Celebrating women as peacemakers

ROSE FUMPA-MAKANO
CELEBRATIONS are always in order, especially for good causes such as peace-building.
Today, we recognise and celebrate the important contributions Zambian women (and others beyond) have made in creating and maintaining peace wherever they are found.
Right from home, the first unit of human organisation and governance, women stand out as peacemakers.
They inculcate and nurture peaceful interactions in their homes, making sure that each person looks out for and protects the interests of their family members – truly exhibiting the principle of ‘blood is always thicker than water’.
Understandably, women spend more time moulding society from the time a child is born until they become young adults ready to venture out in the world.
Women go out of their way to ensure that the home is clean and safe to live in. And despite the many challenges faced, they also make sure that there is food on the table for everyone to share.
In certain societies, it is actually common practice that a woman will not eat until every person in that household has eaten.
While these might look like small contributions and usually taken for granted, they are very important pillars in peacebuilding at home.
Essentially, women unify family units and stand out as peacemakers.
In fact, whenever some people show lack of “expected” good manners, the absence of the same is usually blamed on women, who are recognised to be family teachers at home and role models in inculcating good manners and behaviour from the time a child is born.
In this respect, women mould humanity from one generation to the next in perpetuity.
As part of a larger society, women play a critical role in the peace and development agenda of any nation.
And this recognition has been depicted in numerous declarations, resolutions and treaties at national, regional, and international levels.
For instance, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, also known as the Maputo Protocol, spells out people’s rights to equality and the need for peaceful coexistence in society.
Another example of declarations, resolutions and treaties that also depicts the critical role women play in the development agenda is the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on women, peace and security.
In particular, this resolution addresses how women and girls are impacted disproportionately by armed conflict and recognises the critical role women play in peace-building efforts.
The two frameworks – the Maputo Protocol and UNSCR 1325 – reaffirm women’s rights, their involvement in peace efforts and an important recognition of their roles in development agendas in their respective countries.
In most societies, women generally choose dialogue to resolve conflict against violent confrontation because they understand the need for everyone to be free from fear and want, hence their determination and constant sacrifice that peace prevails.
History shows that whenever dialogue has failed and men take up arms to settle differences with their enemies, women always fill the gap.
They pick up men’s spaces and keep society intact, optimistic and hopeful for a better tomorrow.
Their soft touch and enduring resilience in difficult times enable societies to heal and rebound. There seems to be a magic touch in woman’s skills.
They want a better and safe place in which to raise their children, who become the future leaders.
Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, co-author of the Independent Experts’ Assessment on Women, War and Peace for UNIFEM, noted that men seek political power in a bid to rule, and in most cases do so by wielding some force.
On the other hand, “Women are more concerned about people. They are mothers. They grow up with children [who are defenceless]. They are in the homes carrying the burden of the home and family.”
Based on this experience, whenever there is a conflict to be resolved, women apply a high degree of sensibility and sensitivity in their conflict resolution approaches and only settle for those actions which tend to bring peace.
Recognising the strategic place women hold in society and the contributions they have been making in cultivating peace across the world, soon after he took office in January 2019 as UN UnderSecretary-General, Miguel Angel Moratinos advocated for strengthening the role of women as peacemakers as one of the pillars of the UNAOC.
This was when he was also holding the position of high representative for the UN Alliance of Civilisations (UNAOC).
The ultimate goal was to promote the role of women as negotiators and mediators in Africa so as to achieve greater impacts.
UNAOC aims at galvanising international action against extremism by promoting international, intercultural, and interreligious dialogue and cooperation.
As Zambia and the world put March 8 behind, that is, the International Women’s Day, it is quite befitting to keep remembering women as real peace envoys and major contributors to creating peaceful environments.
In the absence of this, it is impossible to venture out for celebrations of any kind.
Therefore, we should genuinely salute and celebrate women’s contribution to peace in Zambia and beyond. Long live our women as peace envoys in and to the world.
The author is a lecturer at Copperbelt University Dag Hammarskjöld Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies.