Women's Empowerment and Good Governance Through - amarc

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Best Experiences for an Action Research Process 88 tiatives, strengthening our communication networks, facilitating training and attachments to enhance our collective media skills. We are staging annual partners meetings, which provide a valuable opportunity to review our progress and identify priorities for the future, in order to continue to provide coverage of the implementation of UNSC RES/1325 in our countries and in the regional policy level. This regional network will also be the platform for establishing women’s community radio stations initially in Solomon Islands and Tonga. Conclusion Women’s exclusion and marginalization pose a significant threat to sustainable human security (43). The consequences are far-reaching and manifest in core security risks such as the absence of legal and human rights, lack of protection against gender-based violence and access to justice, health, education as well as exclusion from participation in economic life, credit, land and natural resources. These consequences not only constitute underlying sources of political and economic instability, but also result in the weakening of social and family units. What is clearly needed is the opportunity to continue to build women’s skills and confidence and support women’s representation in the social, political and economic spheres, especially as the reality is that many women, in Fiji and the rest of the Pacific Island Region, are excluded from the structures that make the decisions to sustain peace or engage in conflict. There are few women in political and civil service leadership positions across Pacific island countries. Despite the important role played by women’s groups in prevention and recovery efforts, we are also marginally represented in decision-making bodies, whether these relate to recovery planning or formal peace processes. Community radio offers the opportunity to build and strengthen alliances from local, national and trans-national levels to ensure that women’s experiences and expertise can be shared from the community level to the international scene, in order to better inform power and decision-making structures – whether it is the Pacific Forum Regional Security Committee or the UN Security Council. Stronger and therefore more responsive information and communication channels can assist in addressing the status quo, especially to create greater visibility of Pacific women’s realities in the evolution of the global and regional human security framework. The femLINKpacific community radio model represents an opportunity to strengthen women’s
89 Best Experiences for an Action Research Process capacity to speak out on their own issues and to also ensure that these voices are transformed into policy language to influence key policy makers and national leaders. At the same time, it is important to create a women’s peace network through which women can contribute to the prevention of further conflict. Community radio is therefore a locally-driven, locally-owned and inclusive process where women can assert their right to participate in the decisions being taken about our future. This is especially important during a critical transition period, during which time institutions, structures and relationships within society can be transformed and the root causes of conflict can be addressed. Women have recognized the potential of community radio – what is needed is that development agencies and partners also recognize and invest in these processes that will transform decision-making structures to ensure sustainable peace. Notes: 39.- Founding Coordinator of femLINKpacific. 40.- UNIFEM Pacific Women in Politics overarching theme. 41.- The suitcase radio broadcasts on 89.2FM using a 100-watt transmitter. 42.- femTALK ENews bulletins 6, 7, 8 – “Not Just Sweet Talk” special bulletins. 43.- The following section is an excerpt from publications of the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, including “Making Peace Work For Women – SCR 1325 Five Years On Report.” New York: NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, 2005
Page 2 and 3:
Best Experiences for an Action Rese
Page 4 and 5:
Page 6 and 7:
Page 8 and 9:
Page 10 and 11:
Page 12 and 13:
Page 14 and 15:
Page 16 and 17:
Page 18 and 19:
Page 20 and 21:
Page 22 and 23:
Page 24 and 25:
Page 26 and 27:
Page 28 and 29:
Page 30 and 31:
Page 32 and 33:
Page 34 and 35:
Page 36 and 37:
Page 38 and 39: Best Experiences for an Action Rese
show all

Women's Empowerment and Good Governance Through - amarc

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?