Discourses on Gender, Patriarchy and Resolution 1325: A Textual Analysis of UN Documents

Abstract This article deconstructs the language of UN documents that relate to peace operations and highlights recurrent definitions of women as vulnerable individuals, often associated with children. The author demonstrates that the perpetuation of stereotyping language in these documents removes women's agency and maintains them in the subordinated position of victims. As a result, women are not seen as actors within their own community and agents of change in post-conflict environments. Despite the adoption of resolution 1325, the institution of the UN leaves the male monopoly of power unchallenged and presents gender mainstreaming as a non-political activity. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Please note that the views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of the United Nations, its agencies and programmes or the office in which the author has served. Notes Adrienne Rich, Of Women Born, Motherhood as Experience and Institution, New York: Norton, 1986, p. 57 (emphasis added). Charli Carpenter, Innocent Women and Children, Gender, Norms and the Protection of Civilians, Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2006, p. 31. Ibid. Laura J. Shepherd, Gender, Violence Hilary Charlesworth, ‘The Gender of International Institutions’, Proceedings of the 89th Annual Meeting of the America Society of International Law, Washington, DC, 1995, pp. 79–85; Cynthia Enloe, Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1990. ‘Report of the Secretary-General on the Deployment of the African Union–United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur’, UN doc. , S/2009/83, 10 Feb. 2009; ‘Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad’, UN doc. , S/2008/760, 4 Dec. 2008; ‘Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste’ (for the period from 9 July 2008 to 29 January 2009), UN doc. , S/2009/72, 4 Feb. 2009; ‘Nineteenth Progress Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Operations in Côte d'Ivoire’, UN doc. , S/2009/21, 8 Jan. 2009; ‘Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti’, UN doc. , S/2009/129, 6 Mar. 2009; ‘Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo’, UN doc. , S/2009/149, 17 Mar. 2009; ‘Eighteenth Progress Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Mission in Liberia’, UN doc. , S/2009/86, 10 Feb. 2009; ‘Twenty-Seventh Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’, UN doc. , S/2009/160, 27 Mar. 2009; ‘Report of the Secretary-General on the Sudan’, UN doc. , S/2009/61, 30 Jan. 2009; ‘Report of the Secretary-General on the Request of Nepal for United Nations Assistance of Its Peace Process’, UN doc. , S/2009/1, 2 Jan. 2009. ‘Report of the Secretary-General on the Deployment of the African Union–United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur’, UN doc. , S/2009/83, 10 Feb. 2009, p. 9. ‘Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad’, UN doc. , S/2008/760, 4 Dec. 2008, p. 3. ‘Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti’, UN doc. , S/2009/129, 6 Mar. 2009, p. 13. 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Judy El-Bushra, ‘Transforming Conflict: Some Thoughts on a Gendered Understanding of Conflict Processes’, in Susie Jacobs, Ruth Jacobson and Jennifer Marchbank (eds), States of Conflict, Gender, Violence and Resistance, London: Zed Books, 2000, p. 80. Sandra Whitworth, Men, Militarism Henrietta Joy Abena Nyarko Mensa-Bonsu, DSRSG in Liberia; Ameerah Haq, DSRSG in Sudan; Rima Salah, DSRSG in Chad; Bintou Keita, DSRSG in Burundi; Leila Zerrougui, DSRSG in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Security Council resolution 1325, 31 Oct. 2000. Tinde (see n. 50 above). Hilary Charlesworth, ‘Transforming the United Men's Club: Feminist Futures for the United Nations’, Centre for International Governance & Justice (CIGJ), 1994 (at: http: //cigj. anu. edu. au/cigj/linkdocuments/Charlesworthpubs/Charlesworth%20Articles/TransformingMen%27s₁994. pdf). Camille Pampell Conaway and Jolynn Shoemaker, ‘Women in the United Nations Peace Operations: Increasing the Leadership Opportunities’, Women in International Security, Research Paper, Georgetown University, July 2008, p. 27. See Tinde (n. 50 above) on the review of documents and references highlighting how SRSGs address resolution 1325. Personal communication with Ratna Kapur, Senior Gender Adviser, UNMIN, ‘End-of-Assignment Report’, 4 July 2008, p. 4. Ibid. Nadine Puechguirbal, Senior Gender Adviser, MINUSTAH, ‘End-of-Assignment Report’, 23 June 2008, p. 7 (original emphasis). Karen Barnes, ‘Reform or More of the Same? Gender Mainstreaming and the Changing Nature of UN Peace Operations’, York Centre for International and Security Studies, Working Paper No. 41, Toronto, Oct. 2006, p. 2. Shepherd (see n. 4 above), p. 120. Françoise Nduwimana, ‘United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security: Understanding the Implications, Fulfilling the Obligations’, Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, New York, 2008, p. 87. Whitworth (see n. 32 above), p. 139.