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CIAO DATE: 4/5/2007
Human security and peacebuilding through a gender lens. Challenges of implementation in Africa
Heidi Hudson
December 2006
Abstract
Empirical evidence shows that while both women’s near absence at the formal level as peace negotiators and political decision-makers and their informal peacebuilding contributions at the grassroots level have been routinely recognised, it remains difficult to translate gender awareness into workable plans for implementation. The paper argues for a hybrid position between cultural relativism and ‘one size fits all’ solutions. Four areas of attention are highlighted, namely women’s ambivalent roles in peace and conflict, the challenges of a truly inclusive post-conflict transformation process, the need for an organised women’s movement, and connecting the international legislative framework with the national context.
