Webinar: Can international standards protect women during wars?
Online meeting, December 17, 2024
Can international standards protect women during wars?
In light of the wars raging in the Arab region, the ongoing killing and destruction in Palestine and Lebanon over the past year, and the ongoing conflicts in Sudan, Yemen, and Syria, the human rights and feminist movement in the region faces various challenges, including threats that are undermining existing international principles, protected by international law and the legal principles governing armed conflicts, at the core of which is the women and peace agenda.
In this context, the Women's Working Group within the Network organized a virtual meeting on Tuesday, December 17, 2024, which sought to present a feminist-political reading of what is happening in the region. This meeting explored the repercussions of wars and crises on women and girls, as well as the normative frameworks for peace and security, the entire international legal context, and its ineffectiveness in achieving peace and protecting women.
The meeting featured Manar Zaiter, a lawyer and researcher at the Network specializing in international human rights law, and was moderated by a number of experts. The meeting was moderated by Jihan Abu Zeid, a researcher and consultant at the Arab NGO Network for Development.
Highlights of this intervention:
- "Everywhere we look, we find that women are worse off than men simply because they are women. Violence against women, including murder, has reached catastrophic levels."
- "Twenty-five years after Resolution 1325, we must ask: Are we witnessing progress on the women, peace, and security agenda, or stagnation that could lead to an unimplemented standard?"
- "Global conflicts remain unresolved, amidst the clear double standards in addressing peace and security issues."
- "Palestinian women are considered enemies because they are able to resist by reshaping the family, the basic structure of Palestinian society."
- "Feminist approaches from the Global South have played a pivotal role in advancing gender equality globally."
- "The Women, Peace, and Security agenda is not just a women's issue; it is a tool for addressing the roots of power relations and inequalities that lead to conflict."
- "The discourse calling for 'saving women' in the Global South perpetuates stereotypes and threatens to weaken the role of women locally."
- "Localizing the Women, Peace, and Security agenda is essential to address security issues at the community level in a way that reflects real-world dynamics."
You can watch the recording of this interview on YouTube.
We note that ANND has dedicated its November issue to a feminist reading of conflicts and wars through a number of articles. Please click here to view this issue.
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