Are women involved in disarmament issues?

Margaret Thatcher said, “In politics, if you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman”. The participation of women in disarmament issues has perhaps been diminished due to the limited roles assigned to them by society altogether. Their involvement in disarmament issues is supported by the myth that women are inherently peaceful due to their motherhood and ability to produce offspring. However, this statement has been declared as erroneous since a woman’s mind is not different from a man’s hence, making gender a socially constructed concept. International organizations have supported the engagement of women in disarmament negotiations, but these negotiations remain highly masculinized. In the past few decades, women have gotten the chance to get involved in disarmament issues but unfortunately the ratio is tremendously small. Today, the world needs increased participation of women to bring diverse angles and perspectives towards disarmament.

Women have a crucial role to play in disarmament issues. UNSCR 1325 has been a turning point in history which emphasizes women’s involvement and equal participation in promotion of peace and security. The United States Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, Bonnie Jenkins, in her remarks at the Conference on Disarmament (CD) encouraged purposeful participation of women in conflict prevention because their participation is the driving force behind the creation of stable democratic societies. She also praised the former Under Secretary for leading a negotiating team for Strategic Dialogue with Russia. Women have also been staunch supporters of disarmament. In 2000, 1800 women met in Hiroshima for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons and this campaign called all parties to the UN to take a step towards disarmament. Moreover, there is a dire need of inclusive involvement of women in proliferation of small arms and disarmament as well because more than men, they are affected by armed violence both mentally and physically. Small arms and light weapons are used against women which further enables men to commit sexual violence. Since they are directly and indirectly affected by violence, they are supposed to be involved in decision-making bodies which would make it easier to address the issue of arms proliferation.

Despite the recognition of the role of women by UNSCR 1325, the previous records of their involvement in the disarmament issues are quite disappointing. The major reason for such a disappointing record is the masculinization of nuclear weapons. It is quite evident from India’s nuclear test of 1998 when Hindu nationalist leader Balasaheb Thackeray stated, “We had to prove that we are not eunuchs”. This type of stereotypical culture undermines equal and active participation of women in the realm of arms control and disarmament. Women are excluded because it is assumed, they lack technical expertise in issues related to arms vis-à-vis men. Another reason might be due to their weak political positions and to what extent they are occupying leadership positions in a state. Furthermore, women are also underrepresented on fora which deal which international security. According to a report published by UNIDIR in 2019, the UN First Committee which addresses the issues related to arms control, non-proliferation and disarmament has the lowest number of female diplomats than other UNGA’s Main Committees. A 2022 report of UNSCR’s Secretary General stated that out of four delegates speaking at the First Committee meetings during seventy-sixth session of General Assembly, only one were women. The underrepresentation is more observable in low-income countries. According to a discussion paper published by Article 36 in 2015, women in low-income countries are underrepresented in disarmament fora and the proportion of female delegates was extremely low.

Especially in third-world countries like Pakistan female diplomats are highly underrepresented. A senior Pakistani diplomat said on condition of anonymity, “Just like in the rest of the world, the disarmament community in Pakistan is a niche traditionally dominated by men. It is assumed that weapons and war are topics alien to women, and they do not have an opinion. The world needs to realize that as we criticize the disarmament machinery to be stalled, it would perhaps be the female perspective that could get the ball rolling once again”.

The good news is that even if they are underrepresented, efforts have been put to prioritize gender parity in decision-making processes. According to an analysis of the UN Programme of Fellowships on Disarmament, around 106 countries sent women as candidates for the fellowship out of 158 countries. If we compare their involvement in Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty’s (NPT) review conferences with Fellowships on Disarmament, they have been better represented in the latter. Secondly, women have played a very essential role in negotiations of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which took place in 2017. Due to women’s involvement in the negotiations, Article 6 of this treaty highlights the devastating impacts of nuclear weapons on women and girls (It talks about gender-sensitive assistance, rehabilitation and psychological support). Based on a non-paper presented by the Argentinian presidency in 2020, CD discussed gender equality and emphasized women’s participation in disarmament. It highlighted the significance of diversity in disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control, which would gradually help the international community to achieve the goal of disarmament. Therefore, efforts have been made to include women in international disarmament fora.

The process of incorporating the female perspective in disarmament has started but its apparently slow. However, few steps can be taken to catalyse the process. Firstly, states should invest in disarmament and arms control education and facilitate women all around the globe to take part in it. Secondly, there is a need to break the stereotypes which have masculinized the entire decision-making process despite women being present in the field and contributing to the disarmament debates. Thirdly, low-income countries should create policies which allow women to contribute to peace and security issues. Fourthly, there should be balanced political participation between men and women to bring gender parity because till date, their political participation is quite stagnant and shows very little change. Finally, states need to implement all those resolutions which encourage women’s participation in disarmament issues and negotiations. Specifically they should implement Resolution 71/56 which calls for the purposeful participation of women in arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation. Thus, it is high time the international community bring diverse perspectives to the issue of

disarmament which might break the deadlock over

disarmament.

The writer is a student of Defence and Strategic Studies in National Defence University, Islamabad