Gender

The Network of African Women Parliamentarians and Ministers (REFAMP), International Alert's partner in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has called on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and President of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim to step up efforts to end the armed conflict in the country.

“For the first time ever, we sit together, women politicians and activists, and talk about what we can do together. It is big and so important.”
Chou Chou Namegabe, Association des Femmes des Médias

This opinion piece appeared in The Huffington Post on 12 March 2013

Recent high-profile cases of gang rapes and murders of young women in India and South Africa have caused anger, anguish and soul-searching across the world. However these brutal cases are only the tip of the iceberg.

In northern Uganda, the Acholi communities are settling back into their villages after years of insecurity and internal displacement as a result of the conflict between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government.  The conflict, displacement and return process had different impacts on men, women, boys and girls. The consequences of this require gender-relational approaches to peacebuilding.

This declaration was prepared for the Conference of Burundi Development Partners in Geneva on 29th-30th October 2012. It puts forth concrete policy recommendations on development, gender equality, economic empowerment and peacebuilding priorities for Burundi. Burundi’s second Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper outlines the Government’s commitments for the country’s economic growth and development from 2012 to 2016 and was prepared in consultation with development partners and other stakeholders.

Declaration

L’un des résultats positifs des processus de paix et des transitions politiques dans la région des Grands Lacs en Afrique ces dix à quinze dernières années, a été la représentation et la participation accrues des femmes dans l’arène politique et dans la sphère publique. Cette avancée majeure pour les femmes a été obtenue essentiellement par l’adoption de systèmes de quotas et par la cooptation.

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To be effective as peacebuilders, we need to respond to the power dynamics and norms that influence peace and violent conflict at the household, community, national and international levels.

This report reflects the findings of the preparatory phase of a three-year research project exploring the role of gender in peacebuilding. Whilst addressing key research questions, the report identifies three approaches to gender that are evident in peacebuilding: gender-blind, those based on UN Security Council Resolution 1325, and gender-relational. The third – and hitherto unexplored – approach, is based on a strategy of benefit-sharing and solidarity-building between men and women, and uses a context-specific gendered power analysis as its starting point.

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OUR VOICES – ENGLISH

NOS VOIX, LES ACTIONS – FRANÇAIS

To read more about "Our Voices / Nos Voix, Les Actions", click here.

This report sets out to examine and understand the position of women in the peace economy and politics, and the interaction between their increased economic power and their participation in political and public life in northern Uganda. Women have played a key role in the region’s economic recovery after the war, enabling them to increase their income significantly; however, not at a level which would allow them to achieve economic security, and break free from the cycle of economic survival and merely meeting practical needs.

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Ce rapport examine la participation des femmes dans le processus de paix d’Arusha pour le Burundi, en particulier la manière dont les femmes Burundaises sont parvenues, malgré leur faible représentation à la table des négociations, à faire inclure un certain nombre de dispositions favorables aux droits des femmes et au  principe de l’égalité des sexes dans le texte de l’Accord de paix signé en 2000.

A la conquête de la parole : La participation des femmes dans la transition démocratique au Burundi

Ce rapport analyse l’intégration d’une perspective genre dans le  processus de décentralisation au Rwanda et son impact sur la participation des femmes au niveau de la gouvernance locale et sur le plan national.

Promouvoir l’égalité des sexes dans les processus de décentralisation et dans la gouvernance locale