How can state building strengthen women’s citizenship in fragile states? This seminar report from the Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior explores the opportunities offered by state building processes to enhance women’s political participation, rights and ability to hold the state to account. State building strategies must: include strengthening women’s citizenship as an explicit aim; engage with the informal institutions that have most influence over women’s lives; address economic and social barriers to women’s substantive citizenship; and support the participation of women’s organisations.
In many fragile state contexts women’s relationship to the state is fundamentally different to that of men and they face specific barriers in acting as full citizens. However, the intensive state building processes that follow conflict can transform political relationships and state structures, and therefore have the potential to profoundly alter the nature of women’s citizenship.
Women’s rights need to be strengthened during ‘normal’ times, not just during conflict, crisis or elections. This should involve not just legal and justice reforms but should also address informal systems and economic and social rights. Further findings are that:
- Customary justice systems hold potential for strengthening women’s rights. While these systems are more accessible to women, they are also more rooted in unfair gender power relations.
- Barriers to women’s political participation remain in terms of poverty, lack of time, lack of self-confidence and education, mistrust of the political system and patriarchal culture.
- Strengthening women’s political participation means addressing women’s participation in informal institutions at household and community level.
- Standard ways of strengthening the voice of citizens do not work for women, as their access to public spaces is mediated by men. Specific initiatives to strengthen the voice of women can help build state accountability to women.
- Changing relationships between donors and partner governments in the context of the Paris Declaration – particularly the increasing use of general budget support – affect the ability of donors to promote gender equality policies.
Donors can integrate gender equality issues into their support for governance reform, institution strengthening and other state building activities. They can also seek to ensure that women’s rights and participation remain a priority for the international community and partner governments within fragile state environments. Issues to be considered by donors include:
- The effect of high levels of donor support on the accountability relationship between states and citizens, including women citizens: donors need to adopt a long term and comprehensive vision for women’s rights, not just support projects and short term measures.
- The need to address northern actors that generate gender inequality in the south.
- The potential effect of the economic crisis on donor support for gender equality within the development sector.
- Means of addressing gender equality within informal institutions, for example through a mix of aid instruments and support to civil society.
- The need to build incentive structures and accountability systems within international organisations to ensure staff deliver on gender policy commitments.
- The role of bilateral donors in holding multilateral (especially UN) organisations to account for their actions on gender equality in post-conflict settings.
