Wars harm women in a greatly disproportionate manner to their involvement in sparking conflicts

by Noraida Endut

Their suffering often goes unremedied

There is no doubt that the consequences of armed conflicts are harrowing to all parties caught up in them. On the other hand, the events and repercussions of war have been shown to affect more civilians than military personnel. Since men are still disproportionately recruited for military services in many nations, in the event of war, women and children constitute the mass population of civilians. The 1998 Annual Report of the United Nations Secretary General related that ninety percent of those killed or wounded by small arms in conflict-related situations are civilians. Of these, eighty percent are women and children.

War and armed conflict not only affects the lives of civilians especially women. Their effects are specific in nature and frequently last long after the use of arms subsides. If the expected war instigated by the United States and its allies against Iraq breaks out, discourse on the proposed confrontation must not forget the perspective of the world�s citizens who stand at exceptional risk of devastation arising from the war.

Men and women, civilians or soldiers, suffer from deaths and injuries as a result of armed conflict. Civilians are further afflicted with displacement, a situation where they are forced to leave their homes and seek refuge elsewhere. Many civilian men are also at risk of �disappearances�.

It is important to distinguish the experiences of war among all women based on factors such as class and race. On the other hand, many aspects of women�s suffering are common for them especially where they concern the risk of specific forms of violence. Furthermore, the gendered nature of the decision-making processes in conducting war and in offering post-atrocity remedies means that the lot of women affected by war in many circumstances is, in general, similar.

Women face distinct socio-economic, physical and psychological hardships during and after conflict. In times of war, women are often left with the burden of caring for injured fighters, the elderly and the children. Where their country also suffers from economic sanctions, this burden is especially arduous. Women may further be charged with the responsibility of reconstructing the society through measures such as urging women to agree to polygamous marriages and to bear more children (to make up for the loss of population through war).

Research has also shown that in times of conflict, incidents of domestic violence against women rise. Psychological suffering of women in sending their male children to war and dealing with their deaths or disappearances is often underrated. On the other hand, Palestinian women, for example, are being unfairly glorified by the media for encouraging the martyrdom of their children.

Perhaps the most heinous of the tactics and consequences of modern war is the use of women for sexual and strategic gratification by both the enemies and their own government. While women and men may both find themselves fleeing their homes, a disproportionate number of women are reported to have experienced horrific sexual assaults during displacement. Enemies sexually violate women to humiliate their �protectors�, the fighting men. The state, on the other hand, offers women to its personnel as rewards for military action (the so-called �comfort women�). Officials of the state may also condone the assault of women who themselves or whose members of the family are seen as non-supportive of its war causes.

The whole process of war is gendered in the sense that war harms women in a greatly disproportionate manner to their involvement in instigating the conflict. Women are rarely involved in decisions about the use of armed conflict especially because of their under-representation in administrative and legislative processes. On the other hand, they suffer specific, inadequately addressed harm.

While international law has readily responded to the harm sustained by men in combat, it has problems with invoking state responsibility in cases of violence against women in times of war. Many parties are willing to manipulate vulnerability of women to justify military action against a particular sovereignty. For example, atrocities against women and children in Afghanistan and Iraq are highlighted to justify military responses. However, the adversities they suffer during war often go un-remedied when peace is regained.

Noraida Endut teaches Law in the Social Work Programme in Universiti Sains Malaysia.

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