Answer:
The lack of clarity around “women’s issues” is prevalent in political discussions on human rights, peace, and security, including at the United Nations. When the term was used at a side event to the UN Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace, and Security in October, the resounding response was bewilderment. “It’s not clear to me what that refers to,” said one senior UN gender expert. “I would argue that every issue in a peace process is a societal issue.”
At another event, when confronted with a question on women’s active participation in peace processes, Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström paralleled this remark, saying that women’s participation “is not just a women’s issue, [it’s] a peace and security issue.”
What, then, are we talking about when we say “women’s issues?” When is this language helpful, and when is it not?
The Positives and Negatives
Women face unique barriers in pursuit of social and political equality. Employing the term “women’s issues” to address these obstacles or the uneven playing field can give visibility to the particular difficulties that women face, as opposed to other groups. So while women’s rights are human rights, using specificity to define them brings visibility to a population whose voice has been silenced
