Needless to say, in situations of war and armed conflict, no one emerges as a winner. Lives are wasted; future development of a society is jeorpardised into a state of economic instability; rule of law, democracy and governance go through a - more often than not, extended - period of crisis where personal liberties and rights are compromised. But women as an already marginalised section of society experience a different countenance of torture and abuse from war than men do.

The gender discrimination, oppression and persecution that exist in women's lives during times of peace become escalated and magnified during times of conflict where poverty, social instability and breakdown of the rule of law is sharpened.

Violence against women in times of conflict has been one of the most undocumented sections of history. It is only in recent years with global conferences on women that these experiences have found a voice and platform to uncover the brutalities committed upon them, and in doing so, demanded acknowledgment and justice. During World War II, at least 200,000 girls and women were enslaved sexually as 'comfort women' for members of the Japanese Army. In Rwanda, more than 250,000 women were systematically raped as a form of ethnic cleansing during the 1994 genocide. Closer to home, there were over 170 reported accounts of rape and violence towards Indonesian Chinese as a political tool by the military during one week in May 1998 when Suharto was overthrown.

In times of armed conflict, women are gang-raped in front of their family by members of the militia; sexual abuse and torture often accompanies interrogations by the police and civilians; women have been kidnapped, beaten and raped on their way to school, work or getting food; women have been deliberately infected with HIV/AIDS through rape.

The societal value for women placed largely on her chastity and her role in child bearing as well as caring for the family facilitates these gender targeted acts of war crimes. The rapes demonstrate the emasculation and humiliation of the enemy, complemented by the prominence of male authority in times of war. When a pregnant woman is beaten to abortion or assaulted until she is incapable of pregnancy, it is a patriarchal strategy to thwart the lineage of the enemy, compelling dominance of one ethnic group against another. The perceived "right" of men to satisfy their sexual needs and the responding perception of women as sex objects assists in the organisation of sexual enslavement and trafficking during times of conflict.

The displacement of communities as their homes become battlegrounds means additional vulnerability to the women and girls as their known source of shelter and survival disappears. Unemployment and crowded living conditions - even in shelters for refugees - contribute to increased levels of domestic violence, incest, rape and suicide. Research has shown that combatants returning from war have shown difficulty in transitioning to peacetime behaviour, displaying escalating violence especially in terms of domestic violence, whether caused by the conflict they witnessed, or the culture of violence and masculinity that permeates military life.

The concentration of men in the military also meant an increase of female-headed households. Coupled with the notion of women as carers for their family, women have risked their lives when they travel over mine fields and areas of conflict to seek food and other forms of basic necessities. Without a source of income, they have had to exchange sex for passage, shelter or food. Members of the military, government officials, aid workers and civilians have all been complicit in using women's bodies as a form of barter for the needs of daily lives. Women and girls have been sold to families of opposing groups, or into forced labour, often with a component of forced prostitution.

Unprotected sex through the rapes and the lack of contraceptives in times of conflict increases the probability of contracting sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS, as do tears in vaginal tissues caused by violent sexual assaults. The proliferation of sex work and trafficking in places of conflict due to weakened law and order as well as border controls, and "war economies" where locals set up bars for foreign and relatively better paid peacekeepers, provide a conducive environment for such transmission.

The shortage of medical support also means that treatment or psychosocial counselling is scarce if not non-existant, and the need for basic health requirements such as antibiotics, clean linen, sanitary pad and sterile medical equiptment contribute to endangering women's health, especially in terms of reproductive health and infant mortality. In addition, destruction of infrastructure affecting supply of water lends a devastating effect onto the health of women and children, especially mothers who are breastfeeding.

These impacts will be felt for generations even after the conflict has passed.

Nonetheless, in the midst of all these horrors of war, women have shown incredible strength, determination and inspiration in rebuilding their lives and communities, urging for peace and challenging militarism, and healing the discord caused by war. In Burundi, a radio programme initiated from a Pan-African Women's Conference for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence about the friendship between a Hutu and a Tutsi family has greatly helped reconciliation from the aftermath of the ethnic war. In Afghanistan, barely one month after the fall of the Taliban, five women pooled their money and created Seerat, the first independent newspaper ran by women in the country to help construct visibility and accountability from the new government.

As such, to ensure that women's specific concerns are heard and addressed in situations of armed conflict, and that we have the capacity to negotiate for peace and conditions which affect our lives, there must be equal access and full participation of women in decision making bodies and peace processes to ensure the promotion and sustainability of peace. Even as discussions are underway in the reconstruction of Iraq, it is urgent to demand for women's participation and a gender perspective to ensure that women are not marginalised in the efforts to rebuild the country. The international community - including Malaysians in our efforts of collecting aid for the Iraqi civilians where women make up its majority - should be conscious of the different needs of women, and ensure their access and involvement in all conflict resolution efforts during the war, and during the reconstruction of Iraq.

Jaclyn Kee
6 April 2003

Fortnightly Column by WAO on Sunday Mail (Reprinted with permission from Sunday Mail)

Related article:

• Malaysian NGO Joint Press Statement on US-led Attack on Iraq