GIVING DISPLACED WOMEN A SAY

KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 (Bernama) -- Women displaced by war should be given a
greater voice in decisions directly affecting their future, especially those
taken by humanitarian organisations and others helping internally displaced
people (IDPs), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.

In situations of war and displacement, women's voices often go unheard and
their specific needs are overlooked, it said in a news release made available
here on the occasion of International Women’s Day Monday.

The ICRC, which has its headquarters in Geneva and a Regional Delegation
office in Kuala Lumpur, drew attention to the extraordinary strength and
resilience of millions of women displaced by armed conflicts worldwide.

"The stereotype of women as passive beneficiaries can result in their being
excluded from decisions that affect them directly," explained Nadine
Puechguirbal, the ICRC's advisor on issues relating to women and war.

"Failure to consult women about their needs and how best to address them
diminishes the quality and efficiency of the aid provided," she added.


The ICRC has been increasingly involving women in planning, implementing and
evaluating aid programmes.

For example, since women are often responsible for their families' food
supplies, the ICRC consults them before deciding what type and quantity of food
aid to distribute and to ensure that locations for food distributions are safe
and accessible.

Women displaced by armed conflicts -- "often living alone" -- with their
children are frequently exposed to sexual violence, discrimination and
intimidation, the ICRC said, pointing out that many face poverty and social
exclusion as well.

"International humanitarian law therefore includes specific provisions
protecting women, for example when they are pregnant or as mothers of young
children,” the ICRC said.

It said that Iraq, where an estimated 2.8 million people have had to flee
their homes in recent years, was a case in point.

Deprived of traditional sources of income, many displaced women are forced
to defy social expectations, and adopt a new role as the family breadwinner, in
order to earn money and put food on the table through whatever means possible,
including manual labour.

The situation is especially serious in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
where displaced women fight to overcome hardship and despair.

"Far too often, women are victims of horrific violence and cruelty in times
of war," Puechguirbal said.

"But this is not the whole story. Many women also show remarkable grit and
determination in coping with their problems, and build new lives for themselves
and their families," she pointed out.

Since 1975, International Women's Year, March 8 has been celebrated as
International Women's Day, “to commemorate the historic struggle to improve
women's lives".

It is celebrated around the world at local and national levels. This year's
theme for the United Nations-sponsored day is "Equal rights, equal
opportunities: progress for all".

-- BERNAMA