Can women benefit from war? Women’s agency in conflict and post-conflict societies
| Date | 01 May 2021 |
| Author | Punam Yadav |
| DOI | 10.1177/0022343320905619 |
| Published date | 01 May 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Can women benefit from war? Women’s
agency in conflict and post-conflict societies
Punam Yadav
Centre for Gender and Disaster, Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction, University College London
Abstract
Women’s agency in Peace and Conflict Studies has received increased policy attention since the formulation of UN
Security Council Resolution in 2000. Academic attention regarding this question has, as a result, also increased
dramatically in the intervening period. Women today, as a consequence, are not just seen as victims of conflict, but
also as agents of change. Despite their vulnerabilities in the situations created by conflict, women may be exposed to
new knowledge and opportunities, which may have positive impacts on their lives. Therefore, it is important to
recognize the lived realities and the multiple stories of postwar societies to address the new needs of people and build
a sustainable peace. This article examines the everyday lives of women in post-conflict Nepal to demonstrate the
significant transformations that have taken place since the war. It specifically investigates conflict-induced social and
structural changes through the lived experiences of women tempo drivers, war widows, women ex-combatants and
women politicians. This article is based on the analysis of 200 interviews and six focus group discussions (FGDs)
carried out over a period of 12 years in seven districts of Nepal.
Keywords
civil war, Nepal, peace and security, post-conflict transformation, women’s empowerment, women’s agency
Introduction
Can women benefit from war? The current debate on
women’s agency and empowerment in war and post-
conflict contexts has produced a burgeoning body of
literature on women’s post-conflict empowerment (e.g.
Andrabi, 2019; Berry, 2017, 2018; O’Reilly, 2018;
Kolås, 2017; Asaf, 2017; Sjoberg, 2018; Anderson,
2016; Tripp, 2015; Wagha, 2014; Wood, 2008; Petti-
grew & Shneiderman, 2004). Women’s agency in con-
flict and post-conflict societies has also received increased
attention in policy and practice since the adoption of
United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR)
1325 in 2000 (UNWomen, 2015; Haeri & Puechguir-
bal, 2010). Women today, as a consequence, are not just
seen as victims of conflict, but also as agents of change.
The ‘post-conflict moment’ is increasingly seen as an
empowering moment for women (Bru
¨ck & Schindler,
2009; Manchanda, 2005). Therefore, an emphasis has
been placed on the need to capture that ‘moment’ to
bring about or secure change. This suggests some
progress since post-WWII literature on women’s experi-
ences, which highlighted the backlash that forced work-
ing women back into the domestic sphere (Trey, 1972).
However, the notion of backlash still has prominence in
feminist literature on post-conflict societies, which seems
to overshadow the recognition of the gains that women
achieve during war and emphasizes the reassertion of
patriarchal control. For example, Lori Handrahan
(2004: 436) argues:
War tends to break down patriarchal structures, and
women gain, as an unintended consequence, freedom,
responsibility and worth. This gender liberation appears
short-lived, as the national patriarchy begins to reassert
itself after the war and expects women to return to ‘the
way they were before the war’, that is, to their subordi-
nate positions.
Corresponding author:
p.yadav@ucl.ac.uk
Journal of Peace Research
2021, Vol. 58(3) 449–461
ªThe Author(s) 2020
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/0022343320905619
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