Separating Sex and War in Congo
This article was originally published by The Globe and Mail
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Women have shown they can help transform post-conflict societies. In Rwanda, for example, they helped bring peace after the 1994 genocide, leading the gacaca court system, a community-based model that dealt with detainees awaiting trial for war crimes. That country’s new constitution requires that women hold at least one-third of parliamentary seats. Other countries, including Botswana, Cameroon, Somalia and South Africa, have affirmative-action measures to make sure women are represented in government.
Swanee Hunt, a scholar and activist, believes women focus less on dividing up post-conflict spoils, and more on social and economic concerns. Ms. Hunt, the founding director of the Women and Public Policy Program at the Kennedy School, helped create the Initiative for Inclusive Security, which trains female “peace builders” in conflict regions around the globe, including Sudan, Uganda and Liberia.
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