Case Studies of Women in Peacemaking and Peacebuilding: Empirical Evidence

Abstract

Women have contributed to stopping violence and alleviating its consequences in a range of ways: providing humanitarian relief, creating and facilitating the space for negotiations through advocacy, and exerting influence through cultural or social means. The case studies have documented women’s peacebuilding practices, the challenges and opportunities they have faced, and the lessons they have drawn from their experiences. They cover areas as far apart as Bougainville, Sierra Leone and Northern Ireland and describe women’s involvement in peace processes. Women have carried out these activities through spearheading civil society and reconciliation activities, and by highlighting how conflict impacts on their gender roles and relations. Women have responded to conflict and its effects, some of which challenged traditional female roles, by joining armed groups, both as combatants and as support, while others have taken over household and community duties normally assigned to men.