WUNRN
Highlights
from the 2008
Women,
Faith and a Culture of Peace
February 23-25, 2008
A femLINKPACIFIC Media Initiative with
support from Believing Women for a Culture of Peace
After years
of constant struggle and advocacy by women worldwide, women’s human rights and
gender equality are protected in several international and regional treaties.
These include the UN Convention for All forms of Discrimination against
Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action and the UN Security Council
Resolution 1325 titled Women, Peace and Security, which has as one of its core
focus the equal participation of women in decision making for conflict
prevention, management/resolution and also conflict transformation. Women of
diverse faith, spirituality and cultural traditions have been part of this
struggle. In many different contexts, however, human rights continue to
be denied or violated and, in particular, there is a failure to accord women
full human rights, including within many faith communities.
Yet, as participants at the
Asia Pacific Symposium: Women, Faith and a Culture of Peace heard, there is a
need to ensure a convergence between the spiritual or secular, to ensure that
faith based leaders take into account as well as are accountable to human
rights standards and values and place greater emphasis on compliance with
international human rights standards, including security council resolutions.
This is critical, because, even
though women are contributing to the implementation of UN Security Council
Resolution 1325, undertaking social actions within a religious or faith based
framework to empower and assist marginalized community groups, they are
ensuring empowerment through education and livelihood activities.
A critical challenge is the
limited convergence between faith based values and these international
standards and principles, which can be a more substantive enabler of peace
processes, especially through the United Nations system.
These were the perspectives
shared from the experiences of a Buddhist nun, an advocate of UN Security
Council Resolution 1325 in South Korea, a social activist from India and a
young man with a commitment to ensuring compliance with United Nations
resolutions, to bring about peace in the Middle East, addressing the theme
“Affirming human rights and transcending conflicts: Where can faith take us?”
Professor Madhu Kishwar,
Venerable Dr. Yifa, Gyunga-Lan Jung and Halim Rane agreed that there was a need
for greater recognition of
internationally agreed fundamental human rights, including freedom of religion
and belief, in the development of a culture of peace.
There
is a critical need, said Dr Yifa, not to simply give consideration to racial
and religious identities, but to broaden the perspective to achieve national
identity and gender equality. Yifa is a member of the Buddha’s Light Mountain
Order, based in
Women’s
participation as a result of gender empowerment strategies is a critical focus
of peacebuilding and reconciliation initiatives between North and
Her
own leadership role stems from her own personal experiences: “I know
something about the suffering of people because of the wars in
The Women’s Peace Network is
also working in solidarity to address the growing militarization in countries
such as
Meanwhile a Broom Wielding
Goddess now referred to as “Mother India” has become a symbol of composite
nationalism, and a source of empowerment for a campaign to support and protect
street vendors in India who continue to bear the brunt of corrupt and illegal
practices as a result of a piece of legislation dating back to the 1820s, even
though the street vendors who continue to perform a vital function in India’s
urban settings and are recognised as a legitimate part of the informal economy.
Without adequate legal
protection the street vendors continue to be the prey of extortionist mafia and
a whole range of anti social elements who threaten them with the brunt of
“clean up operations”. Many vendors, yield up to thirty percent of their
earnings as protection money in order to simply protect their livelihood.
“Our goddess has no violent
symbol; her main weapon is the broom, it is a deliberate choice; the female
deity is revered also, that is (after all) where the power resides” said
Professor Madhu Kishwar, Editor of Manushi and Professor at the Centre for the
Study
However, despite the reform of
the national legislation in 2004, as a result of this ten year campaign, which
has resulted in the development of model market project with regulations
adopted by the vendors themselves to maintain health and management standard,
Kishwar and members of the vendors community continue to risk their lives in
this struggle for good governance and equity, at the community level. And the
problem says Kishwar, stems from the political leaders themselves who use
divisive strategies to continue to divide and rule and to torment and bribe the
vendors.
But strengthened by their deity
who holds up symbols of transparency, social justice, the rule of law and
adherence to the constitution, she hopes that this initiative will continue to
remind communities, of the values of good governance no matter how hard and
dangerous it becomes.
Sharon Bhagwan Rolls
Coordinator: femLINKPACIFIC-Media Initiatives for Women
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