BY ABUBAKAR AHMED
Introduction
As the call for more commitment and strong political will by governments in order to actualize the lofty potentials of women keeps resonating and reverberating across the globe, the need to encourage their activity in politics and governance, decision-making processes and in leadership positions have become an important endeavor more than ever before. However, for this lofty ideal to be achieved, there is the need to break the cycle of violence and oppression against women which stands in the way of their effective utilization as human resource. Even as men are too often the architects of conflicts and or wars, women suffer its consequences and as such; as a young man passionate about the plight of women not only in Nigeria but across the globe, decides to put pen on paper and come up with this Feature as the month of October sets in.
Interestingly, as a man or woman, if you never ponder on the significance of the month of October in the life of every woman from Fallujah to Abuja, Afghanistan to Pakistan, the Middle East and even Europe, sit back and relax and if you invest your time to read through the feature, I am sure you will find the bouquets of contents carefully selected and blended for your reading pleasure.The month of October is indeed very sacred in the life of every woman because in October 2000, the United Nations through resolution 1325 of the Security Council recognized the need for full participation of women in the peace processes.
The decision was taken by the United Nations Security Council – which is the strategic organ of the organization responsible for the maintenance of global peace and security; in realization of how violent conflict disproportionately affects women and girls and intensifies pre-existing gender inequalities and discrimination globally.
It is worthy of mention here that resolution 1325 was the first resolution that recognized the disproportionate and unique impact of armed conflict on women and girls while acknowledging their contributions to conflict prevention, peacekeeping, conflict resolution and peacebuilding and highlighted the importance of their equal and full participation, as active agents in peace and security.
It was very evident that different genders are affected differently in all stages that lead to violent conflicts and during the conflicts as well as women having different needs from men in post conflict stages. The successes recorded in the implementation of the resolution and the heightened global calls for bestowing on women more greater responsibilities aimed at fostering and strengthening their participation saw the Security Council passing nine subsequent resolutions on Women, Peace and Security, notably; 1820, 1888, 1889, 1960, 2106, 2122, 2242, 2467, 2493 which have since been adopted.Peace is a state of tranquility, a state of non-violence in which the contradictions in society have been effectively mediated in the interest of all.
Conflict on the other hand, is a situation of interaction involving two or more parties in which actions in pursuit of incompatible objectives or interests result in varying degrees of discord. The interests in question most often range from limited resources, psychological needs to values/culture.
Conflict is a phenomenon that is as old as human society and it has the characteristics of being negative or positive. Scholars have argued that conflict is a normal state of human interaction. According to Max Weber for instance, “…peace is nothing more than a change in the form of conflict or in the antagonists or in the objects of the conflict, or finally in the chances of selection.
Thus, the concept of conflict is multidimensional, manifesting in various forms. The structural theory of violence analyses, violence from abnormalities is the structures of political institutions.
An Overview of World ConflictsConflict is a universal phenomenon, which occurs between individuals, groups and nations worldwide. It is not limited to any local environment.
After the cold war which practically ended in 1990, there has been an average of 30 – 34 wars per year around the world (Peace Africa, 2010). In 1994, there were about 34 wars waged in different countries of the world. Most of these conflicts took place in developing countries especially Africa where largely ethnic and intra-state conflict ravaged one country after another. Furthermore, given the coercive nature of colonial states, the divisive colonial boundary-making processes, and the often-abrupt transitions to independence, a central experience for many African states has been large-scale political violence. Since independence, many states have witnessed civil wars, mass killings, and other forms of direct political violence. Indeed, so strong is the association between war and independent Africa that many journalistic observers claim that Africa is the most endemically violent region in the world.Countries like Ethiopia, Sudan, Liberia, Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire, Uganda, Libya, Kenya, Egypt, DRC, South Sudan, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad, Niger and today we have Nigeria that have suffered greatly from widespread and intense internal conflicts.
These conflicts expose the myth of national solidarity, undermining the social fabric of these nations and destroying their fragile economies. Although wars between countries have been declining, violence within states is on the increase. Over the last two decades, civil conflicts have more than doubled, jumping from 30 in 2001 to 70 in 2016.
These wars are concentrated in poor countries with a toxic combination of fragile institutions, inequality, discrimination and social conflict. These factors, together with others such as the intensity of natural disasters, food crises, the increasing threats posed by climate change, terrorism and record numbers of displaced persons, are shaping a new international landscape.When we look beyond Africa, other countries cut in the web of intra-state conflict include Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Middle-East, East Timor, Colombia, Guatemala and Northern Ireland.
At the inter-state level, we have the example of the American led invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan and the recent invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.Studies have shown that, between 1945 and 1989, there were about 29.8 million war-related deaths around the world and about 17 million people were displaced excluding those who fled their countries as refugees (Peace Africa, 2010).Effect of Conflicts on WomenThe effect of conflicts on women is immeasurable. Women cut up in war turn areas are first of all faced with social and psychological trauma, followed by economic and political difficulties as it were. Recent conflicts have highlighted the use of rape as tool of warfare.
In Rwanda as well as Bosnia – Herzegovina, women were raped as a means of ethnic cleansing; serving not only to terrorize individual victims but also to inflict collective terror on an ethnic group. Fathers and husbands were shot before the eyes of daughters and wives. In some countries like Angola and Mozambique, combatants kidnapped women to use as sex slaves.
In Sierra – Leone, women and children were not spared from the brutal maiming of limbs as tool of warfare, in addition to forcing young girls to take up arms to fight in the conflict. Here in Nigeria, we are all living witnesses to the adoption of over 200 Chibok school girls, abduction of 110 female students from the Government Girls Technical School, Dapchi, Yobe State, while 109 of these were returned to Dapchi town in the most outrageous manner with the insurgents relaxed enough to take selfies with community members and advising them to never let their girls return to school otherwise they will be abducted and never returned, the abduction of 279 female students aged between 10 and 17 during a raid by armed bandits on 26 February 2021, at the Government Girls Science Secondary School, a boarding school in Jangebe, in Zamfara State, incessant kidnapping of women and girls across different parts of the country.
The most recent tragic incident relating to the plight of women and girls in Nigeria is invasion by armed bandits in large numbers of hostels at Sabin Gida area of Zamfara state and abducted unspecified numbers of Federal University Gusau (FUG) female students in the early hours of Friday, September 22, 2023.
In situations of extreme hardship, traditional roles are adapted to meet the new realities imposed by conflicts. Women assume greater economic responsibilities as head of households. Women take on the responsibilities of caring for the many children left orphaned or abandoned during conflict. This is in addition to the fact that these women are themselves widowed or abandoned by husbands or male relatives as a result of war.
The economic impact of intra-state conflict on women is severe. Compounding the general poverty and hardship caused by war is the women’s lack of access to the means of production, particularly land. For example, in Rwanda, women have no right to the land owned by their dead husbands or parents.
In countries where women do have access to land, they often lack the resources needed to farm them and where they have the resource, fear and anxiety does not allow them to venture out into farmlands or market. A typical example is the current situation in Northeast Nigeria. In communities ravaged by conflict, women’s participation in the labor force increased during the course of conflict.
However, when ex-combatants return home, women are often the first to lose their jobs during post conflict transition. Women’s nutritional status decline disproportionately, as do girls health and educational levels. Women headed households, women refugee returnees, and socially vulnerable women all experience marked economic decline during the post-conflict transition.
The political impact of conflict many times creates opportunities for women to increase their public roles and responsibilities. In the absence of men, women take on hardship roles in both civil and political institutions. Without much notice or training or experience, they became the bread-winners and decision-makers not only in the family but also in the society. Some women found this adjustment very difficult at the beginning because most African societies are patriarchal. In many cases where women are responsible for feeding their families, their authority rarely extends to decision making in their homes and less so in the wider society.There is increased demand on women in their role as nurses in times of war. Women are traditionally positioned to care for the sick and the injured. This task is increased during war situations as more injuries are recorded and it is made worse by very limited health care services available.
Women in Peace Building Women have continued to be the worst hit in situation of violent conflicts. The bitter experiences of women in times of war often make them string adherents of peace building and constitution making for conflict resolution. However, women’s roles in and contributions to conflict resolution are underutilized or wholly ignored in mainstream peace building and constitution making process.
Nevertheless, women all over the world are devising creative and effective strategies to ending wars and building peace. At this point, it is worth stressing that there are four reasons why there is need to increase women participation in the amelioration of conflicts. Firstly, women’s experience of conflict all over the world is different from those of men. In their needs and concerns, pain and suffering they often have in common with women from opposing sides than with men in their own societies.Secondly, despite their low visibility in both political and public spaces, women are nevertheless extremely influential in society. It has been noted that women have been very active in traditional methods of conflict resolution from earliest times. As educators, nurses and community workers, farmers and parliamentarians, mothers, wives and sisters, as individuals – they play crucial role in shaping society. In most war-torn regions, women are not only involved in protecting families and communities; they are also active in grassroots peace-making process and inter-community exchanges. Thirdly, women are extremely effective in mobilizing themselves and building consensus for operation and partnership in peace-building. Fourthly, African women who have been victims of sexual abuse and violence, who have suffered the loss of sons and relatives, have nevertheless taken up the struggle to bring peace. They risk their lives, their homes and families. They face threats and abuses from their own communities in their effort to reach out and create space for dialogue and cooperation. Examples of such women abound in Somalia, Burundi and Sudan. ConclusionConflicts in our world today have become a global phenomenon. From Nigeria, to Yemen, Afghanistan to Libya, Sudan to South Sudan, the Middle-East, Yemen to occupied Palestinian Territory, Russia to Ukraine, what is news is violent uprising or insurgency and or terrorism everywhere. The inadequacies of governments, coupled with the economic stabilization policies, significantly undermined and limited the capacity of the state to provide social welfare support for the people. Consequently, the fragile social and economic order was undermined, impoverishing the people, creating hunger, disease, desperation and apprehension. Sadly, at the center of all these difficulties are women and children. They bear the brunt of the conflict and paid the highest price. Women were forced to take on new responsibilities as a result of violent conflicts, apart from being used as tools of warfare.Since men and women are involved in both peace and conflict issues, it is pertinent that women should be adequately represented in peace making and implementation. A situation where women are not adequately represented in peace making and implementation. A situation where women are not adequately represented in the policy-hierarchy leaves much to be desired. Furthermore, governments must be ready to provide appropriate solutions for their inadequacies. Such solutions should importantly include improvement in the level of social welfare for the people as well as introduction of measures that would reduce the level of unemployment and poverty. These would go a long way in reducing the frequency at which violent conflicts occur in our world today. Abubakar Ahmed, a Political Journalist and Public Policy Analyst, contributed this piece from Bauchi. He can be reached through: abubakardr.50@gmail.com or on 07013546228
