Member News
By Hannah Wright - 14th December 2009
If we are to prevent the use of rape as a weapon in conflict zones, we must encourage more men to speak out against sexual violence.
That was the message to MPs at a recent meeting of the all party parliamentary group on women, peace and security.
The event, co-hosted by CARE International and the International Rescue Committee, was held to mark 16 Days of Action, an international campaign to end violence against women.
The sixteen days begin each year with the UN's International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25th November and end with Human Rights Day on 10th December.
Panellists speaking at the event were Nepalese trade unionist Binda Pandey, Howard Mollett of CARE International UK and Lib Dem MP Malcolm Bruce.
The meeting began with a stark reminder of the realities of rape in conflict zones, in the form of a short film about women in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In the film, survivors told stories of how they were disowned by their families for having been raped, often by soldiers. As they spoke, many of them held children who were themselves the products of brutal acts of sexual violence.
Binda Pandey, a renowned women's rights activist in Nepal, explained that although gender-based violence is commonplace in her home country, it is rarely talked about as it is considered simply a part of the culture, with one study revealing that 80 per cent of married women had been abused by their husbands.
Binda Pandey cited Nepal's male-dominated political system as a key factor contributing to the lack of decisive action to prevent sexual violence and to help victims, noting that one in three members of the country's legislature are women.
As the meeting coincided with the 90th anniversary of the first woman MP taking her seat in the House of Commons, this inevitably drew comparisons with the UK, where even today only one in five MPs are women.
While not hitting the headlines like troop levels in Afghanistan or the Copenhagen conference on climate change, the issue of violence against women in conflict zones has quietly climbed up the international political agenda in recent months.
In September the UN Security Council passed two resolutions calling for a more concerted effort to uphold women's rights in conflict situations.
Resolution 1888 requests UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to appoint a Special Representative to lead efforts against sexual violence in armed conflict, while Resolution 1889 reaffirms the UN's commitment to promote women's participation in conflict resolution and peacebuilding.
Howard Mollett of CARE International called on the government to take an active role in ensuring these noble words are followed up with action, by holding UN agencies to account and making sure Ban Ki Moon appoints as his Special Representative an experienced candidate who is passionately committed to the cause.
The UK has been at the forefront of international efforts to involve more women in decision-making positions in conflict situations, and Howard Mollett stated that the review currently being carried out by the foreign office of its strategy on women, peace and security would be critical to advancing this agenda.
The central argument of CARE International is that international policy-making should be based not on lofty diplomatic interests or international political bargaining but on the needs and experiences of victims of sexual violence in conflict zones.
Malcolm Bruce MP made the point powerfully that women's advancement cannot be imposed on societies by the international community; it is vital to find local advocates for women's rights by convincing men in countries where women are systematically oppressed that it is in their interests to give women an equal place in society.
He said that his experience as the chair of the international development committee had made him "more and more convinced that giving rights to women will do more to aid development than any other measure," adding that men in powerful positions must be made to see this, including in the UK, where he said there are still not enough women in Parliament.
The meeting was rounded off by chair of the APPG, Conservative MP Anne Milton, who reiterated her conviction that while it is important for women to be empowered to senior decision-making positions, it is also necessary for prominent men to speak out in favour of women's rights.
This is true not just in the many conflict zones around the world where the UN and the UK are supporting in peacebuilding initiatives, buy also much closer to home, in the House of Commons itself.
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd