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Women’s Intervention in the Peace Process
- Anju
Chhetri
It was the
time of a complicated armed conflict. Because of the fires-and
explosions caused by the forces of the State and the Maoists, human
casualties and material loss were increasing everyday. The
conflict-afflicted population leaving their villages to dwell in
district headquarters and cities was also increasing in number. On the
other hand, conscientious civil society groups were active in restoring
human rights, peace and justice, reducing human casualties, ending war,
providing relief to the people displaced due to conflict, providing
legal support to conflict-afflicted people and going to the
conflict-ridden areas to gather information, etc. In due course, in
order to support the efforts related to human rights, peace resolution
and conversion of conflict to non-violent forms, women established the
network Shantimalika (which literally means ‘a garland of peace
groups’) in March 2003. The network executed a national peace
conference, peace rallies, and silent demonstrations for peace carrying
placards. The network that was active in the time of battle has now
fallen into inertia -- a lock has been hanging on the door of its
contact office after the triumph of the People’s Movement II.
Exerting
pressure for gender issues and just peace, by means of several
networks, is the most effective task for women. Women understand this.
The women organizations affiliated to political parties and women groups
of specific communities have, therefore, formed various networks and
fronts to advocate for political, ethnic and regional issues. For
instance, Antar-Party Mahila Sanjal, Loktantrik Mahila Sangharsha
Samiti, Samabesi Loktantraka Lagi Upeksit Mahila Morcha, Aadibasi
Janajati Mahila Samuha, Mahila Rajneetik Kendra, Sambidhansabhama Mahila,
Himalayan Indigenous Women Network, Loktantrik Ganatantraka Lagi Mahila
Manch, etc.
No one can
deny the significance of women organizing in a group or network;
however, the need and importance of such group are established by its
real contributions and tangible achievements. Organizing such group just
for conducting meetings and seminars does not justify its cause. Any NGO
capable of acquiring financial support from donors has been doing that
sort of activity for a long time. Women’s activism, which is mostly
confined to workshop, meeting and seminar, has failed to show clear-cut
standpoint in some crucial issues.
By analyzing
women’s activism it becomes obvious that women activists are not able to
put forth their opinion or conduct extensive discussions on the issue
pertinent to current situation. At present, the matter of restructuring
of the state has been raised considerably. But, why the women activists
have not put forth their plans for state restructuring? What is
their opinion about the ‘inclusive state’ and ‘proportional
representation’? What is their idea about arms management? Why
haven’t they spoken about the Eight-Point and Five-Point Agreements
between the seven-parties and the Maoists? Regarding women’s activities,
the presentation that requires intellectual and thoughtful exercise is
found to be very weak. We, women should do a lot of preparations and
sharpen our mind on the issues at hand.
Women should
have presented their opinion on every issue of the peace process.
However, most of the opinions have come out merely on the issue of
representation. While the political parties have been presenting
different road maps for peace, women, too, should have presented their
own road map for peace, however this is not happening. Similarly, women
have not made any preparation on the issue of state restructuring. No
substantial discussion on the elements to be incorporates in the Interim
Constitution has come from the women’s side. The women's groups are just
approving the decisions made by men. When we talked with women
activists, we found them to be discontented with such trend. But,
preparing a blueprint representing women’s concerns on such burning
issues reminds one of the Nepali proverb - Who will bell the cat?
Now, the
situation is that the guns are silent. It has not yet caught the course
of sustainable peace. Women should persistently keep an eye on the whole
peace process until peace is not established. They should make the
seven parties, the Maoists and the society realise that there are brave
women who could fight for peace and justice. Ironically, the women, who
came out to the streets demanding women’s representation in the Interim
Constitution Drafting Committee, have disappeared now when their demand
was fulfilled. Women groups should not forget that in order to maintain
pressure to remove the possible obstacles in the peace process activism
and responsibility of women networks, fronts and struggle committees are
needed more than ever.
Women have
prioritized their activities in accordance with their perceptions, and
their different views have determined the nature of their participation
in the peace process. Giving reasons for why she did not want to join
the civil society movement started from July 26, Dr. Meena Acharya says,
“We should exert pressure for peace on both the conflicting parties. We
should also monitor whether the Maoists are following the points
included in the Cease-fire Code of Conduct or not. Chasing the
government alone is not right.” But, Sudha Tripathi, who has been
participating in the civil society movement expresses a different
opinion: “The restructuring of the state and the peace process will not
move further unless the election for the Constituent Assembly is
successfully held. Therefore, wherever there is a need to exert pressure
for the election of the Constituent Assembly, I will be there to express
solidarity.” The members of the civil society and women (whose role is
limited) confined merely to those observer's, pressure group or
witnesses, have not become an indispensable link for peace between the
conflicting forces.
Those who
were the main players in the armed conflict yesterday have now become
actors for peace. The Maoists had started the insurgency with the
conviction that the total transformation in the political, social,
economic and cultural spheres and the restructuring of the state is not
possible without armed struggle. When the Maoists started to fire their
guns, the state arms were also fired in the name of protecting the
people and exterminate the insurgents. Thus both the warring forces had
presented their cause to fight. After fighting for seven years, the
conflicting forces, on their own initiative, had embraced peace talk
twice, in 2001 and 2003. When they could not come to an agreement on the
issue of Constituent Assembly, both returned to war. In the ongoing
peace process also, both the forces have come together with certain
commitment to peace. But, whoever may have taken the initiative, the
fact is that both of them have embraced the peace process. There has
already been an agreement on one of the major agenda of the Maoists,
namely, to hold elections for the Constituent Assembly. The political
parties, ambiguously though, have presented their different roadmaps for
just peace. But, the issue of the management of the Maoists arms has
impeded the peace process. Though most of the political issues are
determined by the views of the actors (mostly men) at the political
centers, women should not give up their activities that they can carry
out from their place.
There is an
international basis, which gives women an opportunity for their
affirmative intervention in the peace process. The UN Security Council
Resolution 1325 has shown commitment to the participation of women in
the peace process. It has emphasized the issue of women’s access to the
tasks of the rehabilitation of conflict-afflicted women and children,
and the reconstruction of the destroyed physical structures.
Additionally, it has emphasized the need of gathering information and
statistics about the impacts on women and children during the armed
conflict. The women peace activists around the world have taken this as
a historical decision in favor of women.
What women
have seen is that the nature of war has changed globally. In today’s
war, not only soldiers are dying, but the number of deaths among common
citizens is also increasing. Those who are engaged in war do not fight
in battlefield only; they also target village, town, school compound and
women’s body. For a long time, women were merely known as war-victims;
however, they have consistently demanded recognition as the active
agents in the prevention of war, rehabilitation of victims and
reconstruction of physical structures.
In this
backdrop, women demanded with the UN that their participation should get
space and recognition in peace processes. Since women’s demand could not
be overlooked, the UN Security Council passed the Resolution 1325. This
decision has helped the women of the conflict-ridden countries the world
over to struggle for their participation in the peace process and
reconstruction. Nepali women are also struggling for the same. But,
since the political area is predominated by men, it is difficult for
women to get position as negotiators in the peace process. In the past,
the dialogue team was formed thrice, and in the second time, a woman
minister was included in the team of the government. Calling it a
‘shadow representation’, Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, the then coordinator of
the Maoists said, “It is an unscientific view that only the physical
presence of women will help address women’s issues.” However, if the
leaders constantly articulate such illogical ideas, the women’s
proportional participation in every sphere will become extremely
difficult.
- Nepal
Samacharpatra, August 29, 2006, p. 4 |
