15 years after UNSCR 1325: women, peace and security

Official URL: http://researchturkey.org/15-years-after-unscr-1325-women-peace-and-security/

Although it has been fifteen years since the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted UNSCR 1325 on women, peace and security, studies show little progress in inclusion of women and women’s issues to peace processes. This paper analyses why such issues are important for durable peace by widening the discussion to how substantive influence of women to peace can be accomplished. In Turkey, the peace process, originally known as the Kurdish Opening, initiated in 2009 has paid little attention to the gendered aspect of the long-lived war, has not included any plan to deal with the needs of the women affected by the conflict, and failed to incorporate enough women peace-makers to the process. This article points out the necessity of developing a holistic approach to incorporating women’s issues to peace processes as well as increasing not only the number of women but also those who can make a substantive difference.