Bangladesh University of Professionals

Faculty of Security and Strategic Studies (FSSS)

Department of Peace, Conflict and Human Rights Studies
Master of Peace, Conflict and Human Rights Studies

Trimester :  1st Trimester  √ 2nd Trimester  3rd Trimester

Session :
Exam :  Class Test  √ Midterm  Assignment
Course Code : MPCHRS 1201
Course Title : Gender, Development and Peace
Roll no. : 2144102003
Date : 01-01-2022

Total Marks :

Obtained Marks :
Empowerment is defined as the act or action of empowering someone or something: the granting of
the power, right, or authority to perform various acts or duties. For many reasons the power balance
in our society is not equal. Depending on gender, financial status, race etc. people enjoy different
level of power. But to achieve the sustainable development goals it is important to achieve power
balance in the society. Otherwise, peace and development will not sustain. Since the woman are
entitled to less power, empowerment in our society mostly mean empowering the women.

Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of
access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and
decision-making; and the state of valuing different behaviors, aspirations and needs equally,
regardless of gender. There is huge gender gap as a result there are differences in fundamental
political values held by men and women, differing levels of political participation between the
genders, differences in political opinions between men and women, differences in education and
income levels for men and women.

Gender equality is the goal, while gender neutrality and gender equity are practices and ways of
thinking that help in achieving the goal. Gender parity, which is used to measure gender balance in a
given situation, can aid in achieving gender equality but is not the goal in and of itself. Gender
equality is more than equal representation, it is strongly tied to women's rights, and often requires
policy changes. As of 2017, the global movement for gender equality has not incorporated the
proposition of genders besides women and men, or gender identities outside of the gender binary.
Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful,
prosperous and sustainable world.

When we talk about gender equality, it comes as obviously to empower the women to achieve that
target. Because, women are lagging behind the men in the patriarchal society. The Millennium
Declaration identified Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) as one of eight
Millennium Development Goals and stated that it was an effective means to combat poverty, hunger
and disease, as well as to stimulate development that is truly sustainable. In many parts of the
world, gender equality is undermined by women’s lack of access to resources, rights and
entitlements. As many as nine joint programmes focused on the economic and political
empowerment of women. In Bolivia, the programme focused on increasing the economic
empowerment of the most disadvantaged and excluded women, improving the lives of an estimated
4,640 women by increasing their incomes and enabling them to support their families and reach a
certain level of economic independence. An estimated 12,817 women obtained either a birth
certificate or an official identity card. Emphasis was also placed on women’s economic rights, on
their right to participate in decision making processes, their right to access information and to public
and private spaces for negotiation as small business owners.

There has been progress over the last decades: More girls are going to school, fewer girls are forced
into early marriage, more women are serving in parliament and positions of leadership, and laws are
being reformed to advance gender equality.

Despite these gains, many challenges remain: discriminatory laws and social norms remain
pervasive, women continue to be underrepresented at all levels of political leadership, and 1 in 5
women and girls between the ages of 15 and 49 report experiencing physical or sexual violence by
an intimate partner within a 12-month period.

To achieve a prosperous and peaceful world in which women, girls, men, and boys enjoy equal
economic, social, cultural, civil, and political rights and are equally empowered to secure better lives
for themselves, their families, their communities, and their countries it is necessary to empower the
women of all level. At the same time educating men is also necessary to accept the changes. The
steps to achieve gender equality by empowering the woman should be taken nationally and
internationally-

• Reduce disparities between women and men in access to, control over, and benefit from
economic, social, political, educational, and cultural resources, as well as wealth, opportunities, and
services;

• Strive to eliminate gender-based violence (GBV), which affects women’s abilities to thrive and
succeed, and mitigate its harmful effects on individuals and communities, so all people can live
healthy and productive lives;

• Increase the capability of women and girls to exercise their basic and legal rights fully, determine
their life outcomes, assume leadership roles, and influence decision-making in households,
communities, and societies;

• Support strategies and activities that secure private-property rights and land tenure for women;

• Improve the access of women and girls to education, including opportunities for higher education
and workforce development.

So, from the above discussion it is prominent that, women empowerment is the fundamental step of
achieving the gender equality goal. Therefore gender equality and women empowerment are
multifaced objective to achieve the same goal.

Short notes:

1. Sexual Violence:
Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, acts to
traffic a person or acts directed against a person's sexuality, regardless of the relationship to the
victim. It occurs in times of peace and armed conflict situations, is widespread and is considered to
be one of the most traumatic, pervasive, and most common human rights violations.

Sexual violence is a serious public health and human rights problem with both short- and long-term
consequences on women's physical, mental, and sexual and reproductive health. Whether sexual
violence occurs in the context of an intimate partnership, within the larger family or community
structure, or during times of conflict, it is a deeply violating and painful experience for the survivor.
Since women are less empowered in the society, they face the sexual violence mostly. Also, children
both boys and girls are vulnerable to sexual violence all over the world.

In armed conflicts, the breakdown of social infrastructures, the disintegration of families and
communities and the disruption of responses leave women and girls vulnerable to sexual and other
forms of gender-based violence, including rape by combatants and intimate partners or
acquaintances and, at times, sexual exploitation by humanitarian actors.
The sexual and gender-based violence perpetrated against women in conflict and humanitarian
settings is increasingly being reported and documented. This human rights and peace and security
problem has begun to be the focus of international attention, with efforts being made to prevent its
occurrence, to respond to the survivors' needs and to address impunity for those responsible.

2. Reproductive role:
In our society woman and man has certain gender role. Men perform the productive role whereas
woman are supposed to perform the reproductive role that includes giving birth of the child and
taking care of them, cooking, feeding and serving the family.

In most cases, the gender roles are influenced by the following, the class, and religion, and race,
geographical area, political and economic environment of a certain society (Martin, 3).

In tradition, the social order was divided by sexes; males and females whom participated in the
productive and reproductive activities of the societies. There is a relationship between education
systems the productive and reproductive roles in a society. The reproductive role of woman are
neither paid nor valued. As a result the contribution of woman in a family, society or nation is not
well recognized. Although it is possible to take the reproductive role of women by the men other
than giving birth, women have been confined to the four walls to perform this role and stay behind
the men. Therefore, the reproductive role of woman must be recognized and valued.