Abstract:
Title: “Beyond the Absence of War: Reframing Peace and Conflict Through the Lens of Menstrual Discrimination”
This paper aims to challenge
the conventional definitions of peace and conflict, particularly as the world
marks the 25th anniversary of United Nations Security Council
Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security. In today’s complex
global landscape, the nature of conflict has evolved beyond traditional warfare
to include climate crises, pandemics, artificial intelligence, cyber-attacks,
and systemic deprivation from essential services such as healthcare, education,
and agriculture.
These emerging forms of
conflict disproportionately affect women, children, and marginalized
communities, who are subjected to various forms of violence in private and
public spaces such as sexual abuse, forced marriage and sterilization, rape
etc. at homes, schools, workplaces, even parliaments and everywhere. While
there has been remarkable progress in developing responsive policies on peace
and justice at international, national, and local levels, one fundamental issue
remains largely ignored and unaddressed: menstrual discrimination (MD).
MD is a globally pervasive
practice, with over 5,000 documented euphemisms that reflect its diverse
manifestations in name, form, and severity regardless of religion, region etc.
It constitutes a deeply rooted social and political structure that reinforces
power hierarchies and patriarchy from early childhood, affecting both
menstruators and non-menstruators across the life course.
This presentation calls upon
policymakers, practitioners, and all stakeholders to critically reflect and
take action at the individual level to integrate dignified menstruation into
all sectors and levels. It argues that the absence of war does not equate to
peace, and that true peace is impossible without combating and dismantling MD
as a structural form of GBV and violation of human rights.
