Women now make up almost 24 percent of South Africa’s military. Why aren’t they treated equally?
In 2000, U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325 emphasized that women’s “equal participation and full involvement” is important to promoting peace and security. More than a decade of research since then supports the link between gender equality and peace — and has helped drive reforms aimed at increasing the number of women in security institutions, as well as embracing gender diversity. There is also considerable evidence that security sectors dominated by men tend to undermine women’s security. So where do things stand, and why is revising the security sector’s approach to gender — “regendering” it, if you will — proving difficult?
This article was first published on The Washington Post.
(Photo credit: UNAMID/Albert Gonzalez Farran, Flickr)