through cultural or social means.64 From training security sector organisations on
UNSCR 1325 and working with women from affected populations on preventing and
countering radicalism65to feeding community consultative processes into ongoing
peace processes,66
women’s
interventions at various levels can enrich
peacebuilding.
In practice, women in peacebuilding
have demonstrated a knack for bypassing
bureaucracies and politics to deploy a number of tactics in peacebuilding beyond the
‘negotiation table’ to advance peace and security objectives. The example below from
illustrates some of these strategies where women across the political sphere worked
with those in government, civil society, development organisations .
Transboundary peace activism: women at work
Women are using innovative ways to contribute to formal peace processes. This
involves tapping into informal and formal networks, mobilising women’s grassroots
connections, maintaining visibility in parallel peace agenda and processes to ensure
that gender concerns and interests remain pertinent and visible.
In Uganda during the Juba Peace talks that commenced between government and the
Lord’s Resistance Army between 2006-8, the talks were dominated by government
and military leaders, combatants and traditional leaders, with women highly absent.
Perceiving the process as focusing on ‘strictly military questions’67 women
peacebuilders set out to influence the peace talks process and build a groundswell
64
Angom S. (2018) Case Studies of Women in Peacemaking and Peacebuilding: Empirical Evidence. In: Women
in Peacemaking and Peacebuilding in Northern Uganda. The Anthropocene: Politik-Economics-Society-Science,
vol 22. Springer, Cham
65
ICAN ‘Robinah Rubimbwa on How Women Played a Crucial Role in Peace Talks with LRA in UgandaApr 20,
2017. Available at https://www.icanpeacework.org/2017/04/20/robinah-rubimbwa-uganda/
66
Musoke H ‘Transitional justice and gender in Uganda: Making peace, failing women during the peace
negotiation process’ Journal Home, Vol 9, No 2 (2009)
67
Anna Svenson Towards Sustainable Peace in Uganda?- a study of peacebuilding in northern Uganda and the
involvement of the civil society during the LRA/ government of Uganda peace process of 2006-2007’ 2007 Vaxjo
University. Available at https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:205253/FULLTEXT01.pdf
31