Hanna's House

The third in the Hanna’s House seminar series took place in Cork on 5 November. Its aim was to promote a critical feminist analysis of post-conflict peace building initiatives, including United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.  Over one hundred people, from a wide variety of backgrounds and locations, flocked to the Clarion Hotel for a stimulating day of presentations and lively round table discussion.

Margaret Ward, chair of Hanna’s House, opened the seminar by outlining the legacy of Hanna and Frank Sheehy Skeffington, who were the inspiration for Hanna’s House, and detailing the work of Hanna’s House so far. Lesley Abdela, an award winning journalist and a consultant who has worked in over 40 countries on gender issues in post conflict situations, provided a vivid account of her experiences in supporting women in different conflict zones. She began by showing a photo taken in Versailles as the Kosovan peace agreement was negotiated. Out of around 40 figures, the only female was that of the interpreter. She talked about women in Kosovo and her experience of 92 women’s organisations finding that they were still ignored when it came to inclusion in peace talks as late as 2008. Their slogan was ‘we want power - no more flowers’.  In taking direct action to ensure that women got to talk to Kofi Annan when he visited in 1999 Lesley was sacked by the OSCE for her failure to follow protocol. So much of what she talked about had resonances for women in Northern Ireland. Lesley worked in Iraq, mobilising women to take part in elections. In order to ensure that she was not confused with the military occupation she chose pink camouflage trousers. The first interim government in Iraq had 3 women and 27 men. While there was praise for the fact that it had cross-community representation she made the point that in proportion to gender it should have been 14 women and 11 men.  We are now finding a similar situation with regards to the lack of women on our Transition Committees, as political parties ignore gender parity as an issue.   In developing neighbourhood councils, she discovered that women were not voting. When a local mullah at a meeting insisted that she show respect by wearing a head scarf, she agreed to wear the scarf he held out to her, on condition that he promised to state publicly that women must vote and be able to stand for election. It is sobering to be reminded that over half of all conflicts restart within 10 years – as Lesley said, peace processes are for those who gain power and civil society, particularly women, are not there. It is why implementation of UN Resolution 1325 is so crucial – women must be involved at all levels of decision making in countries emerging from conflict.  Lesley concluded with a thought-provoking quotation, to the effect that if women had been involved in the Versailles Peace Treaty of 1918 there might not have been a second world war. 

Niamh Reilly, Co-director of the Global Women’s Studies Program at NUI Galway, presented a well considered, analytical and sober assessment of 1325 –looking at the ‘Promises and the Perils’.  On the plus side, it was the first time women’s agency as peace leaders was recognised – previously women in conflict situations were recognised (along with children) as victims only.  It also brought women’s perspectives to an area characterised by alpha males - the security council of the UN. However, as Niamh said, it was a compromise resolution, which is evident in the weak language, in the fact that it doesn’t ask for equal representation, but just for representation, and needs more than a vague commitment to a gender perspective – it needs commitment to a feminist perspective. Nevertheless it is important because it is binding international law and can be strengthened. The difficulties in achieving this are numerous. With little political will amongst an international male leadership, the onus lies with women to keep pushing. It is important that women in transitional societies do not spurn formalised political power, concentrating only on their informal networks. A warning lesson came from Chile, where women, because they confined their activities to informal networks, found themselves left out of formalised power.  While the obligation to implement 1325 is often set aside on grounds that it conflicts with local customs and traditions surrounding women, and international actors, being predominantly male, often accept this, it is critical to argue that women have the right to be included and that this is a matter of justice, equality and human rights. Niamh cautioned about too great an emphasis on women as peace maker as this led campaigners into difficulties when instances were given of occasions when women proved themselves to be war mongers also. It was also important for indigenous women’s groups to be at the forefront of transitional justice mechanisms because issues such as rape as a war crime were not looked at seriously enough if women on the ground were not able to push the issue strongly.

Siobhan Curran of Amnesty International Ireland and Chair of the Advocacy Working Group of the Joint Consortium on Gender Based Violence spoke of the work of the Consortium in improving the situation of women in conflict areas with regards to gender based violence, which had increasingly become a weapon of war. It was a key part of work to further the aims of 1325 and the development of the Irish National Plan. The former president of Ireland, Mary Robinson, played a key role in supporting the work of the Consortium and giving it prominence. As Robinson said, ‘there are talented women out there, but their voices are not being heard.’  In talking about the importance of national action plans to implement 1325, Siobhan emphasized that they needed to be based on consultation with stakeholders, particularly taking into account the experiences of women affected by conflict, and had to be accompanied by budgets for this work. Their purpose should be ‘not to make war safe for women but to talk about disarmament and ending militarism.’ The Consortium was also involved with the work to develop Ireland’s National Action Plan and with the cross-learning project with Liberia and Timor Leste. In this they were also emphasizing issues around representation and participation. Despite it being almost ten years since resolution 1325 was passed, Siobhan ended with the sobering reminder that since 1994 only 2.4% of signatories to peace agreements have been women.   

Bronagh Hinds, who leads DemocraShe, working to empower women in policy, politics and public life at home and abroad and who took part in the 1996-98 multi-party peace negotiations for the Women’s Coalition, gave a grounded analysis of what women can bring to the negotiating table, based on her experiences as a negotiator. As Bronagh said, men were bargaining from a past position, women from a future position, and we have all witnessed the results. What was particularly fascinating was the different attitude towards problem solving that the women brought to bear. The Coalition was a political party formed to challenge the lack of women in the peace process, who adopted suffrage colours as their party colours, who took much of their policy from their experiences of issues raised in Beijing and who based their policy positions on the key principles of inclusion, human rights and equality.   They emphasized active listening, paying attention to body language, encouraging an attitude to problem solving that was rooted in the skills that women can bring to a process. Their determination was to change the culture of negotiations, to work to ensure that all parties engaged with each other, and in so doing, Bronagh stated, they ‘blew apart the mystique of what politics is about.’  Framing and re-framing issues rather than maintaining views that were ‘set in stone’ helped to build bonds and bridges, to ensure joint problem solving and the development of consensus. At that time, it was a case of more parties rather than less, with an agenda that was as comprehensive as possible. Bronagh drew an analogy of having as many pieces of the jigsaw as possible, so that a full picture could emerge and all issues be addressed. The end result was that issues such as integrated housing, a civic forum, education and victims’ rights, which might not have been included, did make it into the final peace agreement. Unfortunately, while the agreement promised full and equal political participation for women, no implementation mechanism to achieve this was agreed, so we have only 18 women out of 108 in the current NI Assembly.  Bronagh concluded by reiterating the importance of positive action to ensure gender parity, not only as a way of addressing the traditional community divide.  She was now working with the Anglo-Irish Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs in the implementation of the Irish National Action Plan to further 1325. This was taking the form of lesson learning between Northern Ireland, Liberia and Timor Leste. There had been a Belfast conference, at which the community-based women’s sector had been well represented, together with women from different political parties and there would shortly be a conference in Timor Leste, headed by Dame Nuala O’Loan in her capacity as Special Envoy.     

The seminar also heard from community activists working within Ireland on different issues related to peace and violence. Colette Kelleher, Director of the Cork Simon Community, talked about the work of the organisation, operating as an interface between people with great need and service providers.  The Simon Community has an 80/20 ratio of male/female clients.  Many of the people who use the Simon Community have either experienced violence in their private lives or have been the perpetrators of violence.  Many also suffer from mental ill-health issues and suicidal thoughts or/and addictive behaviour as a direct result of their experience of violence.  Colette emphasized the importance of the relationship between ‘peace of mind’ in individuals and ‘peace in society’.  She stated that peaceful people create more peaceful people and the cycle typically continues in a positive way.  People with mental health or addiction issues are usually part of a continuum of social ills, and these issues can often continue into the next generation.  One of the aims of the Simon Community and other similar organizations is to help to transform negative or self-destructive patterns of behaviour in an individual into self-caring and responsible behaviours.  By working to support individuals in their search to find inner peace the Simon Community helps them to become self-supporting and peaceful members of society.

Mary Kelly and Irene Williamson, community activists and peace builders in Belfast, linked with the Glencree Peace and Reconciliation Women’s Programme talked about their similar experiences growing up in deprived working class communities – one from nationalist north Belfast, the other from a loyalist estate in Antrim. In her absence, Phil Killeen from Glencree read out Irene’s testimony. Both women were community activists, both worked with paramilitaries from many organizations, and both were concerned with present day problems of continuing poverty, community despair and the lack of confidence of women in community-based groups. One of the ways the women are working to build peace in their communities is by working directly with children and teenagers to help build confidence and leadership skills from an early age through a project called ‘The Common Purpose’.  For both women, it was the experience of the Glencree programme that enabled women from different communities ‘to be comfortable with each other’ and, despite their different backgrounds, Mary and Irene were now friends, supporting each other in their challenging work on interfaces.  

There was also plenty of discussion throughout the day which included the facts that since 1994 only 2.4% of signatories to peace agreements have been women’s and that within 10 years of a peace agreement being signed the conflict typically breaks out again.In relation to peacekeeping, Lesley Abdela stated that the majority of peacekeeping contributing countries are from the global south and that their soldiers do not have access to the type of training required for peacekeeping missions, particularly in relation to non-acceptance of violence against women, the use of women as prostitutes or conducting of relationships with local women.  This is one area that needs urgent improvement by the United Nations.

When asked if the presence of women peacekeepers makes a difference to local women (as indicated in Resolution 1325) Lesley said she didn’t know but that the all-women Indian police force that has been operating in Liberia for the past two years has had a positive impact on the civilian women in two ways, firstly they are more confident about reporting abuses or crimes and secondly, they have been inspired to join the police force in increasing numbers.

The speakers were asked about cultural relativism and feminism in different parts of the world. The speakers agreed that feminism is a process and therefore, each woman or group of women must decide what their human rights are, and how they can claim them.  There is no one single agenda for feminism.  There is intersectionality of different issues related to race, class, religion, ability, sexuality as well as gender, and these must be negotiated by each woman or group of women.  Lesley Abdela commented that often negative beliefs about women’s role and place in society are developed and embraced in the ‘post-conflict moment’ which serves to keep women down and out of the political process and positions of power in the new constitution.  She recommended a book titled: Peace Work which critiques the issue of cultural relativism and peace building. 

The speakers were also asked about the use of quotas for women in politics. Women still do not have formal power in Ireland, as they are represented by only 13% of TDs and 22% of Senators in the South.  Niamh Reilly stated that women’s quotas need to be hardwired into the system or opportunities will be lost, if women stay out of the formal power/politics.  When it comes to arguments against quotas such as ‘merit’ and whether women have the ‘appropriate’ experience or skills, women need to fight back and demand their place in decision-making and leadership roles as a democratic principle and human right.