The most important and most difficult aspect of the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration program (DDR) is the latter, how to reintegrate affected soldiers back into society. This part of the program deals with psychosocial aspects and how soldiers will live once they have removed themselves from the conflict according to the DDR’s standards. In times of crisis, the most immediate reaction that comes to mind is to return society to the way it was. However, Sierra Leone’s society is not considered equal in terms of gender. Should normalization be prioritized over gender equality? Is Sierra Leone too fragile after such harsh conflict to initiate an extreme adjustment such as gender equality?
Women were able to raise themselves up in the ranks of the RUF rebel forces. They were expected to commit crimes against humanity, including the severance of limbs. The extremities of the situation in Sierra Leone called upon women to make a choice to join the combat or remain at home. Being capable of choice is an option more commonly delegated to males, who control politics, businesses, and most aspects of life. However, during the conflict women were given power that they had never experienced before and took control of their lives. The pride they felt for participating was not necessarily due to the destruction they caused, but the brief authority they were given in wartime.
In the short term, women face serious consequences after living in wartime. Depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder are extremely common in soldiers. According to World Psychiatric Association, women in particular are extremely prone to psychological distress, even more so than men. Levels of depression and other post-war symptoms depend on the degree of trauma as well as the accessibility to physical and emotional support. It may be possible that women are innately more inclined to heightened levels of emotional distress. However, I believe that it is due to the fact that women are not accustomed to the tragedies of war due to social gender constraints. Also, the levels of emotional distress they face during wartime may be more psychologically damaging than what men face. In addition to the horrors of war, many women doubled as sex slaves and servants. Women were treated with less respect, even when they proved to be just as capable in higher ranks as men. And despite all of this, many women felt that they were not supported by DDR programs, which made recovery and reintegration even more challenging.
Unlike women, child soldiers were involved in the DDR program. Children were conscripted at very young ages, given drugs, and forced to become spies or sex slaves.They are used by both the rebel forces and the government. Children had limited options for their future; many of their parents were killed during the conflict. Children were treated as victims in the DDR program, and in many cases were kidnapped or forced into becoming a child soldier. Others went willingly. A 7-year-old child cannot be expected to make sound decisions for themselves, but a grown woman can.
The lack of women involved in the DDR program not only perpetuated a life of feminine inferiority, it denied women accessibility to reintegration with society. The role women played in the war should not be misinterpreted or masked. Returning to a normal life meant taking away the power that war gave them; gender roles that curtailed females from participating in life outside the home were reinstated as the norm.
The DDR program is a start, but it had a few significant flaws that show the significant consequences of how society views women. International organizations such as the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone that funded these programs helped to portray women as the victim. Even in western culture, which played a large role in the international organization’s part of the Sierra Leone conflict, women were victimized instead of given adequate treatment. Even in an industrial society as developed as the US, the implication is that women are held to a different standard than men are. Women are viewed as less capable of killing, more likely to be the victim, and more comfortable in the realm of domestic responsibility. The policies of the DDR were adapted to this predisposition of feminine social constraints.
Srinivasa Murthy, Rashmi Lakshminarayana. “Mental health consequences of war: a brief review o f research findings.” World Psychiatry: Official Journal of the World Psychiatric Association, Feb 2006. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1472271/.
Theresa Stichick Betancourt, Sc.D., M.A., Ivelina Ivanova Borisova, Ed.M., Timothy Philip Williams, M.S.W., M.Sc., Robert T. Brennan, Ph.D., Ed.M. “Sierra Leone's Former Child Soldiers: A Follow-up Study of Psychosocial Adjustment and Community Reintegration.” US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. August 13, 2010. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2921972/.
Brittany,
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a really good question in your first paragraph that you do not really answer later on, "is Sierra Leone too fragile for gender equality?". Its interesting because it depends on how valuable you find gender equality. Should it come second to 'normalization'? Is it too important to wait? Is it possible that now is the time to make some gains? Finally, does waiting give its opponents a way to put off gender equality forever? I would like to see you answer here.
To some degree, I think that the women clung to the power they had and were afraid that these programs would reverse any gender equality they had seen during wartime. Normalization and gender equality do not have to conflict with each other, but did in this case because of the rhetoric of the DDR program. Normalization ended up reversing the purpose of the programs (security and reintegration) for women; women ended up feeling as though they were unable to get the help they needed. The problem with gender equality is not unique to Sierra Leone: the language from the DDR program, influenced by foreign powers who claim to be gender-equal, was gender biased. The gender problem is rooted much deeper than Sierra Leone alone, and once we become aware of our own gender biases (even in Western culture), then we can start to solve the problem. I think Sierra Leone can handle gender equality. However, especially in Sierra Leone, gender equality will be a long term fix and changes will need to be incremental for equality to be successful, even if its merely changing the rhetoric of policies or programs.
ReplyDeleteI think gender equality in unstable nations is a very difficult topic. On some level it is natural to want to fight for the same equality we have in the United States overseas. However, cultural changes are a huge factor. I also agree with your comment above when you mention that we need to become aware of our gender biases before we start addressing other nations gender issues. I also would ask the question, when will this issue start being addressed seriously?/Should the United States ever become involved?
ReplyDeleteI worry that if the US were to become involved, we would be accused of trying to "Westernize" Sierra Leone. I agree with you that culture is a huge factor when considering human rights, so I'm not sure what the best way to handle this is without offending foreign nations or forcing our values upon them. I think most people are unaware that this sort of gender bias is even an issue even in our culture; something as subtle as rhetoric can have serious tangible consequences for women. However, I do have hope that globally, gender equality is becoming more of a legitimate issue and will be a concern for more foreign nations in the future.
DeleteGender equality is something that all nations should aim for. However, in places like Sierra Leone it is extremely difficult to do this. What ways do you think the government of Sierra Leone can make this adjustment and make gender equality a priority?
ReplyDeleteGender equality is very important but hard to handle. Sierra Leone's government is best acquainted with its own culture and what it needs to provide women with to ensure their success, but I am unsure if it has the resources to do so. I think if it were able to work with internationally-cooperating programs similar to the DDR but learn from past mistakes, they would be more successful in helping their women become more independent members of society.
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