Browsing by Author "Mubita, Fredrick"
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- ItemThe training, role and challenges of female peacekeepers : experiences of peacekeepers from the Zambia Police Service and the Zambia Army(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-03) Mubita, Fredrick; Heinecken, L.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Since the 1990s, there has been a shift from state security to human security, which gave rise to a more people-centred approach to security. Within this context, feminist scholars started to advocate for a more gendered dimension to human security and for the expanded role of women in peace processes, including peacekeeping. This was associated with the realisation that war affects men and women differently, and having more women in the military and in peacekeeping is not only necessary, but essential to improve the operational effectiveness of the peacekeeping mission. Women are said to make a number of contributions to peacekeeping such as increasing the ability to address Sexually Gender Based Violence (SGBV); improve access to local population; improvement in gathering community based intelligence; and enhancing gender equality and non -discrimination. While this may be the case, women face a number of challenges that hinder them from contributing effectively to peacekeeping operations (PKOs), and many of these claims are not substantiated with empirical evidence. This study interrogates these claims by examining the training, role and challenges women peacekeepers face in order to see whether they are making a unique contribution to peacekeeping. The main research question for this study is: How are women in the Zambia Police and military prepared for peacekeeping missions, in what roles are they typically utilised, and what challenges do they face? To begin with, the recruitment of women in the Zambia Army and Zambia Police are based on principles of gender equality without consideration of gender difference. Hence women are not recruited on the basis of specific female traits. Once recruited women are socialised into the military in the same way as men. The culture of police and military institution is masculine and women are expected to acquire these traits, which in essence dilutes femininity. The persistence of patriarchy in host countries also presents a real challenge in as far as the utilisation of women peacekeepers is concerned in the sense that the presence of female peacekeepers and the message they carry do not help to change the gender relations in the host country. Added to this, there are security concerns in the host states that limit the contributions that female peacekeepers can make to peacekeeping. Further, the inadequate training that female peacekeepers undergo inhibits the contributions that women can make to PKOs. In this regard, important differences between military and police personnel emerge. It is clear that in general, peacekeepers from the police are more sensitive to gender issues than the military peacekeepers. This is due to the nature of their roles and functions. However women in both these security services face a number of challenges that affect their optimal utilisation. In order to overcome these challenges this study recommends that the military and the police need to improve gender training for peacekeepers, should value f