Are peace agreements more likely to include gender provisions if women participate in the peace negotiations? The international community, national governments and civil societies around the world have assumed that women’s inclusion in peace negotiations result in higher quality peace agreements, where women’s interests are better taken into consideration. To date, there is a lack of empirical underpinning of the assumption. This study uses a twofold research design, combining statistical and qualitative methods to examine the interrelation between women’s descriptive and substantive representation in peace negotiations in the post-Cold War era. First, the statistical analysis suggests that peace agreements are more likely to include at least one gender provision referring to women’s rights and security if women participate in the negotiation. At the same time, the agreements are not more likely to address a higher number of different areas for increased rights and security measures for women. Second, the qualitative analysis examining the mechanisms shows that there is no guarantee that women will push for gender provisions, but that their particular experiences and interests in conflict, and the expectations from others give them strong reasons to do so. Important factors for women to successfully push for gender provisions have to do both with their individual will and personal ability, and external factors relating to the presence of traditional gender norms and the power balance between men and women in the country of conflict.

<p>Kvinnor har sedan 1980 fått tjänstgöra som officer i Sveriges försvarsmakt. Trots detta är fortfarande de kvinnliga officerarna och soldaterna i klar minoritet i organisationen. FN:s säkerhetsråd har arbetat fram två resolutioner som båda strävar efter att involvera kvinnor i större omfattning när det gäller arbeten vid kris, krig och konflikter. Inte enbart att öka andelen kvinnor i hjälpande trupper, utan även involvera lokalbefolkningen. Hur ser då verkligheten ut vid de internationella insatserna? I detta arbete presenteras en fallstudie om MOT Juliette, ett kvinnligt observationsteam som under sju månader tjänstgjorde i Afghanistan. Målet med detta team var att effektivisera underrättelseinhämtningen i insatsområdet.</p><p>Arbetet syftar till att undersöka vilka för- respektive nackdelar kvinnor kan föra med sig vid internationella insatser. Resultatet visar att kvinnor har flera möjliga fördelar att tillföra till insatserna, bland annat att underlätta underrättelsearbetet samt att verka som förebilder för de lokala kvinnorna. Även att förbandet uppnår jämställdhet kan vara en fördel.</p> / <p>The purpose of this study is to find out if deployment of women improves an operation’s chances of success. Since 1980 traditionally male roles within the Swedish Armed Forces have been avalible for women. In spite of this fact, deployment of women in international military operations are not very common.</p><p>The method used in this essay is a case study. The author has studied a Swedish operation in Afghanistan in 2006, where the commander decided to form a MOT (military observation team) only with women. The main purpose with this team was to gather intelligence from the local population. Earlier operations in the country clearly showed that male soldiers were experiencing difficulties in interacting with local women. During seven months the team, MOT Juliette, worked in the area and found out that the presence of women considerably contributed to the success of the operation.</p><p>To acknowledge the need to increase the proportion of women in the work of war and conflict, the UN Security Council has adopted a number of resolutions where the two most important are 1325 and 1820.</p><p>The results of the study show that women have an important role in international operations. Not just to gather intelligence, but also to act as role models for the women in the country.</p>

Kvinnor har sedan 1980 fått tjänstgöra som officer i Sveriges försvarsmakt. Trots detta är fortfarande de kvinnliga officerarna och soldaterna i klar minoritet i organisationen. FN:s säkerhetsråd har arbetat fram två resolutioner som båda strävar efter att involvera kvinnor i större omfattning när det gäller arbeten vid kris, krig och konflikter. Inte enbart att öka andelen kvinnor i hjälpande trupper, utan även involvera lokalbefolkningen. Hur ser då verkligheten ut vid de internationella insatserna? I detta arbete presenteras en fallstudie om MOT Juliette, ett kvinnligt observationsteam som under sju månader tjänstgjorde i Afghanistan. Målet med detta team var att effektivisera underrättelseinhämtningen i insatsområdet. Arbetet syftar till att undersöka vilka för- respektive nackdelar kvinnor kan föra med sig vid internationella insatser. Resultatet visar att kvinnor har flera möjliga fördelar att tillföra till insatserna, bland annat att underlätta underrättelsearbetet samt att verka som förebilder för de lokala kvinnorna. Även att förbandet uppnår jämställdhet kan vara en fördel. / The purpose of this study is to find out if deployment of women improves an operation’s chances of success. Since 1980 traditionally male roles within the Swedish Armed Forces have been avalible for women. In spite of this fact, deployment of women in international military operations are not very common. The method used in this essay is a case study. The author has studied a Swedish operation in Afghanistan in 2006, where the commander decided to form a MOT (military observation team) only with women. The main purpose with this team was to gather intelligence from the local population. Earlier operations in the country clearly showed that male soldiers were experiencing difficulties in interacting with local women. During seven months the team, MOT Juliette, worked in the area and found out that the presence of women considerably contributed to the success of the operation. To acknowledge the need to increase the proportion of women in the work of war and conflict, the UN Security Council has adopted a number of resolutions where the two most important are 1325 and 1820. The results of the study show that women have an important role in international operations. Not just to gather intelligence, but also to act as role models for the women in the country. / <p>Avdelning: ALB – Slutet Mag. 3 Hylla: Upps. YOP 06-09 // Avdelning:  Karlberg-filial - Karlberg Öppen hylla Hylla: K Upps. YOP REF</p>

Women living in northern Nigeria face a herculean challenge of overcoming direct and indirect violence. These include domestic violence, political instability, social inequality, and the threat of Boko Haram. Boko Haram is an extremist militant group that has been known to kidnap, rape, and torture women and young girls as means of terrorizing the Nigerian community. Northern Nigerian women have also faced challenges within their own community as they are barred from participating in public activities, are under-represented in government, forced into early marriages, and are often victims of domestic violence. This study examines the lived experiences of women peacebuilders living in northern Nigeria as they negotiate regional conflicts and manage the peacebuilding process. Seven northern Nigerian females between the ages of 30 to 60 were recruited to participate in this study. All came from diverse backgrounds but shared a commonality of peace building and conflict management within their respective communities. The goal of this study was to better understand the meaning of these experiences and to uncover how these women handle these daily challenges. Feminist standpoint and structural violence theories provide the theoretical framework to dissect the essence of their experiences. The study adopted Clark Moustaka’s approach towards conducting transcendental phenomenological research methods and procedure. The results of the study will inform project design and policy formulation and serve as a source for future research and interventions by development agencies and other stakeholders interested in peace within the region.

<p>This thesis is about issues concerning the implementation of women's human rights in Sri Lanka.</p><p>Sri Lanka has had a conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam, LTTE for two decades. Since 2002 there has been a ceasefire agreement in place, which is being violated by both parties. Before being abandoned in 2003, one woman was present during the peace talks that were held.</p><p>In this paper I present the results of my field research conducted in Sri Lanka in November and December of 2005. The aim was to find out how women were active in the peace process since it is stipulated in international conventions that they have a right to participation. During the interviews with women activists it became evident that women were not involved in the official peace process. Therefore the thesis is about women’s human rights in Sri Lanka and the obstacles for their implementation.</p><p>Two main reasons for the lack of implementation of women’s human rights in Sri Lanka are identified. Firstly, for reasons of culture and patriarchal structures, there is a general lack of implementation internationally of women’s human rights. Secondly, the unresolved conflict situation in Sri Lanka, which reflects the unequal power relations between men and women that existed prior to the conflict. The lack of implementation of women’s human rights in Sri Lanka results in women not being present in the political life and they are therefore not part of the official peace process.</p><p>International conventions such as the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW and the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on peace and security are addressed in the thesis in order to examine women’s human rights and their right to participation in politics and peace building.</p><p>Finally, I conclude that in order to include women in the official peace negotiations women need to actively participate in politics. The method presented to ensure such participation is that of affirmative action. It is a measure that falls under the category of temporary measures, which is suggested in CEDAW article 4.1.</p>

This thesis is about issues concerning the implementation of women's human rights in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has had a conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam, LTTE for two decades. Since 2002 there has been a ceasefire agreement in place, which is being violated by both parties. Before being abandoned in 2003, one woman was present during the peace talks that were held. In this paper I present the results of my field research conducted in Sri Lanka in November and December of 2005. The aim was to find out how women were active in the peace process since it is stipulated in international conventions that they have a right to participation. During the interviews with women activists it became evident that women were not involved in the official peace process. Therefore the thesis is about women’s human rights in Sri Lanka and the obstacles for their implementation. Two main reasons for the lack of implementation of women’s human rights in Sri Lanka are identified. Firstly, for reasons of culture and patriarchal structures, there is a general lack of implementation internationally of women’s human rights. Secondly, the unresolved conflict situation in Sri Lanka, which reflects the unequal power relations between men and women that existed prior to the conflict. The lack of implementation of women’s human rights in Sri Lanka results in women not being present in the political life and they are therefore not part of the official peace process. International conventions such as the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW and the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on peace and security are addressed in the thesis in order to examine women’s human rights and their right to participation in politics and peace building. Finally, I conclude that in order to include women in the official peace negotiations women need to actively participate in politics. The method presented to ensure such participation is that of affirmative action. It is a measure that falls under the category of temporary measures, which is suggested in CEDAW article 4.1.