Gender and Constitution Building - Women for Women International

Not Just Representation: Ensuring
Women’s Influence in Post-
Conflict Bougainville
REBECCA LINDER
Opportunity for Change
Post-conflict societies present an exceptional opportunity
for change, especially as formerly marginalized
groups are able to assert new roles for themselves. While
the rupture caused by conflict almost always brings unspeakable
devastation, it also opens space for new rules
and structures to emerge. 1 Women, often marginalized
and victimized during conflict and especially vulnerable
in its aftermath, may find themselves empowered by the
changes conflict wreaks.
Indeed, the post-conflict reconstruction phase may
provide a critical window of opportunity for the elevation
of women’s standing in virtually every aspect of
society–social, economic, political and legal–that the
transformation following conflict permeates. As the cornerstone
of the nascent legal framework intended to
drive that transformation, a constitution can help influence
the tone and course of change by ensuring that
emerging needs of the people, including gender equality,
are incorporated into an updated legal structure.
Some recent literature on post-conflict reconstruction
highlights what is sometimes called “constitutionbuilding,”
emphasizing a participatory and inclusive process
for creating a document that respects the rights of
all members of society, the importance of a balance between
a progressive reform agenda and societal ownership
and buy-in of the result. 2 Accordingly, the constitutional
drafting process and the document it produces
can significantly influence the position of women in society.
3
It is also essential to recognize that legal and constitutional
tools in isolation are inadequate to bring about
change. Women’s involvement in drafting a constitution
and recognition of women as a constituency in the constitution
itself are important. However, they are ultimately
insufficient to guarantee women’s rights or protect
and enhance their position and status.
At the outset, all provisions in the constitution must
be carefully drafted to ensure that: the interests and status
of women are protected; avenues are created to bring
women more fully into the political, social and economic
mainstream; and no obstacles are constructed to existing
avenues of participation. Moreover, even the most
enlightened constitution will do little to influence the
situation of women if it is disregarded, made irrelevant
by traditional customs or not rigorously implemented
because of a weak legal system. Mere token representation
will not lead to real political influence, which is the
crux of empowerment on the road to gender equality. 4
Thus, what happens after the final document is ratified
may be the most crucial indicator of how a new
constitution will affect women’s rights. Will women’s
involvement in the drafting process and recognition as a
constituency in the constitution lead to genuine advances
in their legal status in society? Or, will these measures
turn out to be aspirational lip service? Can constitutional
catalysts allow women to transcend limitations
placed on them by extra-legal realities? This article examines
the possible enhancement of the societal status
of women in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville
as the island emerges from conflict, discussing the constitution-building
framework, gender relevant provisions
of the document and other constitutional and related
issues.
The Conflict and Its Impact on Women
The Constitution of the Autonomous Region of
Bougainville was created following a conflict between
the government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and various
factions on the island province of Bougainville.
Open conflict broke out in 1988 after years of growing
disaffection among the Bougainville population with the
PNG government. 5 The dispute soon transformed into
full-fledged hostilities between a rebel movement seek-
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