Beyond UNSCR 1325: Women’s Agency In Ghana’s Peace And Development Architecture

Nearly fifteen years after the passage of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, women’s agency in Ghana’s peace and security architectures are still men-dominated. The resolution, which seeks to underscore how invaluable women’s roles are, to the development process of fragile and conflict-affected communities have yet to gain the needed traction.

Despite the continued mantra about Ghana as an oasis of peace in a sub-region immersed in various forms of violent conflicts; there are widespread protracted and ‘budding’ violent conflict situations that are wreaking havoc on the development aspirations of the people. There are a number of chieftaincy succession disputes; communal conflicts; religious-laden disputes; land disputes amongst other conflict situations that are suffocating development initiatives across the length and breadth of the country.

In some cases, scarce stated resources are ‘wasted’ in peacebuilding and conflict prevention strategies that are not consensual enough to bring closure to these conflicts. Between 20001 and 2004 alone, about GHC 600 million was sunk into managing conflict situations in the Northern Region. Ironically, poverty and maternal mortality are still high in these three Northern regions compared to the national average (Awall, 2015).

Studies have shown that, women and children tend to bear the greatest burdens associated with violent conflicts. However, peace infrastructures: that are critical to the sustainablesocio-economicand political development of these communities have tended to focus largely on the role of men; with women playing subordinating roles.And in the process, relegating the prerogatives of women (whether political, social or economic) to the periphery; as measures towards sustainable peace and development get tabled for implementation. The implementation of these measures has in some cases further worsened women’s situations.

Since Ghana developed her UNSCR 1325 Plan of Action (GHANAP) in 2008, the translation of the ideals of the resolution have yet to take effect in conflict situations. Most of the ideals have remained in books; with little or nothing to show in ‘real’ conflict contexts. There is a lot of literature to show that, from Dagbon to Bawku; from Kete-Krachi to Bimbilla; from Hohoe to Alavanyo and to Nkonya, women have shown a great resolve in ending acts of violence in their communities (Awall, 2015).

By demonstrating how they badly need peace to prevail in their communities, for normal life-sustaining socio-economic activities to thrive. While the men persistently show signs of belligerence and want to show‘where power lies,’ women and children continue to bear the unquantifiable cost of these belligerence and violence. Despite the efforts by these women, formal peace and development infrastructures of conflict-affected communities have tended to make women’s participation a peripheral consideration.

Why women need to participate in peace and development activities

Women have remained marginalised even in communities where violent conflicts have not been recorded. Existing socio-cultural values and norms have made it possible, for women’s aspirations to be considered as secondary. With such frameworks to guide how women conduct themselves in our societies, ‘it is only what the men consider as priorities’ that get to feature in the development discourse of their communities.

Nobody seems to care very strongly about the challenges confronting women. How for example, the Dagbon crisis and numerous other violent conflicts in the Northern Regions of Ghana is contributing to the “Kayaye” menace in urban centres like Accra and Kumasi has remained tangential, when the effects of these violent conflicts are being discussed. Similarly, have we thought of how insecurity in these areas is affecting girl-child education?

Even though studies have yet to show how violent conflicts in Ghana is promoting child-trafficking and prostitution, ample anecdotal evidence abound, to show that a lot of the innocent girls who migrate from some conflict-affected communities of the North, to the urban centres of Accra and Kumasi engage in all manner of social vices that can be equated to child prostitution.Some of these girl-children are in some instances left to the mercy of male ‘predators’ who subject them to all forms of cruel, degrading and inhuman acts; and in the process, reducing their ‘womanhood’ to nothing less than human. Who are best suited to raise some of these issues when peace and development infrastructures are being sought after? Of course, it is the women. After all, who knows where the shoe hurts than the wearer? That is the more reason why it bespeaks the need for Ghana to make every effort possible to mainstream women and gender prerogatives in the development architectures of conflict-affected communities.

Also, studies have shown that, incorporating women and their perspectives in the peace and security infrastructures of conflict-affected societies enable them to transfer such experiences into the wider socio-economic and political spheres. Women have made a considerable gain in the socio-economic and political development of countries like Rwanda, due to the conscious and consistent efforts the state has made in post-conflict and reconstruction initiatives.

Today, Rwanda is among the top one percent countries whose National Assembly (Legislature) is made up of nearly (or more than) 40 percent women. As a result, constitutional and legal reforms are currently ongoing, to ensure that cultural values and norms that previously disadvantage women are revised in order to meet 21^st century standards. Women can now own land and other resources that were previously designated as the preserve of men.

The argument for women’s participation in peace and security is even more compelling for the conflict-affected societies of Ghana; considering how patriarchal most of these communities are.We therefore need to integrate women’s concerns and perspectives in peace and development infrastructures as a means to gradually encouraging women to take active part in the public spheres of their communities. We do not want a ‘Ghana’ that is oblivious to matters that concern the strategic and practical needs of women; but one, that recognises the imperativeness of creating the needed friendly atmosphere for ‘inclusive’ aspirational living.

Inusah Mohammed Awall
Twitter: @wagoooni