gender and militarism

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When Woodrow Wilson introduced the Selective Service Act [1] in 1917 in the United States, it included all men 21 to 30 years of age. Popularly this has been known as conscription or the draft. There was massive resistance by labour, pacifist and progressive groups. Thousands were jailed and some tortured. The patriotic fever and the repression of groups opposing the war caused a major split in American society.

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By Mitzi Bales, peace activist and member of War Resisters’ International

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By Ellen Elster and Majken Jul Sørensen, War Resisters' International

Why this Anthology

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By Cynthia Enloe

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Howard Clark, chair of War Resisters’ International

The journey of women in the depths of left-wing political movements and mixed social organisations has had to endure a long struggle. The story of the presence of women with ideas for the transformation of the patriarchal culture, has for a long time been subjected to the achievement of “more wide and important ideals”, and arguments that these “particular” claims should wait, otherwise it would imply the division of the struggle that was forging towards “social and political revolution” which required the unity of the popular movement.

The military uniform hides under its camouflage – olive green, pale kaki, dark blue or snowy white – yet another uniform deployed over the very body which sustains the warrior clothing. Over there, taking the form of skin and hairs, you will find the sexual uniform: that act of faith that turns men into men and women into women, regardless our identity, wishes or actual actions. For the military (and the various kinds of militarisms), sex is the ultimate certainty and the ultimate order.

In April 2009, as part of the mobilization against the NATO Summit in Strasbourg, No-to-NATO organized a two-day counter-conference, in the course of which some forty women from NATO member states held a workshop on ‘a feminist case against NATO’.[1] Some of us have continued to work together by e-mail, and we hope to mark the forthcoming NATO Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, this November, with women’s protest actions.

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Peperangan akan berhenti tatkala kaum pria menolak berperang dan kaum wanita menolak menyetujuinya

—Jesse Wallace Hughan, Pendiri Liga Non-perang—

Tampaknya sederhana dan jelas bahwa kita menginginkan baik laki-laki maupun perempuan terlibat dalam perjuangan kita untuk melawan pe­pe­rangan dan ketidakadilan. Bagaimanapun juga, jika kita benar-benar ingin meman­faatkan talenta, energi, dan wawasan orang lain secara penuh, kita perlu menerapkan kesadaran jen­der untuk mengelola diri sendiri men­desain kam­panye, dan memimpin pelatihan-pelatihan untuk aksi.

Mengapa? karena jender, definisi masyarakat kita tentang peran laki-laki dan perempuan, maskulinitas dan feminitas mempengaruhi kita semua. Tra­disi masyarakat yang telah membentuk maskulinitas sebagai sesuatu yang dominan, agresif, dan mengontrol serta feminitas sebagai kelemahan, submisif dan me­layani, telah secara mendalam mempengaruhi masing-masing kita. Ke­sadar­an jender membantu kita meyakinkan bahwa dalam tindakan dan kampanye non-kekerasan kita, kita tidak melanggengkan ketidakadilan yang sama, yang coba kita hentikan.

Dalam kampanye anti militer, kesadaran jender dan analisis berbasis jender juga merupakan sarana yang sangat berharga untuk menciptakan stra­tegi yang efektif. Jender merupakan salah satu elemen yang selalu ada dalam setiap kon­flik. Mungkin jender bukan penyebab konflik, namun perbedaan pandangan mengenai maskulinitas dan feminimitas menjadi penyebab konflik dan menentukan cara orang bertikai. Sistem militer dibangun dari gagasan dan asumsi ter­tentu mengenai peran laki-laki dan perempuan. Jika kita ingin menciptakan struk­tur dan sistem non-kekerasan untuk memecahkan konflik, kita perlu men­cipta­kan asumsi dan harapan baru tentang jender.

Dalam bab ini, kami memasukkan konsep-konsep dan latihan-latihan untuk membantu Anda memasukkan kesadaran jender dalam pelatihan-pelatih­an Anda dan untuk meneliti kampanye dan aksi non-kekerasan Anda melalui kaca­­mata jender.

The Kuwait Times reported on 15 July that Kuwaiti politicians and government officials are currently discussing the possibility of reintroducing a period of mandatory military service for male citizens aged between 21 and 30. Such a system would see all able-bodied men in this age group compelled to serve for one year with the Kuwaiti military, while it may also be made optional for women in the same age group.

From 1-5 July 2010 the IV European Social Forum will take place in Istanbul.

War Resisters' International is part of several seminars and workshops during the ESF:

Thursday, 1 July, 9.30-12.30

The struggle against nuclear weapons in Europe and the Middle-East
Hans Lammerant (Vredesactie), Dominic Moran (Greenpeace), Ufuk Uras
Room D102-200, İtü Maçka Kampüsü

"No to Nato, Against militarisation and nuclearisation of the EU, build EU for peace"

GALZ (Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe) staff Ellen Chadamena and Ignatius Muhambia were bailed on Thursday, 27 May, and will have a "remand" hearing on 10 June, before appearing in the high court on 18 June. They face charges of ‘insulting the office of the President’ and allegedly possessing ‘pornographic material’. Their lawyer told press that they would be medically examined "so that we can pursue an action against the people who were responsible for the beatings and torture.”