International Women's Day – March 8th
Peace and Security
Medical and psychological support is helping this girl recover from her time as a former child soldier in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Now 14, she joined the Mai Mai militia and worked as a commander’s bodyguard. She was later raped by a soldier and eventually became his “wife.” The conflict continues today and more than 33,000 child soldiers remain active.
Photo: UNICEF / HQ05-1243 / Roger Lemoyne
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“…if we truly seek a peaceful and just world, we must systemically enhance women’s access to—and participation in—decision-making processes.”
—Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
October 18, 2006
In armed conflicts and wars, women’s power is often overlooked. They almost never command troops or appear at formal peace negotiations as key players.Their status as victims— women and girls are forced to serve enemy combatants as sex slaves,domestic workers and even fighters—renders them near invisible and silent. Rape is a deliberate weapon of war in many conflicts as well.
A woman carries a baby on her back in a sling pouch at a displacement camp in West Darfur.
Photo: UNICEF / HQ04-0897 / Shehzad Noorani
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Yet, real peace and security depends as much on women as it does on men. Women are peacemakers, heads of households, community leaders and providers of economic and psychological support for children—their own and those who have been left orphaned. In the wake of conflict, women more often than not act as organizers to restart and repair everything from schools to orphanages to agricultural enterprises to health care.
In Rwanda, for example, women continue to play a significant role in rebuilding communities and in reconciliation between ethnic enemies in the aftermath of that country’s 1994 civil war when an estimated one million people were killed.
U.S. foreign assistance provides women with the tools they need to step into their peacemaking and rebuilding roles. USAID has published “Women and Conflict: An Introductory Guide to Programming,” which explains how conflict and fragility may increase gender inequities and suggests ways to address the issues and build on women’s strengths.
Baan Kredtrakarn shelter in Bangkok helps reintegrate victims of trafficking into society.
Photo: Kay Chernush for the U.S. State Department
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USAID helps trafficking victims in Brazil with health, education and psycho-social services.
Photo: Ana Paula Paiva / Imago
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