Myanmar: Women Play a Crucial Role in Building Peace in Myanmar

Apr 2, 2019 | Peace Science Digest
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Since the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) in 2000, the international community has devoted a great deal of attention to the importance of women’s participation in peace processes. The implementation of this ideal, however, often falls short. Myanmar, where the government is currently engaged in a peace process with multiple armed ethnic groups, is a case in point. Although the parties have committed to women’s participation at the negotiation table, women’s actual inclusion in the formal process has been limited — despite evidence of women’s powerful role at the grassroots level. In an article in the Journal of Peacebuilding & Development, Mollie Pepper examines how women are involved in informal peacebuilding activities in Myanmar even if they are not present in significant numbers in the formal process.