INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2012 - Rural Women Face Threat of Protracted Violence After War

It may be our United Nation agency's -- UN Women's -- first birthday, but on the occasion of our annual conference, the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), we and hundreds of other women's groups still face limited access to the halls of the United Nations (U.N.).

This is due to new registration rules limiting access for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in place because of bureaucracy and renovation to the U.N. buildings.

Thousands of women, including our colleagues from Nigeria, Pakistan and Lebanon, have made their way to U.N. headquarters in New York to strategize and advocate for their priority issues on the CSW 56 theme of the ‘empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges'.

Our collective aim is to influence the wording of an outcome document, currently being negotiated by U.N. member states.

Our organisation, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom/WILPF (a soon to be 100 year-old women's peace organization) has participated in every Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).

This year we continue to voice our recommendations at the numerous events, in statements and though advocacy efforts.

From our WILPF perspective, the intersection of women's participation, food security and the particular challenges and impact of disasters, conflict and insecurity on the lives of rural women are at the core of addressing the root causes of inequality and conflict.

This view is supported by our sisters; rural women from around the world consistently highlight the theme of peace and security.

We hear that in conflict-affected rural communities, while men engage in war, women provide food, sustain families, and communities.

The role of women in these communities must not be ignored in policy-making. WILPF continues to advocate for equal and full participation of women in all decision-making including in development and implementation of policies to eradicate poverty and hunger.

These women also describe how arms and militarisation impact their lives. The proliferation and circulation of weapons facilitates crimes and human rights violations including sexual and gender-based violence. Moreover, excessive military expenditure, the arms trade and violent conflict, diverts resources from social, economic, and rural development and gender equality.

Sameena Nazir, president of WILPF-Pakistan drew attention to the little known fact that the 2012 floods in Pakistan provoked a food crisis that has resulted in a malnutrition rate far worse than that of Sub-Saharan Africa.

She went on to say that the Pakistani national budget focuses disproportionately on national border security to the detriment of human security. Finally, Sameena described the reality of women in rural Pakistan and the work undertaken by WILPF-Pakistan and her organisation PODA to try and improve their situation.

Similarly, our WILPF Section in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) explained the negative effect of ongoing insecurity and conflict on natural resources and food supply.

Conflict in the DRC has also resulted in the forced displacement of communities to camps where they become dependent on insufficient food aid. Furthermore, rural women are at a heightened risk of experiencing attacks including sexual violence when they must leave displacement camps or communities to farm their lands.

This can lead to a dangerous cycle and an increase in the potential for re-occurring and protracted violence. The personal experiences of these women from the DRC were reflected in the WILPF official statement, delivered to the delegates of CSW.

WILPF has always been an organization seeking to paint the larger picture. In broadening the traditional definition of security to include human security we ensure that all discussion of security acknowledges the effects of national security policies on human security.

We look forward to working with partners around the world to stop the prevailing culture of militarism and to create a culture of peace, in which women, including rural women, are secure and able to play a full and equal role.