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How
Nations
succeed
when women succeed
​In 2001, shortly before the Taliban regime in Afghanistan fell, primary school enrollment of girls was at 0%. In the last twenty years, primary school enrollment of Afghan girls had risen as high as 80%. Afghanistan made great gains in the protection of women's rights in the last two decades, however that is now in jeopardy.
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The U.S. State Department claims the United States is “committed to advancing gender equality” through its international presence. US foreign policy aimed at achieving this goal is often laid by the wayside in favor of arms deliveries and military strategies that exacerbate violent conflict and regime change.
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"Women's rights are human rights and human rights are women's rights."
Hillary Clinton
Certainly, foreign policy can include difficult trade-offs. However, there is solid evidence from a variety of non-profit, peace building, non-governmental, security, and economic foundations that show a clear correlation: societies that oppress women are far more likely to be violent and unstable. Hillary Clinton, in a benchmark address to the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, said, “The subjugation of women is…a threat to the common security of our world.”
and why it matters
The reasons for this are varied and vast, though that does not mean they cannot be improved, like in Afghanistan. In many countries throughout the world there are skewed sex ratios because of selective abortion of girls and fatal neglect of female children. The uneven sex ratios result in large proportions of men unable to marry. Becoming frustrated with their lot, these men are then more likely to commit violent crimes or join rebel groups.
Boko Haram and Islamic state know of these frustrations and promise wives as the spoils of war.
There are many complex issues involved in conflict. Polygamy, often practiced by wealthier sections of a society, can lead to a large discontented male population unable to marry. Kashmir has one of the most imbalanced sex ratios in India and is, uncoincidentally, a high conflict area. The Fragile States Index, created by the Fund for Peace in Washington DC, reveals that the twenty most turbulent countries also practice polygamy. The country of Guinea, where 42% of married women (aged 15-49) are in polygamous marriages, has suffered many coups.
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Outside of wealthy democracies, the male kinship group is still the basic unit upon which society is built. These groups originally coalesced for purposes of self-defense, uniting their strength to defend territory and repel outsiders. The groups often cause trouble that can be seen in feuds through the Middle East and the Sahel. The states become corrupt and alienate citizens, making room for militant groups who promise much to the disgruntled and disenfranchised.
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Patriarchal societies, especially those based on male bonding, often subjugate women. States in which daughters are denied choice in their marriage, and are forced to marry early, experience more turbulence. A bride price, where the groom or his family pay money to the bride’s family, gives incentive to marry off daughters (disregarding their age). This is a problem throughout the world. Dowries and bride prices can be found in half the world’s countries.
A fifth of the world's young women were
married before the age of 18; a twentieth
before 15.
Key:
Brown=Young women married before 18
Orange=Young women married before 15
Still, many countries in the world allow these practices to continue, even in places you might not expect.
Researchers at Texas A&M and Brigham Young Universities, led at both institutions by Dr. Valerie Hudson, are compiling a global index of pre-modern attitudes about women. These include: sexist family laws, unequal property rights, early marriage for girls, patrilocal marriage, polygamy, bride prices, son preference, violence against women and legal indulgence of it (for example, can a rapist escape punishment by marrying his victim?). You can see some of their research below.
When looking at other nations that exhibit many of these attitudes towards women, it is important to recognize that the stability of states such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, or even India should not be taken lightly. As foreign policy is rolled out in the future, it will be important to look at all aspects of humanity, including with a lens toward the status of women.
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The stability and success of a state can even be predicted at the genesis of such nations. When looking at the statistics, it is clear—women should have a seat at the table during peace talks. From 1992 to 2019, only 13% of negotiators and 6% of signatories of peace deals were female. Data and experience show that peace lasts longer when women are at the table. If not simply because it is more likely, that with a member representative of half of society at the table, some of the concerns of the women may be addressed.
liberia
a case study
Liberia had women at peace talks. They also spearheaded the effort of peace and successfully ended a terrible civil war, but other nations that did not include woman at the table have chased stability without success.
Many of the changes that need to be made can only be enacted or enforced legally by national governments. However, education and culture change can happen from the bottom, albeit, more slowly. Broadly, governments need to commit to uplifting half of their population:
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Ensure girls receive the same quality and quantity of education as boys.
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Enforce bans on child marriage and on female genital mutilation.
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Outlaw polygamy.
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Equalize inheritance rights.
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Equalize property and economic rights.
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Teach boys not to hit women.
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Western governments need to commit to environmental and development goals, since many western nations are the biggest carbon and environmental polluters and climate change affects the global south and developing countries at greater rates. Climate disasters contribute to unrest as well. Donors to development funds should also place an even greater emphasis on girls’ education. More girls have gone to school now than any other time. Primary enrollment has risen from 64% in 1970 to nearly 90% today. International donors and non-profits should never go into a country and try to change it from the outside, as they have no cultural context. Local actors, or development partners, from within the country should be consulted on strategies for aid and change programs.
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Foreign policy should not be naïve, nor should it be exclusionary. Women occupy half the world. While governments are looking at problems through an economic lens or non-proliferation lens, they should take another moment to look at it through a feminist lens. Who knows? An economics problem might be improved by including women. It is certain that if policy makers fail to consider the interests of half the population, they cannot hope to understand the world.
