Week 11: Peace and Moving Beyond Violence

Nadine Puechguirbal’s chapter “Peacekeeping, Peacebuilding, and Post-Conflict Resolution” provides insight to the relationship between gender and the United Nations (UN). Puechguirbal highlights several important developments to the UN’s incorporation of gender, such as Resolution 1325 and the efforts of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations to recognize the multifaceted meaning of gender mainstreaming. But there are many deeply gendered structures which continue to restrict the impact of these changes. Puechguirbal explains that one of the central limitations of incorporating gender sensitivity in peacekeeping and peacebuilding missions is the UN’s use of language. In texts like Resolution 1325, men and women are continually divided into traditional binaries (men=fighters and protectors, women=victims and protected). Furthermore, these texts conflate women with children, the disabled and the elderly, thus removing women’s agency.

A second obstacle Peuchguirbal identifies is the way the UN uses gender as a tool rather than a critical way of viewing the world. This observation reminded me of The Whistleblower, a film I watched a few weeks ago. This film tells the story of Kathryn Bolkovac, an American police officer who participated in the UN's peacekeeping mission in post-war Bosnia. While serving as head of the Gender Affairs unit, she discovered rings of sex smuggling. She uncovered layers of corruption, as the perpetrators of the smuggling ranged from the local police, through an American private military firm (DynCorp) and up into the executive branches of the UN. 

 Puechguirbal’s chapter and The Whistleblower both highlight the impact of the UN’s use of gender as a “problem-solving” tool in peacekeeping. In contrast, Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai, shows that peace and development can be possible when gender is used as a world view. Comparing these films, two different models of “peacebuilding” are illuminated; The Whistleblower represents an institutional top-down approach, whereas Taking Root represents a local, grassroots one. 

Examining The Whistleblower through the frame of Peuchguirbal’s chapter illustrates the causes of Bolkovac’s challenges. The way gender sensitivity was included in the UN’s mission in post-war Bosnia utilized gender as a “problem-solving instrument.” Thus, gender was kept as separate, as seen by the Gender Affairs unit Bolkovac was in charge of. Also, this approach prevented recognition of the masculinized military presence on women and men in, which was complicated by the presence of a private military firm. Lastly, gender as a tool rather than a critical perspective made it difficult for some personnel to take gender sensitivity seriously. This is epitomized in a scene where local Bosnian policemen ignore the case of a woman who has suffered several injuries as a result of domestic violence. This scene also addresses the intersectionality of race, gender and violence, as the policemen state their belief that the women deserved her injury because she is Muslim. 

            Although the example of Bosnia in The Whistleblower represents a UN mission and Taking Roots is focused on local activism in Kenya, both speak to the idea of building peace and security. The grassroots approach advocated by the Green Belt Movement shows there are alternative and gender sensitive approaches. This film tells the story of Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan woman who founded the Green Belt Movement. Her actions demonstrate that she was using gender as a critical tool rather than a problem solving tool. By talking with women about their daily lives she found the deforestation around their communities was causing a lack of firewood and water. This was changing their cooking habits; the women shifted from cooking traditional meals to using food that had many carbohydrates and was highly refined. The change in diet had a substantial impact on the health of their families and communities. As a way to change this, Maathai encouraged the women to plant trees to reduce the detrimental impact of deforestation. Gradually the movement grew and as it developed, the knowledge, confidence and livelihood of the women involved (as well as their communities) grew too. 

This film shows the vital role women play in peacebuilding. It demonstrates that approaches to change do not always need to be “culturally sensitive.” As several of the women note, some men were opposed to the women in their communities planting trees, as it was not a “traditional role” for Kikuyu women. As many cultures are patriarchal, the gender roles have been shaped according to hegemonic masculinities. This is reflected in the Puechguirbal chapter, as she reminds us that after a conflict, women are expected to return to their post-war roles. The everyday, lived experiences of women are foundational for the peace, security and sustainability of their communities. Thus, it is absolutely necessary to use gender as a world view rather than as a problem solving tool. 

Bibliography 

Puechguirbal, Nadine. “Peacekeeping, Peacebuilding, and Post-Conflict Resolution.” In Gender Matters in Global Politics: A Feminist Introduction to International Relations. Edited by Laura J. Shepherd. Routledge: Oxen: 2010, 161-175.

Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai. Directed by Lisa Merton and Alan. Canada: Mongrel Media, 2009.  

The Whistleblower. Directed by Larysa Kondracki. Canada: Gen One, Canada Inc. and Barry Films, 2010.