Women in the Context of United Nations Peacekeeping

Over the past three decades, United Nations peacekeeping troop-contributing countries have shifted from the Global North to the Global South. Currently, countries supplying the most soldiers include Nepal, Rwanda, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Ghana, China, Morocco, and Ethiopia. By numerous metrics, these countries are less peaceful, less democratic, less economically well off, have lower standards of military training, and have higher records of human rights abuses than the Western countries that have supplied the majority of personnel in past years. Sex abuse of civilians by peacekeepers has been rampant on some missions. Prostitution is legal or a legal gray area in many countries, now contributing high numbers of peacekeepers. For these personnel, transactional sex may have been normalized. Women make up less than 6% of UN military peacekeepers despite countries’ efforts to boost female recruitment. In many developing countries, there are still social and cultural barriers to military participation and especially to deployment on a one-year peacekeeping mission. In this qualitative study, twelve military officers from a developing country, with peacekeeping experience, were interviewed about leadership within their mission. Insights emerge into the thoughts and actions of peacekeepers, both men and women, and how they view the performance of those in higher leadership roles on a range of issues. This article looks at women’s issues and proposes solutions to enhance the experience for female peacekeepers and to aid in safeguarding the welfare of citizens, particularly women, for whom the personnel are entrusted to protect.