Manic Mommies Interview

I had a wonderful opportunity to share a bit about Mahila Partnership in an interview last week on the Manic Mommies podcast. Check it out!

Quote of the Day

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

Are Women the Answer?

I recently was reading Lesley Abdela’s posting on resolution 1325 - that the UN security council voted in 8 years ago.  She was making an arguement that women should be involved in the peacebuilding process…a seat at the table if you will.

Was she presenting a pro-woman view, even a feminist (oh wait…let’s not use that “bad” term) view?  Sure.  But we’d need to get past the negative connotations around the words gender or feminism for the message to even be heard by many of those commenting on her remarks. 

Resolution 1325 calls for EQUAL participation of women in all aspects of conflict prevention, peace building and reconstruction; prevention of violence against women and protection of the human rights of women and girls during times of conflict. 

In my view Lesley was not suggesting women alone are the solution.  Why does requesting that women have a role in policy generate smearing of current and past women in public office, disparaging remarks about women in general and suggestions that gender does not matter?  One could suggest that such comments reinforce Lesley’s point and the need for advocacy for women, rather than providing a relevant rebuttal.