The Reintegration of Female Soldiers in Post Conflict Societies

Submitted by Elise Barth on August 20, 2003 - 12:00am.

The role of women soldiers has been both to increase the number of soldiers in general and to serve in roles unique to women

Conflict - for centuries has been the arena of men. Now women can openly join the ranks of warriors. However, their roles during war and peace are still very different. During a war, women may perform tasks usually performed by men, in addition to supporting the war effort more directly. This article will point out the special situation in which such women find themselves after war.

When war is over

When a war is over, women's contributions during the conflict rarely receive recognition, one reason being that the needs and priorities of a post-conflict society are very different from those of a society at war: whereas men and women are encouraged to act out similar roles as fellow soldiers in an army or guerrilla movement, post-conflict society encourages difference between the genders. This has important consequences for former soldier women. Female ex-combatants, who have broken rules of traditional behaviour and gender roles, risk being marginalized during the rebuilding process. In many cases, female ex-soldiers prefer to conceal their military past rather than face social disapproval.

Female soldiers challenge deeply anchored preconceptions of gender identity

Female ex-soldiers tend to find it difficult when a conflict is over. There is pressure on women to return to more traditional ways of living as soon as possible. The changes they have gone through are too great for them, and they need assistance to build a civil existence so they can care for themselves and their children. For example, female soldiers who have broken ties with their families and participated in a war on terms similar to those of men have very often been socialized out of their local settings. War experiences offer many soldiers a meaning and purpose in their lives that peacetime may lack. Men and women are often encouraged to have similar roles as soldiers, while in peacetime they have different roles. Thus, the men do not have a break in their gender socialization, whereas the women do. A war-torn society may also aim to return to a pre-war order. Marriages established during the war that run contrary to accepted norms run a high risk of falling apart.

Returning male and female ex-soldiers are seen differently by society

Male and female ex-soldiers who return to civil society, are not received in the same way. While men are perceived to have strengthened their gender role through military life, female fighters are increasingly marginalized. The female soldiers may at first receive gratitude from civil society. Gradually, however, women are pushed in the direction of a gender role more suitable in that particular society. This is characteristic of female soldiers all over the world: conduct encouraged during the war is not encouraged in peacetime (see, for example, Enloe, 2000). Women are challenged in a totally different way, expected to return to roles very different from their war activities.

Problems of targeting women ex-combatants

Many of the problems of targeting people eligible for assistance after an armed conflict are the same for both men and for women. For example, soldiers belonging to the defeated group have other problems than soldiers belonging to the winning group. Often, some groups are not recognized by, for example, the government of the country as equally entitled to demobilization and reintegration benefits.

Ex-combatants are considered a serious threat to the political stability of a state. Accordingly, this group is a prioritized target for reintegration support. While this is true, women combatants are not perceived as a threat to the same degree as men. As a result, they are not considered as important (Baden, 1997; Watteville, 2000). However, female combatants can be a destabilizing factor in other ways as they are central to development and need assistance to avoid marginalization.

Specific to women, there is an overall reluctance to recognize the importance of their participation in the war effort. Men have been unwilling to share veteran status with women, especially where women have been denied in direct combat.

Some ways to start helping women ex-combatants through difficult situations

There are few easy solutions for women who have been soldiers in wars in Africa. Assistance programs must first of all be aware that female ex-soldiers do exist, and then seek them out. To help these women on their way towards reintegration ï¿½ if not within their original community, then somewhere else of their choosing ï¿½ is a great challenge. Reintegration planners must also pay special attention to disabled women (and girl) veterans.

Directing support to ex-soldiers is a complex process. Programs designed to benefit ex-combatants may work against the overall goal of integrating that particular group into civil society. The important question necessary to ask is whether demobilization assistance will promote integration into the local community or not.

In spite of this, it is essential to reserve some assistance for ex-combatants. Ex-combatants need incentives for returning to society. It is also necessary to recognize the different needs of the various groups of people who have participated as soldiers. For example, an ex-soldier youth will not have the same needs as an adult former combatant, male or female (Maslen, 1997).

Women soldiers must be assisted in trying to find an alternative way of living. Education and training are frequently what they lack, and these should be offered through assistance programs. Childcare opportunities are very important for the employment prospects of female ex-soldiers but a range of skills should be encouraged, not only typical female skills.

Some of the knowledge acquired by ex-soldiers through politicization programs within revolutionary groups should be acknowledged as being of value. As well, ex-soldiers are experts on their own situation and can often be used to train other ex-soldiers in dealing with returning back to society.

References

Baden, Sally, 1997. Post-Conflict Mozambique: Women's Special Situation, Population Issues and Gender Perspectives - To Be Integrated into Skills Training and Employment Promotionï¿½, Bridge Development Gender Report No 4. Report of a consultancy for the Action Programme on Skills and Entrepreneurship in countries emerging from armed conflict. Geneva: International Labor Office.

Enloe, Cynthia, 2000. MANEUVERS: The International Politics of Militarizing Womenï¿½s Lives. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press

Maslen, Stuart, 1997. ï¿½The Reintegration of War-Effected Youth: The Experience of Mozambiqueï¿½, ILO Action Programme on Skills and Entrepreneurship, Training for Countries Emerging from Armed Conflict. Geneva: International Labour Organization.

Watteville, Nathalie de (for Markus Kostner), 2000. ï¿½DRP Conceptual Framework for Female Veterans, Veteransï¿½ Wives and Girl Soldiers (Draft N.1)ï¿½, working document, World Bank, Washington, DC, December.

Zimbabwe Women Writers, 2000. Women of Resilience: The Voices of Women Combatants. London & Harare: African Books Collective.

Elise Fredrikke Barth is investigating gender aspects of conflict intervention at the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO). She has worked in Eritrea, Southern Sudan and Vietnam.