Exploiting Women for Peace
This article was originally published by Aslan Media.
As the tragic history of human civilization shows, there are a number of ways in which women can be manipulated and exploited. She may be a commodity, an indicator of a man’s wealth and status, or an illicit good that must be sold on the black market.
She may be a symbol of weakness, an individual who is ignorant, vulnerable, and desiring of subjugation. Her sexuality may even be a weapon of war; by defiling and dishonoring her an entire society could be forced into submission or irreparably broken.
But is it possible for a woman to exploit her gender as a path to peace? Last week, I met with two women from Kyrgyzstan and Yemen, respectively, who are participants at the Institute for Inclusive Security’s 2011 Colloquium, who make a convincing case for that possibility.
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