‘Women are terrorists’ first target, they must be ours too’

ABU DHABI // When women are not present during political processes and peace talks, negotiated peace agreements have a 25 per cent to 50 per cent likelihood of faltering, said the United Nations.

However, studies show that only two per cent of all international aid to fragile states focuses on gender equality.

“Women make up half of the world’s population, as such they cannot be excluded from processes that contribute to peace and security,” said Dr Richard Burchill, director of research and engagement at the Abu Dhabi think tank Trends Research and Advisory. “Yet in spite of this simple fact, around the world women are continually marginalised, excluded and treated merely as objects, rather than as active participants, in efforts to further peace and security.”

With countless conflicts and humanitarian crises taking over the region in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya, women were said to often find themselves at the centre of the clashes but not in the decision-making process.

“Women are the first target of violent extremists to change societies and they must be our first target as well,” said Mohammed Naciri, UN Women’s regional director for the Arab States. “Not only as beneficiaries of humanitarian assistance but also as decision-makers who are capable of standing up to radicalism and ensure inclusiveness and tolerance in post-conflict communities.”

The UN announced this week the release of a six-part documentary series entitled “We are here” highlighting the political, social, peace-building and conflict resolution work of women living in challenging environments across the region.

“A free woman is the basis of democracy, as women are the basis of life and freedom,” said Majdoleen Hassan, a Syrian activist and a member of the Syrian Women’s Initiative for Peace and Democracy.

“Peace does not grow without women. Women are the ones who push the most for peaceful resolutions as they are the ones with the greatest interest in achieving it and as they lose the most in wars.”

Dr Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, chairman of the Hedayah Steering Board, emphasised the role of families in preventing and countering violent extremism, especially in detecting, reporting and responding to early signs of extremism through changes in behaviour of family members.

Mustafa Bilgen, Turkey’s ambassador to the UAE, added: “We deem families the most important [actors] identified as gaps in the cycle of radicalisation.”