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CONFLICT, PEACE-BUILDING, DISARMAMENT, SECURITY g) Gender Perspectives on Landmines
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CONFLICT, PEACE-BUILDING, DISARMAMENT, SECURITY
g) Gender Perspectives on Landmines
How and why are gender perspectives relevant to reducing the scourge of landmines?
Despite significant international mobilization around
landmines in recent years, landmines and unexploded
ordnance (UXO) remain a daily threat in more than
60 countries. They kill or maim thousands of men,
women, boys and girls every year. The United
Nations, through its Mine Action Service, works in
close partnership with Governments, civil society,
business and individuals to tackle this crisis. The five
pillars of UN mine action are:
•
Mine Awareness - Populations at risk must be
educated and local authorities trained to deal
with landmine problems.
•
Demining - The time-consuming, difficult and
expensive work of disposing of the emplaced
landmines.
•
Victim Assistance - Thousands of maimed,
blinded and crippled victims of landmine
explosions need to be cared for and rehabilitated.
•
Advocacy for a Global Ban - The United
Nations works with civil society and
Governments to promote universal adherence to
the Convention banning the use, production,
stockpiling, sale, transfer or export of anti-
personnel landmines (Mine Ban Convention) and
its effective implementation.
•
Stockpile Destruction - The Mine Ban
Convention provides for the destruction of
stockpiles landmines within four years of entry
into force of the Convention for a State Party and
for the destruction of emplaced landmines within
ten years of entry into force for a State Party.
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines, the
organization to which many subscribe the success of
the mobilization of the international community on
the issue, have reported recently that there is some
room for optimism. The use of landmines appears to
be declining and production has dropped off. On the
other hand, new landmines continue to be placed (for
example, in Chechnya) and there are concerns that
insufficient resources are being devoted to mine
action programmes including mine clearance, mine
awareness and victim assistance programmes.1
1
Landmine Monitor Report 2000. International
Campaign to Ban Landmines. Available at:
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2000/landmines/
What gender perspectives on landmines are
important?
To date, the international community has paid very
little attention to the gender dimensions of landmines.
There are numerous rhetorical statements about
women and children as innocent victims of
landmines, but little documentation, research and
analysis. This note provides initial thoughts on how a
gender perspective could be beneficial in looking at
landmines.
In assessing the gender dimensions of landmines it
should be stressed that each situation should be
looked at on its own merits, as generalizations do not
always apply across all situations.
Women and men tend to do different work and have
different responsibilities. In many parts of the world
affected by landmines, women and men tend to spend
their days differently. Women tend to hold primary
responsibility for household work and for the health
care of family members and the care of dependants.
Women are often the ones who care for the victims of
landmines.
Women and men may be concentrated in different
economic sectors or have different roles in the same
sector. In particular there is often a marked gender
division of labour in agriculture. Women and men
often grow different crops and have responsibility for
various tasks within the crop cycle (for example,
weeding is often a “woman’s chore”). This in turn
may influence who has worked land that is now
mined.
It is often pointed out that different mobility patterns
for women and men, related to their roles and
responsibilities, may influence their vulnerability to
landmines. For example, women may face dangers
when gathering fuel or water while men may be in
greater danger on public roads, given their greater
mobility relative to women.
Women’s work is often not valued and can be
invisible to outsiders. Without a conscious effort to
understand what women and girls do, what they need,
the resources they can mobilize and their specific
experiences, these dimensions can be forgotten in
post-conflict initiatives, such as de-mining activities.
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Social attitudes to women and men are different.
In every culture there are different perceptions of
what is appropriate and valued behaviour for women,
men, girls and boys. Although these social norms
may change during times of conflict, in almost all
situations, women face inequalities relative to men:
less leisure time, less education, less mobility, less
respect for their human rights and fewer economic
resources. Thus women and men often have
differential access to resources when attempting to
support their families. When there are landmine
injuries in families, these can have different
implications for women and men.
Post-conflict life has different implications for
women and men. Women and men participate
differently in conflicts and the dynamics of a post-
conflict society are also marked by gender
differences and inequalities. Most obviously, the
demographics have changed with a higher proportion
of widows and dependants than before the conflict.
The specific experiences and circumstances in post-
conflict situations thus vary for women and men. It is
important to understand the economic, social and
political situation in communities and households
along gender lines.
International agreements, conclusions and commitments
The Beijing Platform for Action (1995) recognizes that women and children are particularly affected by the
indiscriminate use of anti-personnel landmines. It urges the ratification of international conventions that would
prohibit landmines. Actions to be taken by Governments include:
•
Undertake to promote assistance in mine clearance, notably by facilitating, in respect of the means of mine-
clearing, the exchange of information, the transfer of technology and the promotion of scientific research…
•
Undertake to encourage further international efforts to seek solutions to the problems caused by anti-personnel
landmines, with a view to their eventual elimination, recognizing that States can move most effectively towards
this goal as viable and humane alternatives are developed (Para 143).
From: the Commission on the Status of Women: Agreed Conclusions on the Critical Areas of Concern of the
Beijing Platform for Action (UN Sales No. E.00.IV.6) - actions to be taken by Governments include:
•
In order to alleviate the suffering of women and children caused by landmines, work towards the objective of
eliminating anti-personnel landmines; and in this regard take due note of the conclusion of the Convention on
the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their
Destruction and its implementation by those States that become parties to it;
•
Provide landmine awareness campaigns or classes in close cooperation with communities and community leaders
formally and informally, making them accessible to women in afflicted areas, and provide resources and
assistance for landmine clearance and share technology and information so that local populations can engage
effectively in the safe clearance of landmines.
•
Support programmes for the rehabilitation and social integration of women victims of anti-personnel landmines,
and demining and mine awareness activities.
Concrete Implications
Taking these general insights into gender differences
and inequalities and applying them to all aspects of
landmine programmes and initiatives highlights
numerous issues:
•
Assessing landmine and monitoring the
landmine threat. The presence, or perceived presence,
of landmines and UXO has the potential to disrupt an
entire community. Gender perspectives need to be taken
into account when determining mine clearance priorities
and mine awareness education programmes. Socio-
economic impact analysis of landmines must also
include gender perspectives in relation to such items as
land use and access to water, firewood, housing,
services and infrastructure. Simply counting the number
of victims says little about the broader devastating
impact of these weapons. Women’s mobility may be
seriously restricted and they may lose access to essential
resources because of the threat of landmines.
•
Tracking landmine injuries. Given the gender
division of labour, women and men (girls and boys)
often have different risks of exposure to land-mines.
Given that it is often women and girls who are
responsible for gathering fuel or fetching water, they
may run greater risks in some areas. Men’s
responsibilities and greater mobility may, however, put
them at greater risk in other areas. For example, the
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United Nations Mine Action Service has reported data
from Kosovo for June 1999 to November 2000
indicating that there were 393 injuries from landmines,
of which 28 were women and 103 deaths, including 3
women. A survey carried out in Afghanistan indicated
that 3.6% of victims were women (July 1998), and
figures from Cambodia indicate that 9% of casualties
were female (February 1999). There is also anecdotal
evidence that women tend to pay attention to signs
indicating that a certain area is not safe, while men do
not. The implication is that all information collected on
landmine injuries should be broken down by sex and
age (as is data produced by the UN Mine Action
Service).
•
Designing assistance programmes for victims
of landmine injuries. Programmes to support those
injured by landmines (loss of limbs, blindness, deafness
and other serious disabilities) could benefit by looking
at the following issues:
Who receives immediate assistance? Quick care is
important for saving lives and reducing disability. Are
there biases in who is treated? Is priority given to
military personnel (most often male) while civilian
casualties often take longer to reach medical services?
Who cares for victims of landmines? Are they getting
adequate support? It is often women and girls who care
for the injured immediately following the injury and
provide long-term support. In relation to the longer-term
care implications: “Evidence from Cambodia illustrates
the gender dimension of disability as disabled men
relied on their wives for support, while disabled women
were abandoned by their partners or had difficulty in
finding one.” (ILO, 1998)
What are the gender differences regarding the social
and economic impact of landmine injuries? The loss of
a limb can affect women and men differently. Being an
amputee can affect a woman’s potential marriage
chances. In many cases, married women with
disabilities face immediate divorce and are left with the
sole responsibility for children and the risk of poverty.
While women and men both face enormous obstacles to
earning a living, families devastated by landmine
injuries must face different challenges depending on
whether or not it is a male or female family member
who has been injured.
How can women’s organizations be involved and
strengthened?
In some circumstances women’s
organizations may be the best vehicle to deliver services
to women. There have been examples of international
organizations duplicating services that could have been
provided more effectively through existing local
women’s organizations. If this option is chosen,
however, it is important to ensure that it does not lead to
a further marginalization of women’s interests and
needs.
•
Targeting and designing local mine awareness
campaigns. In order to reach specific populations it
may be more effective explicitly to target women or
men (or girls or boys), rather than the general
population. Different messages and communications
strategies are required to ensure that all people are
aware of the dangers of specific areas. Women’s
organizations may be effective vehicles to communicate
such information.
Mine awareness education can also be part of a DDR
(disarmament, demobilization
and
reintegration)
campaign for ex-combatants. In such cases it is
important to ensure that women and girls have access to
these programmes. If the focus is entirely on former
male combatants, women and girls may not participate
in the mines awareness initiatives. Female instructors
may be needed to reach women and girls in some
situations where it is difficult for men to interact with
women.
•
Designing and implementing humanitarian
mine action/community-based programming around
landmine removal. Recent thinking on community-
based mine action programming has argued for a shift
away from a focus that is primarily technical (how
many mines removed) to an approach more clearly
grounded in socio-economic analysis and criteria. “This
goes back to more basic issues about a general
reorientation of mine action, de-mining in particular,
from being primarily occupied with mines to being
primarily occupied with people.” (Millard & Harpviken,
1999)
•
Understanding the broad implications of
landmines, including non-arable land. Landmines
leave large tracks of agricultural land unusable. This has
implications for farmers - both women and men. It
might be especially important for farmers of subsistence
crops (often women) given the importance of re-
establishing the local food supply. Landmines can also
make collection of firewood and gathering wild
vegetables difficult and dangerous for women.
•
Public support for international anti-
landmine campaigns. Women have been significant
actors in the international campaign against landmines.
Are there ways that the anti-landmine messages could
strengthen women’s participation in this movement (or
draw in more men)? Are there links to the international
women’s movement that could be strengthened to
ensure that women’s voices are heard in campaigns and
international conferences?
•
De-mining initiatives. There can be gender issues
in de-mining programmes. How are priorities set for
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Prepared for the United Nations Department for Disarmament Affairs
In collaboration with the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, March 2001
Mailing Address: DDA, UN, Room S-3151, New York NY 10017. http://www.un.org/Depts/dda/gender.htm. EM: ddaweb@un.org
specific areas to be de-mined? Are these women’s
priorities or men’s? Are there significant differences
between women’s and men’s priorities? Women may
place higher priority on de-mining land previously used
for subsistence agriculture, for example.
Do de-mining initiatives offer employment and skills
development for women as well as men? Are specific
steps taken, if necessary, to encourage and facilitate
women’s participation in these initiatives?
•
More research and documentation are
required. Much work remains to be done to understand
and document the gender dimensions of landmines. It
will be important to carry out case studies and context-
specific research in order to understand how these issues
play out in concrete situations.
Women working in demining: Kosovo
In 1999 a team of ethnic Albanian women began clearing landmines in Kosovo. The women received five weeks of
training (where they were allowed to bring their children) and then were paid a monthly salary.
The project manager with Norwegian Peoples Aid was quoted as saying: "In Scandinavia, we believe that it is
important to show there are a lot more equalities than differences between women and men. Demining is one area
where you can see that clearly. With women, you don't get Rambo types."
Although there was some opposition to the teams, reports indicate that the participants felt their actions were
important. "When I told them at home what I am doing my brother shouted at me that I was sick and didn't know the
meaning of the word danger. But my husband was killed by the Serbs. I like this job. I help the people of Kosovo and
most of all I help the children."
Source: "Housewives Join First All-Woman Mine-Clearing Team In Kosovo." London Daily Telegraph by Julius Strauss,
November 17, 1999. Available at: http://www.minesactioncanada.com/documents/r108.html
Resources
There are few, if any, specific resources, research
or documentation on the gender dimensions of
landmines. These resources focus on landmines in
general.
•
The International Campaign to Ban
Landmines is a good general resource (with lots of
links) on landmines. http://www.icbl.org/
•
The United Nations Mine Action Service
provides a starting point for UN-related documents
and sites. http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/mine/
•
The Landmine Survivors Rehabilitation
Database includes a listing of programmes that
specifically target and offer services/support to
women. http://www.lsndatabase.org
•
Mines Action Canada’s website offers a
searchable database on news and documents
relating to landmines. Keyword: gender issues.
http://www.mines-actioncanada.com/
document_search.cfm
•
The
Assistance
to
Mine-Affected
Communities (AMAC) project undertakes studies
of mine-affected communities, with the aim of
further exploring the opportunities to build on local
resources and local competence in Humanitarian
Mine Action (HMA). http://www.prio.no/amac/
One useful study is: Millard, A.S. and K. B.
Harpviken (1999). Reassessing the Impact of
Humanitarian Mine Action: Illustrations from
Mozambique. Oslo: PRIO. Available at:
http://www.prio.no/publications/reports/
Reassessing_the_Impact_of_Humanitarian_Mine_
Action/default.asp
One resource that looks at gender issues in post-
conflict situations that deals briefly with landmines
is: ILO (1998). Gender Guidelines for
Employment and Skills Training in Conflict-
Affected Countries. Geneva: Training Policies
and Systems Branch, International Labour Office.