ABSTRACT
Introduction This chapter discusses the role played by Kosovar women to mitigate conflict, as well as to press for gender justice and recognition in the highly patriarchal institutions of their country before, during and after the war. The analysis is done against the backdrop of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325).1 In stages, the paper explores how Kosovo women engaged in informal non-violent activism to bring about a semblance of peace to their wartorn country before the intervention of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK). It also analyses how the presence of UNMIK impacted on and influenced the activism of women; and how, if at all, UNMIK peace initiatives took consideration of the women’s civil action. The paper also looks at the impact of UNSCR 1325 on the women’s informal activism and how its presence shaped the work of the women and also of UNMIK. Women’s leadership, perspectives and skills acquired during conflict and post-conflict reconstruction are invaluable in working toward sustainable peace. But as Mehren argues, and as the case of Kosovo illustrates, policy-makers persist in limiting negotiations to men, neglecting to recognise the grassroots work carried out by women across ethnic divides.2 This perpetuates the archaic image of women as primarily victims, ignoring their contributions towards security and peace in many spheres and indeed even as combatants. In order to study the cycle of conflict in Kosovo (war, reconstruction and status negotiations), one needs to consider the gender dimension and its close relationship with post-conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding. As Arino and de la Morena (2008) argue, although women have traditionally been excluded from the conflict discourse and the ‘heterogeneity of needs’ of both men and women in this process has been neglected, both sexes have played an array of roles. These include peacebuilding roles assumed by women in an attempt to develop an inclusive society. Furthermore, collaborations between the international community and local actors needed to be engendered in an attempt to overcome the patriarchal social hierarchies which define Kosovan society. Of particular significance is the fact that Kosovo’s status as an international
protectorate also provided an environment rich in possibility for the implementation of UNSCR 1325.3 The particular needs, risks and experiences faced by the women of Kosovo during the conflict have earned them inclusion in the peacebuilding process. Their inclusion allows for a broader perspective on these processes ‘by addressing issues specific to women’.4
