Master's Thesis on Women Studies

Women together: building Peace bridges between Cultures Chapter 1: Oppression, sexism and fight for rights 1. Violence against women 1.1 Burn alive 1.2 Honour killing 1.3 Moral and physical violence: feminicide 1.4 A war weapon 1.5 Violence consequences 2. The Path for emancipation 2.1 European laws 2.2 UN Laws 2.3 Laws in defence of women and children in a war situation

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Chapter 2: Women nets 3. The female figure in international view 3.1 Women with power: the Matriarchy 3.2 Woman and Islam between truth and prejudices 4. The silent scream 5. Builders of Peace, Mediators of Hope 3.1 Women leader for Peace 6. Empowerment e Gender mainstreaming

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Chapter 3: Women carovanes: experience, motivation and forgiveness 7. "Weapons of resolution" of intercultural conflicts 8. Voices for Freedom 8.1 Women and condivision 8.2 Peace Carovanes

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Chapter 4: Women and Conflicts 9. Post-conflict situation 9.1 Liberia 9.2 Bosnia 10. Conflict situation 10.1 Syria 10.2 Afghanistan 11. Cultural conflict situation 11.1 Nepal 11.2 Argentina 11.3 Northern Ireland

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Conclusions

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Bibliography Volumes Studies and online reports International newspaper articles Online articles Online web sites Filmography

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Attachments Attachment 1: international laws Attachment 2: interviews

Abstract

Warriors of Peace "Sometimes, people call my way of speaking ranting. Why are you always ranting and screaming, they ask. But here’s the thing‌the reason why I rant is because I am a voice for many women that cannot speak out to heads of state, UN officials, and those that influence systems of oppression. And so I rant. And I will not stop ranting until my mission of equality of all girls is achieved" (Gbowee, 2011)1.

I believe in social change, I want to raise awareness about gender equality and wish to transform the World in a better place for everyone, living without any discrimination. The purpose of this thesis is that of considering woman as a peace mediator, builder of hope and intercultural bridges. The thesis is supported by examples of women who lived for this achievement.

The pamphlet wants to be a constructive critics towards today's society and the role and rights of women. A critical review of social prejudices and biases, that women have suffered during history, but have also been complicit to.

Aim of this thesis is that of creating a discussion about the contribute of women at the Peace table, underlining the difficulties they have to endure, strategies they have to develop in order to bring women's voice into the political and decisional arena.

In the same time, a critics has to be encouraged towards younger women, and against society and media who achieved to instil those stereotypes into new generations' minds.

Hence preventing the value of respect towards a human being and its fundamental characteristics.

I disagree with all those opinions who perceive women as the cause of a man's cruel instincts, as for example: a woman wearing a too short skirt provokes the animal nature of a man, that leads to him assaulting her.

Nonetheless, I fell very uncomfortable seeing the few respect some women have towards themselves. If their great grand mothers and grand mothers fought for the rights of women emancipation, this young women instead, are passive to all calls for fighting indifference. Moreover they are too much influenced by a persistent media noneducation and extreme beauty clichĂŠs.

Foremost media an-education and information's distortion (most of which is highlighted by social network outlets) favour the indifference towards social problems.

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Leymah Gbowee, Peace Nobel price (http://leymahgbowee.com/ - August 2013).

These have contributed to grow stereotypes, strengthen fanatism and prejudices mostly against man who are immigrants or foreigners.

Media, again, constantly show barbarise of foreigner men (those who better represent this are Muslim men). Stereotypes against Islam, such as the traditions of a patriarchal society (mutilations, stone deaths, polygamy) have encouraged western men to be seen as a "hero" or "rescuer" of those foreigner women, oppressed and mistreated.

Consequently western men are protectors of their women who could be assaulted anytime by the foreigner violent man. An horrible future has to be seen in all this circumstances: women are victims of a power play between men, in which they represent the object (to be freed, emancipated). At the same time all those women who bear the harassment signs, are going to be stigmatized and shown as a warning towards the brutal man.

These are just some examples of how sexism and violence could be used as markers of irreducible cultural differences between western cultures, which are emancipated, and less civilized society.

Secondly, against all regulations, cultural stereotypes persist and, during the flow of time, have come over every women's life, stigmatizing herself and leading her to think trough cognitive calques. A clear example of it is the discussion about the "pink quotes", the diverse rights implementations and discussion about abortion.

Against all odds, there are women who are committed to a positive and active fight against stereotypes. The thesis aims to highlight their sacrifices and achievement which are independent from nowadays fashions, and together brought unforeseen consequences concerning human rights. Henceforth this thesis objective is that of giving voice to women who have been victims of war, not just oppressions, deaths, sacrifices, harassment and violence, but those who have been persecuted because of the warlords choices, nationalist fights and tyrannies.

Through positive actions and jointed efforts, trough hearing and mediation and intercultural integration , women have succeeded to win.

To underline the importance of women's right, the thesis begins in the first chapter with a short historic excursus, that follows the path to women's emancipation, from the patriarchal society, based on roles division between men and women, until the medieval society where abuse and discrimination against women prevail.

The modern industrial society changes radically the women's perception. She is being attributed with other roles, in which she can't be conscious of herself and her subjectivity. By the time of the two World wars and the "warm" conflicts, the difficulties for women's emancipation increases. No matter any effort from the International Community or any national reform, the women, don't have any universal right, and

foremost sometime they aren't even granted the fundamental humanity rights. That happens not only in those Countries that Western people call barbarians or terrorists, but on the skin of every women.

In the second chapter it is underlined the female attitude towards conflict's resolution seen from different cultures: the archetype of matrilineal culture, with Judaism and the radical subordination of women in Islamic cultures. From gender studies, of psychological, sociological and anthropological root, emerge important women qualities, that make them ideal mediators during conflict situations. That because women are empathic mediators towards other cultures.

Thus it is enhanced that gender stereotypes could be used in a positive way, in order to enhance personal characteristics and aspects functional to ones' subjectivity.

The feminine archetype is represented as expression of a cycle: the circle is the symbol of the biology of women, having no beginning or ending. Everything gets together in the end, to begin again every time.

So is the cyclic time of women: the period, the hormonal and fertile timetable. The circle is seen as expression of the maternal belly, as union and connection. Women are able to build a peaceful coexistence. Hence her hearing skills, she understands the suffering of society. Women who endure harassment and discrimination is capable of forgiveness and due to her experience is willing to create a better future for her children.

Moreover, by portraying the experiences of women who have seen death, violence and traumas, we may understand that the individual experience is transformed into a collective one. Groups of women who experienced traumas start to develop, and through hearing and participating, a collective empowerment could be achieved. Empowerment where the strength of thousands produces courage and determination in every one.

"The feminist ethics, of taking care, means that we choose to take care of ourselves and of others, in order to push the other to take care of themselves seriously. A survivor cannot recover alone, nor in isolation, but we need the strength of all to let justice win" (Mladjenovic 2012, 238).

Since mediation, negotiation and peacemaking are feminine skills, women are more credible in terms of bringing to a conflict resolution: "Women often bear the brunt of violent conflict but also have a vital role to play in reconstruction processes. Recent events fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan have raised renewed hopes worldwide that this would mark a new era of freedom and empowerment for Afghan women and girls. Experience is showing that accomplishing this is no easy task. Our challenges are enormous but our determination is greater than the challenges we face" (Sarabi 2003, 1).

Taking up this values, all around the World many "women carovanes" have been created, in order to promote the equality principles and help themselves to undergo tremendous fights and ease the suffering of their sufferance. They are women motivated to cure themselves, the others and society in which they live. They never cease to fight and rebel to defend their rights until they are acknowledged. Women become an army to the resolution of intercultural conflicts. Furthermore these carovanes are mostly women who gather together with the purpose of protesting against rights, directives or behaviours that are a treat to human rights and the society in which they live.

Sometimes carovanes are made up by women associations gathering from different nations and cultures with the aim of a common fight. Many are the examples: one for all the carovane LibertĂŠ et democratie built up in march 2013, for the World Social Forum in Tunisi. The question is that of what does an association of Mexican women have in common with an association of Tunisian women? The answer is that their lives are connected by the lives of their children who are either immigrated or dispersed, and the desperate and continuous search for their families and suffering. (Bottazzo 2013).

L'Africa che cammina con i piedi delle donne, has been entitled the IX International Gathering of ChiAma l’Africa, that took place in may 2011 in Ancona and dedicated to the Noppaw Campaign (Nobel Peace Prize for African Women), as a step of the African women carovane Walking Africa.

At the gathering, women raised up their determined and fierce voice in order to explain their histories, experiences and the leadership of all those women. Leadership which was constantly expressed in different fields of society, from economy until healthcare, from life defence until peace building. They spoke about the extraordinary normality of a life spent fighting the obstacles and difficulties, overcome by courage and dignity. They cried out loud:

"We, African women, say no. We don't want anymore Africa to be

exploited by western countries in the name of democracy. African women want and can be heard, they want their voices to be heard. They tell about themselves and Africa.

They spoke about their villages, their fields and water. And they will continue to speak."2.

There are many carovanes of women protesting against War in their countries, against violence, discriminations and abuse that they suffer form man, their husbands and soldiers. These are carovanes of women who rebel from laws that are against their rights of maternity, freedom of speech and work. These are women who gather together in order to help other women who suffer and transform society into a better place where for their children to live without discrimination.

Hence there are many women who are fighting for Peace. They organized suffer 2

http://www.noppaw.org/?p=3856 (September 2013).

sharing circles and trough teamwork they surpassed indifference barriers and built bridges between cultures, so that every people cooperate for a better future.