Women in UN mission

Monalisa Mita

Photo: AFP

Women in the military have a history that extends over 4,000 years into the past, throughout a vast number of cultures and nations. Women have played many roles in the military, from ancient warrior women, to the women currently serving in conflicts, for instance the war in Iraq.

Despite various roles in the armies of past societies, the role of women in the military, particularly in combat, is controversial and it is only recently that women have begun to be given a more prominent role in contemporary armed forces. Although increasing numbers of countries begin to expand the role of women in their militaries, but the idea of women in the military is still debated by many military experts. Statistics and history show the benefits of adding women to our fighting forces.

Women in battle
Women in the military are a controversial topic. During the World Revolution, women were used in a variety of military capacities, including supplying and maintaining camps, as well as the occasional combat activity as and when required. Much of the controversy in modern times, however, has to do with the role of women in combat, particularly, its impact on male soldiers. Today, many cou7ntries institute roles for women in battle that prove to be beneficial for their militaries.

Women have been used in very prominent roles in a variety of major military campaigns. Notably, in battles like Stalingrad, women provided a significant source of combat power for the then Soviet Union. Women were highly beneficial to the Soviet Army during World War II. Nearly eight percent of soldiers were female, helping the Red Army with the strength to defeat Nazi Germany.

Another example is the use of women by the Israeli Defence Force. Throughout it history, women proved important to the success and status of the Israeli military. This service, traditionally limited to non-combat roles, began to expand in 2007 to more frontline opportunities, giving the Israeli military even greater combat strength. Even though the role of women in combat has become a particularly contentious issue in contemporary militaries throughout the world but now a days women are playing an important role sometimes effective than men in peacekeeping indifferent countries specially in different UN nations.

History of UN peacekeeping
Although the word 'peacekeeping' is not in the UN Charter, the UN Security Council has deployed over 60 peacekeeping operations into conflict and post-conflict areas since 1948 known as 'blue helmets' or 'blue berets'.

Peacekeeping presumes cooperation between parties involved in a conflict and aims to keep peace in a conflict zone. It is not a mission of peace building or peace making. The history of the United Nations' Peacekeeping began in 1948. Its first mission was in Middle-East to observe and maintain the ceasefire during the 1948 Arab-Israel War. Since then, the United Nations' peacekeepers have taken part in a total of 63 missions across the globe, 17 of which continue today. The peacekeeping force as a whole received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988.

Women in peacekeeping
In recent years, the scope of peacekeeping has widened. There are 185-member nations in the UN and several of them have women as integral members of their defence forces. Many have opened all fields to women. The fact that the world's military is more and more assigned to peacekeeping as opposed to war making the need for women as peacekeepers should be quite evident.

'Peacekeeping is too important to be undertaken by soldiers'. But, he added, 'soldiers are the only ones who can do it'. Because peacekeeping can be violent, combat training is essential but the peacekeepers must also be conciliatory, patient and peaceful. Few male military persons combine the qualities of soldier and social worker essential for the job. As a result, UN operations have been marred by aggr5essive behavior that exacerbates tensions. The UN is deeply worried about this problem. The solution might be simple: 'women soldiers'.

Addressing violence
The contradictions between peacekeeping and conventional soldiering are profound. In most militaries, training accentuates essentially male characteristics. The recruit is encouraged to develop strength and aggression, while ridding himself of stereotypical female attributes like sensitivity and compassion. The well-trained solider is hungry for battle because it is in battle that he asserts his dominance. Yet the peacekeeper is supposed to keep aggression in check and to pursue the path of conciliation. In peacekeeping, violence signifies failure.

Men are inherently more violent than women. Military training has traditionally attempted to develop and channel this male capacity for violence. But controlling it has proved enormously difficult. Soldiers win wars, but they also occasionally commit atrocities when violent tendencies rage out of control. Trained to be heroic, they are often driven to reckless acts. As a result, costly mistakes are made. Needless deaths occurred when aggression turned blind.

Soldiers are also prone to sexual violence against civilians with whom they come into contact. Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) wants to find out whether a greater proportion of women on the ground might make a difference to the success of its operations.

The evidence suggests that women might indeed make a different. In recent operations, just 1.7 per cent of military peacekeepers deployed by the UN were female. Yet in almost any conflict, 80 percent of the refugees are women and children. In many cultures, women are virtually prohibited by social convention from talking directly to male strangers. yet communication is essential for effective peacekeeping. In Somalia, male soldiers caused considerable ill-feeling when they had to frisk local women for weapons whenever they entered refugee camps.

The most notable UN successes of late-in-Guatemala, Namibia and South Africa- had a greater than normal female presence. Women, it seems, are not only better able to control violent tendencies, but are also perceived as less of a threat by the local population and are therefore less likely to provoke violence. They women, in contrast, were better able to deal with the boredom that characterizes most peacekeeping operations.

Women in combat and support role
Evidence suggests that women peacekeepers are more willing than their male counterparts to seek understanding and reconciliation during disagreements, thus proving themselves more effective negotiators. A marked difference in behavior was apparent between combat and support units of the Army. While support groups exhibited a strong inclination to understand the problems facing the host society, combat groups quickly developed a hostile attitude, particularly when the political situation deteriorated. A desire to apply force, even for mild offences, and to assert dominance was evident. It is perhaps no surprise that the combat groups contained no women.

The support groups were still predominantly male. This raises an interesting point, namely that female participation does not have to be large to have a positive effect. In other words, male soldiers are less inclined to assert their dominance if female soldiers are present. Women seem to calm stressful situations. Men and women bring particular skills to the peacekeeping context, and each learns from the other.

Benefit of female participation
The UN operation in South Africa revealed an added benefit of female participation. Local women seem to have been inspired by the presence of female UN peacekeepers as role models and, as a result, were empowered to play a larger part in the politics of their community. This had a profound effect, with more 'feminine' qualities like conciliation and non-violence characterizing the political process. One can imagine and application of this dynamic closer to home: the greater involvement of women in Northern Ireland politics (at every level) might prove beneficial.

Indeed, the recent integration of women into combat in many militaries has been based on the assumption that stereotypes have no validity.

Bangladeshi female officer in UN mission
History has been made in Bangladesh with the enrolling of the first batch of female cadets in Bangladesh Navy in Jan 2000. In Bangladesh Air Force female officers have been enrolled in Jun 2000 and Army in Dec 2000. The female cadets have got the same training as like male cadets.

In 1988, Bangladesh first joined the UN peacekeeping mission with only 15 military observers. Now Bangladesh is the largest contributing country to provide peacekeeping troops to UN. They are deployed in peacekeeping mission in 12 countries. So far six BAF female peacekeepers have completed their mission while six others are doing the same now. We have been doing very impressive job along with our male colleagues.

The UN is no study the effect on the psychology of female peacekeepers and whether any other approach is needed to alleviate the psychological effects on them.

Women have earned themselves the highest positions in business and government. Surely they can perform good in peacemaking. Also Bangladesh can hold its head high in the global area because the Bangladeshi female soldiers have earned the gratitude of millions on foreign soils far from Bangladesh. A vehicle can not run with one while like that keeping women behind in any aspect. Modern World can not develop in this way. So in every event the joint participation of men and women can make the world nice, peaceful and prosperous.

Source:
1. en. wikipedia.org.
2. userpage.aug.com.
3. www.ncrw.org.
4. gender-equality-law.suit101.com
5. www.un.org
6. The Daily Star.
7. An interview is taken from Sqn Ldr Monjila who did work in UN Mission in DR Congo (MONUC).

The writer is a Flying Officer. At present she is serving at Met Sqn BAF Base Matiur Rahman as Duty Forecasting Officer.