After the Peace : Women in Post - Conflict Reconstruction

In the past decade, many countries have embarked upon the difficult transition from armed conflict toward reconciliation and reconstruction. The international community's role in this transition has shifted from narrow humanitarian and relief activities to more comprehensive efforts to foster sustainable peace. At the same time, the community has shifted from a stepped approach from relief to development to one that combines a broader package of concurrent steps: immediate humanitarian relief activities plus longer-term development strategies to build infrastructure, political institutions, and the social fabric of civil society (Bush 1998; Cohen and Deng 1998; Fagen 1995). Development organizations have become increasingly engaged in activities during and post-conflict, devoting time and resources to supporting this transition. A recent World Bank framework paper substantiates this trend pointing out that the proportion of worldwide development assistance devoted to relief activities, including short-term humanitarian assistance and peacekeeping activities, increased from two percent in 1989 to ten percent in 1994 (World Bank 1997). Building a lasting peace that sustains postwar economic, political, and social development requires the full participation of all citizens. Yet, it is increasingly recognized that the role of women in post-conflict settings has received inadequate policy attention. Women often bear a disproportionate share of war's consequences. As war changes the demographics of a country, women may become single heads of households , supporting children, parents, or extended families. They may become uprooted, deprived of all assets, and resettled in an unfamiliar community without their usual support networks. These women also may suffer wartime sexual abuse or the loss of a family member. Given this gender-differentiated impact of war, women must participate in and benefit from post-conflict development policies and programs if peace is to be sustained