Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
South Asia is one of the most militarized regions in the world. Conflicts in Afghanistan and Pakistan have attracted global attention. Parts of India, Sri Lanka and Nepal have experienced long-running conflicts. It is a common knowledge that women, especially poor women, suffer most due to wars and conflicts. The impact of conflict on women is highly complex and varies widely in terms of cultural and political contexts. Studies reveal that sexual violence is the most common form of violence perpetrated against women during wars and conflicts. Targeting the women of other involves rape, torture, and murder. Various UN security reports show that 90% of war causalities are civilians and amongst them majority are women, children and old people. Entire communities suffer from the consequences of war but women and girls are particularly affected because of the status that they are granted in our society. During the time of conflict their bodies become markers of their religion/ethnicity/caste and gender, a battleground. They are raped, forced to undergo sterilization, other forms of violence include sexual slavery, forced pregnancy & are forced into prostitution. After war, many women are left as widows and single parents. They need help to continue their lives, special support to rebuild their house and job training to support their families. Available data shows an increasing number of female-headed households in Sri Lanka among certain occupational categories. While global economic integration has provided new opportunities for some poor women, overall it is further impoverishing millions of already poor people, and is creating new pockets of poverty. The ILO Report (2009) on Global Employment Trends for Women observes that for women access to decent work is limited and are forced to move into more vulnerable jobs. In South Asia, women, out of sheer economic necessity and to meet the high cost of living, cutting across caste, community and religious lines, enter the labour market in a thousand ways which are still to be recognised as economic activity by the government. Available statistics reveal that the work participation rate of women is low which makes them dependent on the male members of the family which contributes to the perpetuation of violence against them. Development, without the involvement of half of its population, is impossible to achieve for any country. Millenium Development Goals Report 2010 (released in June 2010) observes Gender equality and the empowerment of women are at the heart of the MDGs and are preconditions for overcoming poverty, hunger and disease. But progress has been sluggish on all fronts- from education to access to political decision making. Women are discriminated against men in health, education and labour market. Countries with high gender inequality also experience unequal distribution of human development. Woman should not be looked upon as merely a creature to complete their male counterpart. They
should be considered as agents of change and central to the process of bringing education, development and prosperity to all. The seminar is an attempt to look into the various forms, contexts, and nature of violence against women in the light of the challenges to development that it poses. Papers can fit into the following sub-themes: (1) Gender, Violence, and Development a. Displacement b. Forced labour c. Feminization of Labour d. Trafficking e. Gender and Environment (2) Cultural Violence a. Institutional Violence b. Domestic Violence c. Honour Crimes d. Fundamentalism (3) Armed Conflict and Militarization a. Gender and Conflict b. Case Studies from South Asia c. Women after War (4) Social Responses to Violence Against Women a. Legislation b. Women s Movement c. NGO s and Civil Society Other issues can also be suggested but it should be in the context of gender, violence, and development. Preference will be given to empirical based research. All proposals should meet the following criteria: a. 300-400 word abstract of the paper. b. Brief bio-note with complete postal address. c. Indicate the theme of your paper. Important Dates Last date of Submitting Abstract- 30th June, 2011. Notification of Selected Abstracts- 15th July, 2011. Last date for Submitting Full Paper-15 th September, 2011. Please send your abstracts to: arvinder2009@gmail.com OR imtiaz.ahmad01@gmail.com