Why Are Women Experts ‘Absent’ From Panels on War & Security?

Aug 27, 2020 | Ruhee Neog
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In Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, an Athenian magistrate demands of an assembly of women: “And where do you get off taking an interest in war and peace?” The play, set during the Peloponnesian War, was first performed in 411 BC. It is staggering that we are contending with similar questions nearly 2,500 years later.

This takes on new meaning in the context of policy-wonkery in India, which has had rather a busy season. The digitalisation of all but essential services has democratised public access to seminars and conferences beyond their typically niche audience. It has also shone a spotlight on the disproportionate composition of these platforms, particularly those on national security. Indeed, in most, women are altogether absent.

While this phenomenon is neither new nor uniquely Indian, the online migration has made deficiencies in the security field more visible.