Women in Space

1
Unreasonable Women Baring Witness Group,
2003 Women and War
2
Recommendation A full and active commitment on
the part of member states to the reduction and
ultimate elimination of dependence on arms and
the military for "security" and to the pursuit of
nonviolent conflict resolution and defense is an
essential condition of the achievement of women's
health and the well-being of society. Actions
taken in the name of "national security" and
"vital national interests" such as forward basing
of troops, invasions to control segments of
populations, border watch, enforcement of
authoritarian governments, imposition and
privileging of dominant religious beliefs cause
excessive and avoidable harm to the physical and
psychological security of women. AWORC
3
Militarized security erodes the environment,
prevents the meeting of basic needs, violates
human rights, and puts women in constant physical
danger in "peace" as well as war. The full range
of women's health and well being is undermined by
militarism. Peace is a fundamental precondition
of women's health, and the state of women's
health and well being is a primary indicator of
human security. Asian Womens Resource
Exchange, 2000
4
Protecting women from armed and other conflicts
needs primarily a commitment to dismantling the
mythical construct of national security such that
it is not the nation-state that is in need of
being protected, but the people and the women of
the community who need to live without the fear
of conflicts fuelled by the nation-state itself.
The Asian Women Human Rights Council Sharon
Cabusao, Philippines
5
The question of women and public space in the
nuclear debate hardly exists in the popular
imagination in Pakistan. We have been largely
using theories of imperialism, morality and
pragmatism to justify our quest for power in a
world that we construct as Hobbesian where
realpolitik prevails survival of the fittest is
the rule balance of power principles, game
theory and deterrence theory dominate. These
conceptions, steeped in a masculinist view and
patriarchal nature of the state make women ever
more invisible.By Saba Khattah
6

• Women and war historically
• Women and WWII
• Women actively, voluntarily engaged in armed
  forces In US, 14 of active duty personnel are
  women
• Women actively supporting their menfolk in
  military operations. A quote from a young man in
  Abkhaziastated Somebody can hold a submarine
  gun and somebody a ladle. But it doesnt mean a
  cook is less responsible than a soldier.

7

• Against their will (comfort women in Far East
  during WWII) Uganda
• As Targets
• Forced to harbour and feed soldiers
• Movement restricted, given proximity to war
• Decreased medical access
• Sexually harassed, intimidated, attacked in their
  homes, in their villages, when passing
  checkpoints
• Missing persons/widowhood Bosnia-Herzegovina
  92-95 conflict still app. 20,000 unaccounted
  for) missing children
• Displaced Women flee with few possessions
• Women detained (few prisons built for them)

8
Congo War (formerly Zaire)

• Africas widest war 4 years
• Half dozen national armies rebel groups
• Abuse of women might have gone unnoticed except
  came to attn of International Centre for Human
  Rights and Democratic Development in Montreal
• had buried women alive after ramming sticks into
  their vaginas, to terrorize the local population
• Stigma of rape

9
Sierra Leone (Jan 2003)

• Human Rights Watch widespread and systemic
  sexual violence
• Abduction of women and girls
• lack of attention to conflict-related sexual
  violence
• Means that there are few assistance programs for
  the survivors
• (nb. Uganda)

10
There is compelling evidence that Chinese
authorities subject Tibetan women to inhuman
gender-based torture, reproductive rights
violations, discrimination, lack of educational
opportunity and sexual harassment in regard to
health care and employment. Tibetan Buddhist nuns
in particular, are targeted for imprisonment and
gender based torture.Asia Human Rights News
11
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

• Bat Shalom, a 2100 member Israeli feminist peace
  organization that is linked to the Palestinian
  Jerusalem Center for Women.
• Giving up??
• No use?

12
A climate of fear and an obsession with reprisal
now grip our two peoples. We women refuse to be
paralyzed or polarized by such fear.

• From The Jerusalem Center for Women and Bat
  Shalom
• 15 April 2002

13
We cannot afford to waste any more time, or any
more lives. We need to think of a new approach.
We as women want to bring a new understanding to
the situation in the Middle East.

• Palestinian feminist Maha Abu-Dayyeh Shamas, in a
  speech before the UN Security Council, 6 May 2002

14
Honor Killings

• In India, more than 5,000 brides die annually
  because their dowries are considered
  insignificant
• Didnt make the meal on time victim of rape
• Across cultures and religions from Bangladesh,
  Egypt, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Morocco,
  Sweden, Turkey
• Complicity by women in familty and community
• NOTHING in the Koran permits or sanctions honor
  killings
• Amnesty International is launching a worldwide
  campaign to halt violence against women in 2003

15
In 1994 the UNs Commission on Human Rights
appointed a special rapporteur on violence
against women, But the politics of womens
rights can be complex. Last year 2001 the
special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or
arbitrary executions was criticized by a
coalition of member countries for including honor
killings in her report, and a resolution
condemning honor killings failed to pass.

• National Geographic News,
• 12 February 2002

16
Protection of women in International Humanitarian
Law

• Geneva Conventions of 12 Aug 1949 for the
  Protection of War Victims (2 amendments, 8 June
  1977)
• Third Geneva Convention on the Treatment of
  Prisoners of War
• Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the
  Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.

17
International Criminal Court

• 10 women nominees
• 33 men
• Elections 3 7 2003
• Take personal action?

18
The 1998 Okinawa Women's Peace Caravan
The militarization of Okinawa has violated the
human, economic, and environmental rights of its
people through acts of military drills, aircraft
accidents, high level noise pollution,
environmental degradation, and crimes committed
by US military personnel.
Violence Against Women in War Network

• Despite intensified military mobilization and
  hostility in recent weeks, thousands of Zapatista
  women celebrated International Women's Day by
  marching into the city of San Cristo'bal de las
  Casas and taking over a government radio station
  in order to broadcast their call for an end to
  the militarization of their communities. 2000

19
Cost of war

• Estimates that war on Iraq will cost upwards of
  200 billion
• Every dollar spent will not go to education,
  health