Women in Peacekeeping: Holding up Half the Sky?

In January 2015, The Guardian reported that female peacekeepers comprise 2 percent of the world’s largest peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, reflecting how little has changed since 2000, when the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1325, which stressed the important role that women can play in peacekeeping and conflict resolution. Indeed, Chinese and Indian female peacekeepers have contributed significantly to pioneering missions in Liberia and elsewhere. Most notable is the first all-women police battalion employed by India. It is important to understand the experiences of female peacekeepers on the ground and to evaluate individual missions, as such work sheds light on the shortcomings of the UN system and the need for improvement. It also highlights how gender stereotypes (i.e., ​“nurturers and carers”) unwittingly enforced upon such peacekeeping contingents pose an extra burden for these women. Attitudes towards female peacekeepers as well as structural reforms to facilitate greater female participation have a long way to go before they can change the face of international peacekeeping practices.

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