WUNRN
Isis International
CALL FOR ARTICLES
Women in Action (WiA) Magazine on theme of
Women, Peace and Security: 10 Years After
1325
The WiA magazine is Isis International’s longstanding publication which, since
the 1970s, has facilitated information exchange among women's movements
especially in light of developments recognising women's rights. It is a space
for feminists and activists in the global South to articulate and strengthen
gender analysis on various issues. The WiA is distributed globally to
individual subscribers, women’s organisations, social movements, media
institutions, libraries, academe, information and communication technology
advocates, development cooperation agencies and government.
Isis is now soliciting articles for the next issue of WiA on Women, Peace
and Security: 10 Years After 1325
About the issue
It is no longer shocking news that in situations of armed conflict, women are
usually the first to be affected. Women carry the ever increasing burden of
caring and providing for their families, the wounded. They are forced to adopt
survival strategies at the margins of war economies. Women too continue to
become victims of rape and sexual harassment; human trafficking and
gender-based violence not only during war but also in post conflict situations.
As women are the first victims of war, they must then be recognised as key
actors in its resolution. It should also not be a surprise that throughout
history, women have also found innovative ways to organise and mobilise
resistance to war and conflict. Women have organised quite effectively in order
to make their voices heard and call the attention of the international
community not only to put an end to violence and conflict but also to urgently
address the impact of armed conflict on women, and to demand a role in
rebuilding their war-torn communities.
It is for this reason that the adoption of the United Nations Security Council
Resolution 1325 in 2000 was a celebrated event. More than defining efforts and
achievements towards recognising the impact of war on women, Resolution 1325 is
a landmark and political framework that acknowledges the importance of women's
participation and the inclusion of gender perspectives in decision-making,
conflict resolution, humanitarian planning, peacekeeping and post conflict
peacebuilding.
Yet 10 years after this milestone there is a need for serious reflections about
how and to what extent have member states translated the language and
aspirations of 1325 into concrete action. Has its potential as a useful operational
tool been realised?
While there have been gains in the last decade such as the recognition of the
differentiated impacts of armed conflicts on women and their valuable
contribution to peace processes; and the adoption of other key resolutions – 1820
on sexual violence in conflict and post conflict situations (in 2008), 1888 on
addressing sexual and gender based violence as a weapon of war (in 2009), and
1889 emphasising women's participation in all levels of decision making and
peace processes and calling for the establishment of a monitoring and
accountability system (in 2009); there have been setbacks in some aspects.
Out of 192 member states, only 25 have developed national action plans towards
its implementation. Moreover, statistics show that even with 1325 and its
succeeding resolutions, women make up less than 8% of participants in formal
peace process. Even more glaring is the continued occurrence of sexual violence
in conflict situations. These gaps demand stronger and more coordinated responses
to issues of women, peace and security as well as a shift in focus from policy
and planning to critical analysis of progress and impact — ten years after, how
far have we gone and how much more should be done?
This issue shall cover:
Guidelines:
For those interested to submit articles, kindly send us an ABSTRACT of
your work on or before May 30, 2011. The abstract should be written in
English and must be no more than 300 words.
You will be notified if your abstract has been approved. Full article must be
written in English and should be between 600 to 3000 words. Deadline for
submission of FULL ARTICLE is on June 15, 2011.
Please send your abstracts/articles and photos to Anna M. Dinglasan at anna@isiswomen.org
To review the past issues of the WiA, please visit Isis International website
at www.isisinternational.org