I Love Pakistan but with Rampant Cruelty in the Country, There’s Much to Mourn” There’s Much to Mourn” Zeteo, August 15, https://zeteocom/p/i-love-pakistan-but-with-rampant

88

“Unseen Victims: The Gendered Toll of Pakistan’s Climate Crisis - Migrant Women Press.” Migrant Women Press, February 12, 2025 https://migrantwomenpresscom/2025/02/12/unseen-victims-the-gendered-toll-of-pakistans-climate-crisis/ Bhatti, Nabila Feroz “Flood Crisis: Women at Risk of Sexual Abuse, Violence and Harassment” The Friday Times, September 19, 2022 https://wwwthefridaytimescom/19-Sep-2022/flood-crisis-women-at-risk-of-sexual-abuse-violence-and-harassment

89 Pak memes fantastic “3

> on Instagram: ‘How These Men Are Stopping the Water to Save Their Families from the Flood Hats off #explorepage #pakistan #viralpost2025 #trendingreels #flood #viralreels #instagood #fyp #pakistanflood’” Instagram, August 28, 2025 https://wwwinstagramcom/reel/DN6-seFih77/?igsh=eHgzb3Uwd3c1Mjkz

considered at all In Pakistan, following the aftermath of the 2022 floods, the government’s relief plans overlooked the plight of female survivors[⁹³] In the aftermath of the 2025 Pakistan floods, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur announced that the government would compensate victims for their financial losses, including those of private property.[⁹⁴] While this is a good initiative, it may remain an empty promise as most government-promised actions do in the country Take post-war Rwanda, as another example, where loss of access to land (eg dispossession of their homes) was a key loss of security for women Many Rwandan women were denied land ownership due to traditional and patriarchal systemic discrimination[⁹⁵]

Women are so often overlooked across borders that it is as though society and government(s) have become accustomed to overlooking women’s lived realities In many cases, women are breadwinners, widows, possibly even with dependents, and entire persons-just like their male counterparts They should not be denied these rights given to men or have them passed over This is not to say that all women suffer the same, that men do not suffer in these scenarios, or that all women are in weaker socio-economic positions than men. This is also not to suggest that women should be financially prioritized over men, but to recognize the differences in their challenges, enabling us to support women and girls more effectively It is also important to differentiate that it is not the climate itself that is harsher on women compared to men, but the gender-based, socioeconomic hierarchies deeply entrenched at all systemic and social levels

Case Study 2 - Bangladesh

Bangladesh, also located in South Asia, is another compelling case study, having experienced both war and some of the worst impacts of climate devastation Like in Pakistan, Bangladesh too is experiencing intense monsoon flooding, and according to a Johns Hopkins University study, it is at risk of losing a predicted 17% of its territory to rising sea-levels by 2050[⁹⁶] Women suffer higher levels of poverty in Bangladesh compared to men, and as a result, shall remain the hardest hit by climate change, especially in coastal areas.[⁹⁷]

Farqparhtahai youth organization “‘in Every Flood, Men and Women Stand against the Water in Different Ways but Unless We Recognize Women as Equal Stakeholders, Leaders, and Workers, Recovery Will Always Remain Incomplete #farqparhtahai’” Instagram, September 1, 2025 https://wwwinstagramcom/reel/DODf0JTDTbq/ igsh=MXVuZjZmY3Bka3dmNw

95 Ibid 94 Mukiga, Anette, Elisabetta Cangelosi, and Amira Kheir. “Supporting Women to Achieve Land Rights in Post-War Rwanda.” Rwanda Women’s Network | International Land Coalition | United for Land Rights, 2017. https://d3o3cb4w253x5q.cloudfront.net/media/documents/ILC Case Study 0010 Rwanda EN.pdf.

96

Imran, Kashif “Pakistan to Compensate Survivors for Losses after Floods Kill 312 in Northwest since Aug 15” Arab News, August 17, 2025 https://wwwarabnewscom/node/2612106/pakistan

97 Veer, Amruta. “BIPR.” M.A.I.R BIPR | Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies | Bologna Institute for Policy Research, 2025. https://bipr.jhu.edu/BlogArticles/31-Climate-Change-Exposes-Bangladesh-to-Greater-Risk.cfm.

“Climate Change and Gender in Bangladesh Information Brief” Ministry of Environment and Forests | Government Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, nd https://iucnorg/sites/default/files/import/downloads/genderpdf

101

Experts also find that women’s mortality rates greatly supersede those of men, both in war and in other humanitarian crises like climate catastrophes[⁹⁸] For instance, in the deadly 1991 Bangladesh cyclone, five times more women died than men, a stark reminder of just how much more vulnerable women are.[⁹⁹] In Bangladesh’s case, like that of Pakistan and Rwanda, many women are expected to shoulder responsibility for their family’s livelihood while societal norms restrict their ownership of assets[¹⁰⁰] Women’s recovery capacity is burdened not by some gender deficit, but by the pressures asserted upon them and the lack of supports made available to them For instance, women in Bangladesh are hesitant to go to emergency shelters, choosing to remain behind at home due to ingrained societal attitudes and restrictions imposed on women.[¹⁰¹] Moreover, like in Pakistan, a significant number of Bangladeshi women, too, lack basic lifesaving skills, like swimming, first aid, and self-defence survival skills[¹⁰²] These skills become important in attempting to save oneself or other dependents like children, those with physical or mental disabilities, and the elderly

Experts find that climate catastrophes in Bangladesh have resulted in a rise in sexual and domestic violence against women.[¹⁰³] There are many ways by which women become more susceptible to such brutal mental and bodily harm in such circumstances With gender inequality comes a power imbalance between men and women, and then there are more layers to this For instance, another asymmetry of power is the imbalance between authoritative and subordinate roles, such as those of a soldier and a civilian, where the former has control over the latter’s security and wellbeing. There is a similar power asymmetry in the provider-recipient relationship between an aid provider (e.g. food) and an affected individual, whether this is in a war refugee camp or a climate disaster relief camp Many countries turn to their soldiers to aid in such dire circumstances, in which ordinary civilians may lack the skills to navigate disasters and difficult terrains alone However, a record of United Nations peacekeeping missions reveals that not all those sent to serve and protect do In some cases, peacekeepers have been found guilty of perpetuating these very harms onto vulnerable populations, such as women and children, as was the case in Haiti, Lebanon, the DRC and the Central African Republic.[¹⁰⁴][¹⁰⁵][¹⁰⁶]

Shamsuddoha, Md, Md Akib Jabed, Md Shahnul Islam, Naznin Sultana, Al Imran, Sheikh Nur Ataya Rabbi, Tanje Un Jenat, Shanjia Shams, and Mir Mehoraf Sharif “Impacts of Climate Change-Induced Natural Hazards on Women and Their Human Rights Implications: A Study in the Southwest Coast of Bangladesh” Journal of migration and health, March 6, 2024

https://pmcncbinlmnihgov/articles/PMC10946321/#:~:text=During%20significant%20climate%20change%2Dinduced,plac es%20often%20encounter%20sexual%20harassment

“Climate Change and Gender in Bangladesh Information Brief” Ministry of Environment and Forests | Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, nd https://iucnorg/sites/default/files/import/downloads/genderpdf

Shamsuddoha, Md, Md Akib Jabed, Md Shahnul Islam, Naznin Sultana, Al Imran, Sheikh Nur Ataya Rabbi, Tanje Un Jenat, Shanjia Shams, and Mir Mehoraf Sharif “Impacts of Climate Change-Induced Natural Hazards on Women and Their Human Rights Implications: A Study in the Southwest Coast of Bangladesh” Journal of migration and health, March 6, 2024

https://pmcncbinlmnihgov/articles/PMC10946321/#:~:text=During%20significant%20climate%20change%2Dinduced,plac es%20often%20encounter%20sexual%20harassment

In the Central African Republic, UN French peacekeepers exploited children, requesting sexual favours in exchange for food[¹⁰⁷] Similarly, Rohingya women in Bangladeshi refugee camps, who fled persecution in Myanmar, often fell victim to sexual harassment and abuse.[¹⁰⁸] Women and girls can also face sexual harassment when standing in food provision lines with other male flood survivors Women and girls are at even more risk if they must venture to remote locations to fetch food or clean drinking water Bangladeshi women reported experiencing or fearing sexual violence and harassment in flood relief camps, such as during the distribution of necessities[¹⁰⁹] [¹¹⁰] Pakistani women reported the same during the 2022 floods[¹¹¹] These women were left behind by their families who feared (1) they would bring dishonor if they were seen around male strangers or (2) dishonor by becoming victim to sexual abuse.[¹¹²]

Women in conflict and non-conflict crises share many common challenges During the 1971 Indo Pakistan war that marked the breakaway of West Pakistan from its eastern wing (modern-day Bangladesh) - known by some as the “dismemberment of Pakistan” and by others as a struggle for “liberation” - Bangladeshi women, in particular, fell victim to extreme levels of gender-based violence. It was Bangladesh that became the first case to draw international attention to the plight and disproportionate suffering that women have experienced throughout the history of war in the form of rape and mass assault [¹¹³] These women’s bodies were used as “battlegrounds” by the men around them, even by those who would have been expected to protect them[¹¹⁴][¹¹⁵] Women were also taken as sex slaves[¹¹⁶] Many women were disowned by their families and ostracized from society.[¹¹⁷] Worse still, their suffering did not end after the war, for while they were acknowledged as victims, but soon their suffering was quickly silenced.[¹¹⁸] Bangladesh serves as one of the worst cases of gendered wartime violence in modern history due to the brutality women experienced[¹¹⁹] Similarly, thousands of Afghan women experienced sexual exploitation and other forms of abuse during the War in Afghanistan[¹²⁰] Afghan women and girls experiencing climate displacement also experienced heightened risk of sexual and other gender-based violence in emergency shelters.[¹²¹]

The Associated Press “Sexual Misconduct Allegations in UN Missions Topped 100 in 2024” NPR, March 19, 2025 https://wwwnprorg/2025/03/19/nx-s1-5332868/un-sexual-misconduct

Hu, Caitlin, Etant Dupain, and Paula Newton “Dozens of Children Were Left behind by UN Personnel in Haiti Their Mothers WantJustice” CNN, September 17, 2023 https://wwwcnncom/2023/09/15/americas/haiti-un-peacekeepers-trust-fundsexual-abuse-as-equals-intl-cmd/indexhtml

106

Wheeler, Skye “UN Peacekeeping Has a Sexual Abuse Problem” Human Rights Watch, January 11, 2020 https://wwwhrworg/news/2020/01/11/un-peacekeeping-has-sexual-abuse-problem

107

The Associated Press “UN Ignored Claims of French Peacekeepers Giving Children Food for Sexual Favours, Report Says” National Post, December 17, 2015 https://nationalpostcom/news/world/gross-institutional-failure-un-ignoredclaims-of-peacekeepers-giving-children-food-for-sexual-favors

108

“Sexual Harassment Tops Concerns of Rohingya Women in Bangladesh Camps: ActionAid Study” One World South Asia, September 2, 2025 https://owsain/sexual-harassment-tops-concerns-of-rohingya-women-in-bangladesh-campsactionaid-study/

110

References from previous page

112

Thurston, Alyssa Mari, Heidi Stöckl, and Meghna Ranganathan “Natural Hazards, Disasters and Violence against Women and Girls: A Global Mixed-Methods Systematic Review” BMJ global health, April 2021 https://pmcncbinlmnihgov/articles/PMC8112410/

“Case Study: Gender Human Security, and Climate Change in Bangladesh” We Do Org, nd https://wedoorg/wpcontent/uploads/bangladesh-case-studypdf 111 Sturridge, Caitlin, Zaki Ullah, and Muhammad Tanveer Amjad

Sturridge, Caitlin, Zaki Ullah, and Muhammad Tanveer Ajmad ODI Global, October 18, 2022 https://odiorg/en/insights/leftbehind-in-pakistan-why-some-women-cant-flee-the-floods/

Ibid

113 Ibid 114

115

Deb, Steffi S. “The Liberation War of Bangladesh: Women and the Alternative The Liberation War of Bangladesh: Women and the Alternative Narratives of the War Narratives of the War.” Jawaharlal Nehru University | Journal of International Women’s Studies Journal of International Women’s Studies, Volume 22, Issue 4, April 2021. https://vc.bridgew.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2429&context=jiws.

Begum, Thaslima “’We LAy Like Corpses, Then The Raping Began: 52 Years on, Bangladesh’s Rape Camp Survivors Speak Out” The Guardian, April 3, 2023 https://wwwtheguardiancom/global-development/2023/apr/03/52-yearsbangladesh-birangona-women-mass-rape-surviviors

116 Ibid

117

Deb, Steffi S. “The Liberation War of Bangladesh: Women and the Alternative The Liberation War of Bangladesh: Women and the Alternative Narratives of the War Narratives of the War.” Jawaharlal Nehru University | Journal of International Women’s Studies Journal of International Women’s Studies, Volume 22, Issue 4, April 2021. https://vc.bridgew.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2429&context=jiws.

118 Ibid

119

Abrar, Abid, Fahim, Wiebke Lehner, and Maya Pzybyszeweka “Women’s Roles in the 1971 Bangladesh Genocide” Global Human Rights Defence, June 1, 2024 https://papersssrncom/sol3/paperscfm?abstract_id=5161715

120 Hutchinson, Susan “Sexual Torture of Women’s Rights Defenders in Taliban Prisons” Azadi-e Zan’s Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture | OHCHR, nd https://wwwohchrorg/sites/default/files/documents/issues/torture/sr/cfis/cfi-ga79/subm-identifying-documentinginvestigating-cso-azadi-e-zanpdf

121 investigating-cso-azadi-e-zanpdf 121 “Afghanistan Protection Analysis Update” Protection Cluster Afghanistan, May 2024 https://globalprotectionclusterorg/sites/default/files/2024-05/pau afghanistan may 2024_final 2105202435pdf

Moreover, during this time, many Bangladeshi women and girls did not risk leaving their homes and, in many cases, could not even to pursue their education[¹²²][¹²³] Prior to the pandemic, students could not use platforms like Zoom to manage their education in spite of their physical location, a comparative privilege today. Many Ukrainians of school going age or at the university level can hold onto some normalcy through platforms like Zoom to continue their education despite the on-the-ground situation[¹²⁴] Even with all these technological improvements, many in rural areas or otherwise socio-economically disadvantaged individuals within the Global South still lack access to technological devices and supports In most cases, there is no public library with access to the internet in rural Global South areas like villages, and many would struggle to work a computer. This is just one example of the stark difference in the support available between those located in (1) urban and rural locations, (2) the affluent and the impoverished, and (3) those in the Global North and those in the Global South A UNICEF report states that climate crises in 2024 alone have disrupted the schooling of a known 33 million Bangladeshi children[¹²⁵] Many climate-preparedness investments in education at government levels remain low in Global South states like Bangladesh, but also in the Global North.[¹²⁶]

Furthermore, it is important to understand that Bangladeshi women were more than victims, and there are many cases of women’s agency during these incidents During the 1971 war, Bangladeshi women served as social workers, organizers, informants, and even guerrilla fighters [¹²⁷][¹²⁸]

122 Shamsuddoha, Md, Md Akib Jabed, Md Shahnul Islam, Naznin Sultana, Al Imran, Sheikh Nur Ataya Rabbi, Tanje Un Jenat, Shanjia Shams, and Mir Mehoraf Sharif “Impacts of Climate Change-Induced Natural Hazards on Women and Their Human Rights Implications: A Study in the Southwest Coast of Bangladesh” Journal of migration and health, March 6, 2024https://pmcncbinlmnihgov/articles/PMC10946321/#:~:text=During%20significant%20climate%20change%2Dinduce d,places%20often%20encounter%20sexual%20harassment

123 Hossain, Mosabber “Climate Disasters Are Pushing Bangladeshi Children out of the School System” World Economic Forum, May 11, 2022 https://wwwweforumorg/stories/2022/05/climate-disasters-bangladesh-children-work/

124 Levine, Alexandra S “Online Learning Resumes in Ukraine, but with New Wartime Challenges” Forbes, March 31, 2022 https://wwwforbescom/sites/alexandralevine/2022/03/31/ukraine-schools-use-tech-to-bring-classes-to-studentswherever-they-may-be/

125 “Learning Interrupted: Global Snapshot of Climate-Related School Disruptions in 2024” UNICEF, January 13, 2025 https://wwwuncclearnorg/wp-content/uploads/library/Global-snapshot-climate-related-school-disruptions-2024pdf

126 Naran, Baysa, Barbara Buchner, Matthew Price, Sean Stout, Maddy Taylor, Dennis Zabeida “Global Landscape Climate of Finance 2024” Climate Policy Initiative, October 31, 2024 https://wwwclimatepolicyinitiativeorg/publication/globallandscape-of-climate-finance-2024/

127 Abrar Abid, Fahim, Wiebke Lehner, and Maja Pzybyszeweka “Women’s Roles in the 1971 Bangladesh Genocide” Global Human Rights Defence, June 1, 2024 https://papersssrncom/sol3/paperscfm?abstract id=5161715

128 Khatun, Mahfuza, Rasheda Irshad Nasir, and Kollol Arif “A Sociological Perspective in Woman Role on Liberation War of Bangladesh” Open Journal of Social Sciences, Volume 11, No7, July 2023 https://wwwscirporg/journal/paperinformation?paperid=126319

Many were active participants in political rallies and protests prior to the war, when Bangladesh was Pakistan’s eastern wing For instance, women are documented to have taken part in the 1952 language movement against the adoption of Urdu as Pakistan’s sole national language.[¹²⁹]

Other examples include the 1969 uprising of the eastern wing against General-turned-President Ayub Khan’s regime and other political movements, such as the Six-Point Programme, as well as the 1970 general election when both countries were one[¹³⁰] Similarly, many Bangladeshi women stepped into leadership roles during climate crises to assist affected communities, serving as volunteers, educators, medics, and advocates[¹³¹] For instance, Shafali Begum, a midwife by profession, took initiative to start an organization that would assist pregnant women during crises, and ensure safe deliveries.[¹³²] Roshan Akter, another Bangladeshi woman, played a leadership role in a large-scale tree plantation project, as a measure to adapt agriculture to climate changes and educate farmers on the importance of adopting sustainable agricultural practices as a preventative measure[¹³³]

Bangladesh and Pakistan’s neighbour, India, too, is facing extreme vulnerability to climate crises, which like in other states in the Global South, threatens to envelop into a full-scale humanitarian crisis in the foreseeable future if timely safeguards and emergency measures are not adopted [¹³⁴] The Policy Research Institute for South Asia, Climate Action Network South Asia, and ActionAid International estimate that by 2050, there will be over 62 9 million climate refugees in South Asia alone[¹³⁵] It is predicted that approximately 3 billion people across the globe will experience a Sahara-like climate.[¹³⁶] Massive chunks of the globe, predominantly the Global South, are expected to become uninhabitable due to rising temperatures and sea levels.[¹³⁷] It is hard to digest the extent of the loss of life and climate refugee migration in question

Case Study 3 - The Philippines

The Philippines, in Southeast Asia, is another prime example of the similarities between conflict and other humanitarian disaster realities for women.

129 Ibid

130 Ibid

131 Ibid

132 Ame, Kazi Rabeya “Championing Women’s Role in Community-Led Initiatives for Climate Action” UN Women, January 16, 2025 https://asiapacificunwomenorg/en/stories/feature-story/2025/01/championing-womens-role-in-community-ledinitiatives-for-climate-action

133 Ibid

134 fKhanna, Parag The world: 4°C warmer, nd https://mymodernmetcom/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/climate-changemap-HDjpeg

135 Khatun, Mahfuza, Rasheda Irshad Nasir, and Kollol Arif “A Sociological Perspective in Woman Role on Liberation War of Bangladesh” Open Journal of Social Sciences, Volume 11, No7, July 2023 https://wwwscirporg/journal/paperinformation?paperid=126319

136 Mahapatra, Richard “Will India Be Uninhabitable by 2035?” Down To Earth, July 18, 2024 https://wwwdowntoearthorgin/climate-change/will-india-be-uninhabitable-by-2035

137 Ibid

During the Second World War, the Philippines and other countries across Asia were occupied by Japanese forces[¹³⁸] In the Philippines, 1000 women were taken as sexual slaves, referred to as “comfort” women, by the Japanese forces, among them were underage girls[¹³⁹] Claveria, in the Philippines, recalled how at 12-years old when Japanese soldiers raided her village in search of guerrilla fighters, skinning her innocent father during an investigation, ultimately killing her parents and later took her and her sisters into their comfort women system.[¹⁴⁰] Similarly, one 14year-old Korean survivor in her testimony described her haunting experience, elaborating on how she was placed into a room with other girls when the soldiers came, and she resisted with all her might [¹⁴¹]

While sheer human-executed brutality and sexual violence are not as rampant in humanitarian crises, this is no excuse to avoid preventative safeguards. A 2022 UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) report on the Philippines states that the risk of sexual abuse intensifies in all humanitarian emergencies, conflict and non-conflict related[¹⁴²] The OCHA report also stresses the urgent need for sexual exploitation prevention measures to be integrated into all humanitarian responses[¹⁴³] The report, therefore, recommends the establishment of safe spaces with ample privacy for affected individuals to reduce threat levels.[¹⁴⁴]

Other reports also show that in the Philippines, women played a significant role as agents of change throughout the war Some took up arms, advocated for their freedom and today many are raising awareness of the atrocities committed under Japanese occupation[¹⁴⁵] During recent disasters, women have also been active in providing humanitarian relief during climate emergencies, such as droughts and typhoons. [¹⁴⁶][¹⁴⁷]

138 “Testimonies of the Victims” Atonement Project of the Asian Women’s Fund | Digital Museum | The Comfort Women Issue and the Asian Women’s Fund, 1996 https://wwwawforjp/e3/oralhistory-00html

139 “Sexual Slavery during Second World War” European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights Accessed September 30, 2025 https://wwwecchreu/en/case/philippines-sexual-slavery-during-second-world-war/ 140 McCarthy, Julie “Philippine Survivor Recounts Her Struggle as a ‘comfort Woman’for Wartime

140 McCarthy, Julie “Philippine Survivor Recounts Her Struggle as a ‘comfort Woman’for Wartime Japan” NPR, November 29, 2020 https://wwwnprorg/2020/11/29/939811000/philippine-survivor-recounts-her-struggle-as-a-comfort-woman-forwartime-japan

141 “Testimonies of the Victims” Atonement Project of the Asian Women’s Fund | Digital Museum | The Comfort Women Issue and the Asian Women’s Fund, 1996 https://wwwawforjp/e3/oralhistory-00html

142 “Gender Alert: Philippines Super Typhoon Rai Response (May 2022)” Gender in Humanitarian Action | Community of Practice Philippines, OCHA May 4, 2022 https://wwwunochaorg/publications/report/philippines/gender-alert-philippinessuper-typhoon-rai-response-may-2022

143 Ibid

144 Ibid

145 Salinas, Stacie Anne Baterina “Filipina Resistance Fighters: Women’s Contributions to the Liberation of the Philippines, 1942-1945” Pacific Atrocities Education, 2017 https://wwwpacificatrocitiesorg/blog/filipina-resistance-fighters

146 “How Six Women Are Helping Their Communities Adapt to Climate Change” UN Environment Programme, March 6, 2025 https://wwwuneporg/news-and-stories/story/how-six-women-are-helping-their-communities-adapt-climatechange#: :text=Louise%20Mabulo%2C%20the%20Philippines&text=When%20Typhoon%20Nock%2Dten%20ripped,can%2 0tr ansform%20adversity%20into%20opportunity

Acknowledgements

Thank you to the editors and reviewers for their support and to Taylour, our Special Projects Volunteer for her tireless work in supporting the publication!

Annaleah Westerhaug Ashley Clingam-Jackson Daniet Moges

Dr. Clara Limunga Molua Jada Quinland

Taylour Holloway

Mahnan Omar

Maulline Gragau Natalia A. Bonilla Berrios Rebecca Irby Roselyn Pepela

Andreanna Mond

Lourdes Sanchez