Research tells us that socially constructed gender norms which associate masculinity with power, violence and control, play an important role in driving conflict and insecurity. Many men across the world oppose these rigid, inequitable and violence-endorsing norms, and work in solidarity with women and those beyond the gender binary to resist them, although in many settings far too many people continue to endorse them. But peace processes continue to be dominated by the voices, perspectives and needs of those men who hold power, and who require the continuance of patriarchal systems to retain this power. To achieve a feminist peace, based on principles of equality, justice and demilitarised security, to address the root causes of violence with a feminist lens that pays attention to power dynamics and that challenges patriarchy and traditional gendered roles, we must strengthen alliances between men and women and other stakeholders around a collective agenda for institutional change and personal transformation.
In July 2020, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and the MenEngage Alliance launched a joint initiative, entitled Confronting Militarised Masculinities. The initiative aims to challenge the gendered root causes of violence and armed conflict, and advance feminist peace through a better understanding of the ways in which the “war system”, and related war economies, are enmeshed with practices and representations of masculinities. The initiative has largely focused on four countries – Afghanistan, Cameroon, Colombia and the Democratic Republic of Congo – and comprised research and analysis, alliance-building both nationally and globally, and joint advocacy under the aegis of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda.
This report summarises the findings of research studies conducted by WILPF staff in Afghanistan, Cameroon, Colombia and Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as the insights and conclusions from a set of literature reviews and background papers that were commissioned as part of each country’s research.
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